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Plasti-guage?

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george

08-03-2000 11:09:32




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I am working on a '58 Cub. I may be replacing the piston rod bearings. Someone suggested "plasti-guaging" them. Is this a type of feeler guage? How does it work?




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clooney

08-05-2000 18:41:35




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 Re: Plasti-guage? in reply to george, 08-03-2000 11:09:32  
George, plasti-gauge works wonders on a fresh turned crank, or shaft, or new engine. It can give you false readings on old used cranks or shafts. If the crank you are trying to plasti-gauge is out of round you will only measure the clearance at the position on the crank that you are measuring. If you could measure the clearance at 4 positions you would probably be ok, but most times that is impossible. Usually the easiest place to use the plasti-gauge is when the crank pin is at the bottom of the stroke & that is close to the area that the crank usually wears the most. Lets say your crank is worn .004" out of round & the bearing clearance you are trying to set is .003" & you happen to be measuring it at the wear point, if you set the clearance with plasti-gauge to .003" then turn the crank you will have a (-.001") at the high spot. The only way you can feel safe using plasti-gauge on an old used engine is to completely mike the crank first & know where the high spots are so you can figure that dimension into you final bearing clearance. Plasti-gauge is a wonderful tool but you have to know it's limitations.

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H MN

08-04-2000 04:06:19




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 Re: Plasti-guage? in reply to george, 08-03-2000 11:09:32  
George: An important point is to not allow the two items being checked to "move around" while the plastic is being squished. Movement against the plastic will squash it more than it should have and thus give you a false reading. On main bearings I put a jack in place to apply pressure to hold the crank to the opposite side of the plastic. It's important to prevent false redings caused by allowing movement(against the plastic) while squashing the plastic. Maintain zero play on the side opposite of the plastic....harvey

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MarkB

08-03-2000 14:30:28




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 Re: Plasti-guage? in reply to george, 08-03-2000 11:09:32  
You can get Plastigage at any auto parts store that's worth its salt. (If they say that they don't know what it is, then you know not to buy anything else there, either.) It's cheap, and easy to use. If you don't know whether or not you need to replace your rod or main bearings, plastigage will tell you.

Plastigage looks like a thread, and it comes in a little envelope. Pull the bearing cap off of the rod that you want to check. Stick a piece of plastigage between the rod journal and the bearing, then put the bearing cap back on. Torque the cap bolts down to to spec, then pull the cap back off. The plastigage will be shmushed out. Compare the width of the plastigage to the guide on the envelope; this will tell you what the bearing clearance is. (Obviously, you can only use each piece once, then you throw it away. Each envelope contains several pieces, I think.)

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crazy

08-03-2000 12:27:15




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 Re: Plasti-guage? in reply to george, 08-03-2000 11:09:32  
A plastigauge is a plastic feeler gauge. They are designed and used in places where a metal feeler gauge would possibly mar a soft surface such as your bearing surface.
It is always a good idea to gauge your play when reassembling an engine. machine shops screw up sometime too.



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george

08-03-2000 13:08:32




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 Re: Re: Plasti-guage? in reply to crazy, 08-03-2000 12:27:15  
Where do I get a set and how much?



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