Engine Assembly

Assemble the piston and connecting rod assembly to the alignment fixture, shown in Fig. 48, and check with the "V" block resting against the piston skirt to see that the rod and piston are in alignment. Both pins on the "V" block should rest against the face of the plate on the fixture.

Fig. 47— Assembling Connecting Rod to Piston
The piston should be in the same alignment as the connecting rod when this check is made.

NOTE— The connecting rod should never be clamped in a bench vise when installing the piston to it as tightening the clamp screw will likely twist the rod.
Fig. 48— Checking Connecting Rod and Piston Alignment Assembling Piston and Connecting Rod Assembly to Engine
In production, both the rod and the cap are stamped with the number of the cylinder to which they are to be assembled. The numbers are stamped on the camshaft side. When the rods are being reassembled they should be placed back into the same cylinder from which they were removed and the stamped numbers should be placed on the camshaft side.
The condition of the crank pins, on the crank-shaft, should be checked when installing new rods.
Damaged crankpins can only be corrected by the installation of a new shaft, as it is impossible to maintain rod bearings on a damaged crankpin.
Lubricate either the piston or the cylinder and slip the pistons back into the cylinder using extreme care. Do not force the rings into the bore. Compress the rings with a ring compressor, similar to the one shown in Fig. 14, until they enter the cylinders easily.
The gaps in the three rings should not be in a vertical line, neither should there be any ring gap over the piston pin, as the gasses could leak by more easily at this point. Therefore, it is desirable to stagger the gaps so that they will be equally distant around the circumference of the piston.
The connecting rod should be assembled to the cylinder bore with the piston pin clamp bolt to the camshaft side of the engine.
Lubricate the cap and assemble it to the connecting rod with the number of the cylinder, which is stamped on it, toward the camshaft side and the
Fig. 49— Checking Connecting Rod Bearing Fit
oil hole, in the cap, away from the camshaft side. Three .002" shims should be used on each side of the cap.
The connecting rod dipper should be placed over the bolts with the mouth of the dipper toward the camshaft. Assemble and tighten the nuts. Check the fit of the connecting rod by tapping the rod, from side to side with an 8-oz. ball pein hammer. Fig. 49. This is known as a snap fit. I f the bearing does not move, by a light tap with the 8-oz. ball pein hammer, it is too tight, and, if you can move it by hand, it is too loose.

Adjusting Connecting Rod Bearings
Remove shims, an equal number from each side, until the rod can be moved from side to side with a light tap of an 8-oz. ball pein hammer. The rod is too loose if it can be moved by hand.
Check the clearance between the crankshaft and the connecting rod bearing with a feeler gauge.

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