thrust bearing setup in car

[cloneman315]

I am redoing the mains and rods on my 87,i have been told by a few about the setup of the thrust is very important,can someone explain to me the wat to check this,I was told the forward prybar method but not clear on this,also crank thrust surface is marked a little should I polish it etc?

 

[turbofabricator]

If the original thrust bearing was bad, then the crank "should" be machined. IF you have the thrust surface machined, be SURE to hand polish the journal faces with 500, then 1500 paper by hand. It only takes about 30-45 minutes of good elbow grease. (elbow grrease is available at NAPA) To set the thrust bearing it is best to smack the crank rearward first then HARD forward with a dead blow hammer and with the main bolts/studs snugged with about 15ft. lbs. Then measure the clearance with a dial indicator and magnetic base. You "can" use feeler gauges, but they are hard to get an accurate reading with. PM me for my number if you need detailed coaching.