How-To: Install LS Engine Crank (bearing & thrust clearances) 

Main bearings - www.howtomotorcyclerepair.com/mainbearings Plastiguage - www.howtomotorcyclerepair.com/plastigauge Eastwood torque wrenches - www.howtomotorcyclerepair.com/eastwoodtorquewrench Digital angle finder - amzn.to/37BkXfj

DO NOT HAMMER DOWN YOUR MAINS!!!! It can cause the plasti-gauge to become crushed. Just draw the caps down slowly using the bolts, a little on each side at a time. Until its down and torqued.

Exactly what I was looking for - gonna be doing this very soon. Thanks for taking the time to do this video.

Very helpful video. Thanks for sharing!

Good video, well done sir!

Really appreciate the video. Lots of great side info as well.

This video was very informational and goes in dept. Definitely will sub and check out more to learn

Great build

New subscriber!!🔥🔥🔥

on the end bottom caps should i keep the upper and lower tangs on the same side or offset? i noticed it could go either way

great vid

so detailed 👍

The clearance range is applicable for all LS engines? My ls3 started knocking and this is my very first engine that I am rebuilding. I would like to know if it applies to the ls3 as well. Also what if it were to be under or over the clearance range?

Thank you

oil under the bolt heads . thou and a half for 5 ? you gonna run 0/15 synthetic?

Where can I get that dial ??? I’m rebuilding my ls2 pretty soon

I dunno about re-using bolts like that. They're ty[typically torque to yield - so use the old ones to crush the plasti gauge but then use new ones for final assembly.

Building my first destroyed lq9. Would I use the new bolts to check clearances or would I use the old bolts?

Great Video! How is the engine holding up? I assembled a 6.0 with .0015 on the mains. I’m curious because after some research I’m concerned that .0015 might be a touch too tight.

First ❤ Good job

You forgot to mention that the trust bearing has 2 oil groves on one side and 3 on the other..the 3 groves go toward the back of the engine..if installed incorrectly it will throw off thrust clearance..otherwise pretty good video

Please do video about how to tune up multiple carburetors.mixture screw adjustment like that

are those torque to yield bolts. you cant reuse those right ?

I know this video is a bit old but i hope you read and reply. I am measuring my oil clearences on ls1 to rebuild, Well i did everything as you show in this video but when i remove the main caps to check the plasti gauge the plasti gauge is on the main cap bearings not on the crank journal is this still accurate to measure idk how it is happening?? Maybe im just being paranoid but out of all the videos ive seen I have never heard or seen this before.

How many times would you say those bolts are good for?? I wanna do this but was told they were 1 time use

Why didn't you put the cam in while you had the block upside down and the crank out of the way? Its alot easier to install the cam that way then doing it after you install the crank and have to walk it in.

Who did the machine work ?

Meticulous attention to detail again Matt. Cracking video. When you've finished do you want to sell it?

Did you use stock bearing size?

How much would you charge to do this job

You didn’t use assembly lube before you dropped in the crank ?

What did you do about crankshaft thrust?

Never drop in a crack dry. Where’s the assembly lube on the bearings?

On a LS motor, Plasti-Guage is not a good way to check bearing clearance, depending on the Side bolt Torque the clearance due to deflection in the main cap can change up to a .001 looser, to achieve accurate bearing clearance on any LS motor you will need to use a dial bore gauge, it is the only correct way on a LS motor,

Why people “try” to be accurate with torque angle and then do the most inaccurate stuff is beyond me. Just torque them in sequence to 65ftlbs and call it a day.

Never heard of a chevelle motorcycle. Mighty big engine case. Guess I misunderstood this site was for motorcycle stuff.

Nice footwork lol

You also need to grease up the bearings before putting the crank in!

You definitely do not want to spin the crank like that @4:02 without lube

Also, installed in wrong order. Center 1st, than work out. Even if just tighten bolts for caps. Whether you Knock them with a hammer or not. Atleast your trust bearing install is sound...

Can't believe you're not using lube or oil

So the journals are all in spec right ? So none of the main bearings that were originally in the block were spun right ? If that is the case why would you waste the time with plastigage? We get cranks back from the machine shop. Whatever they grind it to we use the corresponding size of bearing. Now,I have literally built atleast a thousand motors since 2015 and never plastigaged one single motor and guess what ? Never had one single clearance issue at all. This is a complete waste of time. You can say whatever you want but I highly doubt you have the history with these motors that I have.

Where is the Summit Racing link for "how to sand main bearings"???? All I see is a link for some motorcycle site, which would have NOTHING to do with a rear mounted Trans pushing forward on a Thrust bearing. People, this kid knows a little bit about what he's doing, some of the info is GEAT, But the parts where he's wrong .. HES REALLY WRONG!!! Don't use a hammer to install your caps, and don't SAND your bearings. Sand gets caught in the soft bearing material and WILL cause issues SOONER than later.

All due respect, I have never understood why someone has the desire to do a "how-to" on something that they are completely unfamiliar with. Just because you saw your dad put a crankshaft in a SBC back in the day doesn't mean you are competent enough to teach someone how to install a crankshaft in an LS engine. There were many mistakes that you made but corrected without commenting on it, many things that you should have done differently and in general would have done differently if you had ever done this. Technically you're using tty fasteners that aren't supposed to be reused, "narrow" means skinny, not wider.., even after screwing up the sequence, you STILL did it backwards, but that's not that big a deal other than this is a how-to video!lol It may live simply because your clearances are close (tight), but it's gonna take a few more before you need to be "teaching" anything about building an engine..

You are not supposed to put your fingerprints on the Bearing surface.. Do some more research before you start posting videos.. You didn't even lube the Goddamn thing