herm111

Thrust should be, not under .003, and not over .004. We shoot for .003 to .003-50. You shouldn't have had to use sand paper. Make sure you scrub the bearings when done, with warm soapy water. Your bearings should have been already done, with a smooth, reflective surface, for good oil wedge. Herm.

In the first picture, the middle hole with the babbitt, is that pluging off a squirt hole, or is the web of the rod drilled for oiling the wrist pin? If it is a squirt hole, I have never seen a squirt hole, connected to a circle groove, for constant oiling. Herm.

"AGREE" Herm.

Did you check all the rods for twist, bend, and offset? Herm.

Mr. Maok, I hope those are not the rods that you are going to use, in your new engine. All those holes that are inside the Rod bearing, that I see, and in the out side thrust flanges, is dirt in your bearing babbitt. Those particular holes, are are caused from a Dirty pour, that had skimmings from the top of the babbitt pot surface, or some Guys just heat babbitt up in a ladle, and is poured into the jig, very crude. When you do it that way, the babbitt in the ladle will burn, and the burnt babbitt will go down the the bearing, and make the holes that you see. The problem is, the holes are not just on the surface, they will go clear to the core surface on the rod. So now you have dirt, between the tinning, if there is any, and the babbitt, which means that it is not stuck, as nothing sticks to dirt. Also, look at where the out sides of the thrust, touch the rod side, if that side is stuck, it will look like one metal, soaked in to the other. If there is a crack between the babbitt, and the rod, like water on wax, it will not be stuck. I will post some pictures of what dirt looks like from the back of the bearing, and also what the side of a flange should, and should not look like. It also looks like someone took Emery Cloth, to the inside of your bearings! Thanks, Herm.

If you have a babbitt rod, and the crank pins have been ground, there is a good chance that the pin is Not damaged. If the rods were converted to inserts, there is a big chance the pins are damaged, to some extent. So, with your accelerator being stuck, at very high, or pegged out RPM's, what has happened is the same as a high, RPM, speed shift, and you missed the shift. That will knock a rod out of anything. I have seen it many times in the last 54 years. The chance of getting a rod off e-Bay, and having it fit your pin, would be a crap shoot. The boys are right, pull the rods, and check those and the pins. I might still have some pictures of a spun poured rod, and the tools to align the oil squirt piping. Thanks, Herm.

The Blue was an oil paint, called Prussian Blue, still made by Permatex. We don't uses it, as it gives to coarse of a reading. Herm.

I work with bearings every day, and for a babbitt bearing, I will say 10 Wt. oil is to thin, when hot, it is as thin as water. You have to have cushion between Crank Pin, and the bearing, and 10 Wt. just doesn't have it in stressed times. Yes, as you know it will work, but like everything, it works until it don't. Summer Weight should be 30 , and winter 20 Wt. Herm.

We have poured bearings everyday for 54 years, all run on Detergent oil. Who every told you that is blaming oil for his bad workmanship, to cover his butt. In 54 years, we have Never had a bad bearing, or any bearing fail! 1. Aluminum Mains, and Rods out of a Franklin Auto. 2. Rods out of a 1937 Packard. 3. Chevy Four Mains. Thanks, Herm.

You don't really have to know standard, if the crank mains were all the same size, when new, grind all to the smallest ones, unless the crank is a stepped crank, like Chevys are where all mains are a different size, with the largest in the rear, and the smallest in the front. You don't have to grind a shaft to a .010, .020, .030, ect . If a crank will clean up, at say .011, or .023 under, why waste, all the extra metal. The mains have to be Align Bored, and the Rods still have to be cut, and the chance anyway is small to find ones that would fit, to replace them down the road, with standard under sizes. 95% of the bearings are done that way, the ones we do, unless the Owner wants the standard under sizes. Herm.

Mr. JV, I haven't had time to play on the computer for a while. Ok, lets start with cam bearings. We do build cam bearings, as in your old ones. We spin pour them, at 1200 RPM's, and machine them about .100-00 under the cam size, for them to be align bored in your block. Rods, the reason we don't Babbitt rod inserts, is because when done, and put in the Rods, they have to be , or should be a 100% fit to the I.D. of the rod. If not, they can move in and out, say if there was a small space between the insert, and the rod surface, of a .000-50 thousandths, and as the crank is pushing at the top, and bottom of each stroke, it can fracture the Babbitt in a short time, so the Babbitt gets a bad name. Inserts, when poured, will distort, and have to be brought back to uniformity, and some can't be trued, to a 100%. We can pour them, but we can't guarantee them. So the easy, and better fix is pouring them solid. As Mr. JV said, there is better Heat transfer, as oil that is between the insert, and rod, is not a good conductor of heat, and if with inserts, they didn't Shims, we normally put in .006 thousandths shims, on either side, and cut with the Babbitt, or if not wanted, we wouldn't. Now, for the mains. The mains hold a crank that just turns in a merry circle, with out the rod thrust, so main inserts work very well, of course if done right, as with anything. Bearings are all the same when it comes to Babbitting, just different size, material that the shell is made of, and oil grooves. If say your main thrust is wore, weather, a Bronze, Steel, or Babbitt shell, we leave about .050 on each side, so the Align Bore man can fit the thrust on the crank to spec's. On the part lines, we leave about .006 thousandths to fit the bearing, so as to make sure you get the bearing crush you desire. That's all I can think of, any more questions, let me know. I am always glad to tell you More then I know ! Thanks, Herm.

" AGREE "

If you have a +, or - of .001, the crank is already wore out. The center line MUST be kept! You can't grind a crank like that, as you would a 350 Chevy! Your +, of - should be Zero! Herm.

Mr., Cahartley, what are you referring to when you use the term White Metal versus Babbitt?

Thanks George, It is a nice one. Herm.

This is an A.M.C.O. Rod Alignment Machine. Every Connecting Rod should be checked for Alignment before being installed in an engine. This Machine will go to 1.500, to 2.625, and with the other set of blades from 2.625, to 3.125. It is all complete, but the bending tool did not get in the pile, when I took the pictures, but it is there, along with the twisting tooling. I want 300.00 for the A.M.C.O. Thanks, 515-303-0363 Herm.

This is a cast Iron Wheel balancer. It is in excellent condition. I think it will do Model T wire wheels, but I don't have one here to try. But the top shaft size is 2-1/2 inches. The largest diameter you see, is made for 1937 to 1940 large center wheels. There is no name on it, but it did have part of a name sticker when I got it about 40 years ago, but I could not make it out for the name. I want 300.00 for it, and that is cheap for what it does. Buy'em when you find them. Thanks, 515-303-0363 Herm.

Well, I think it is like my typing, I look at one Key, and hit another!!!!!!!!!! LOL, Herm.

Your Babbitt is called Diesel Marine, although, it should work all right, it is made for Salt Water applications, where it is hard to lubricate. Herm.

The only bearings you would have gotten from Olds, would have been Tin base, and that would have been Babbitt Grade No. 11. They had to have been replaced at one time. Federal-Mogul, built bearings using Tin Base, but when pouring used bearings they used Lead, trade name Stonewall Babbitt, by United American Metals. I like hearing those old stories, always has been interesting, to me. First Pictures are of Tin Base Babbitt, for a Peerles 6 Cylinder Continental, K-4. You can see the difference in the Babbitt color. The next bearings are old Babbitt, which had been poured with lead, and a very poor job, at that, by a shop that has been pouring Babbitt for years. These are the kind of shops that give Babbitt a bad name. These bearings had less then a hundred miles on them. The last is from a 1928 Chevy, showing Tin Base Babbitt Mains, after Align Boring. Babbitt was used on thousands, of race cars, for 60 years, and they never had bearing trouble. Thanks, Herm.

There are many different Babbitt formulas, the same as it always has been. But, there are essentially two different kinds ,of Babbitt, Lead, and Tin Babbitt. During the war, the government had most of the tin, so bearing builders used lead. Now, in Lead Babbitt, there is less then 5, 10% of tin, and does nothing for the Babbitt. In Tin base Babbitt,, say Fords Grade of 86-7-7. The tin is what makes the bearing strong, Antimony that does its best to hold everything together, and Copper that gives it wearing qualities. Lead will last a long if you keep the R.P.M's down, But Tin is better by far, and a square inch of Tin, compressed to 14,000 pounds will be pressed less then 2%. Yes, Automatic Temperature controls, that is a good point, Mr. Chistech. A very large percent today of auto babbitters do not have temperature controlled melting pots. You can't pour good bearings with out them. Pouring good bearings is all about, Temperature, Temperature, Temperature! This carries over in heating your Jig, and what you use to heat it with, and the rate of cool. Ok, Material in your mains, if you have a very dark color Babbitt in a bearing, it is probably lead, if shiny, or brighter, would be Tin. Just about 90% of the time, bad bearings come from the Babbitt not sticking to the Tinning. it also could be oil, or lack of it, Flat crank, to much engine, missed shifts, ect. Mains will last a long time, if every thing is right, as the mains just turn in a Merry circle, while the Rods start and stop, top and bottom, and then you also have the Power stroke, which is a lot of pressure, on bearing, and crank. The last thing, don't let anybody tell you that Babbitt is no good, as we have poured thousandths of bearings in 54 years, and still have never had a bad bearing. The bearings that come apart in a short time, is nothing but bad workmanship! Thanks, Herm.

Go to a place that has Auto paint and tools. Ask for Swirl Remover. It is a liquid. It is used after some buffing. Herm.

I would think if the rods had shims, the mains would also. You can tell by taking the inserts out, and bolting the cap on, and measure in the inside, up and down, and side ways. What ever the difference is, if any, is what the mains had for a shim pack thickness. From 1929, on up, and through the 1940's, Buick rods, and mains had .006 thousandths for, Rods, and Mains. The longevity all depends on how well the work was done, and the owners care of the engine. Herm.

Babbitt today is the same, as it was when new. No better, no worse. Herm.

" AGREE "