Testing Bearing Parallelism
It is not possible to give other than general directions regarding the proper degree of tightening for a connecting rod bearing, but as a guide to correct adjustment it may be said that if the connecting rod cap is tightened sufficiently so the connecting rod will just about fall over from a vertical position due to the piston weight when the bolts are fully tightened up, the adjustment will be nearly correct. As previously stated, babbitt or white metal bearings can be set up more tightly than bronze, as the metal is softer and any high spots will soon be leveled down with the running of the engine. It is important that care be taken to preserve parallelism of the wrist-pins and crank-shafts while scraping in bearings. This can be determined in two ways. That shown at Fig. 189, A, is used when the parts are not in the engine assembly and when the connecting rod bearing is being fitted to a mandrel or arbor the same size as the crank-pin. The arbor, which is finished very smooth and of uniform diameter, is placed in two V blocks, which in turn are supported by a level surface plate. An adjustable height gauge may be tried, first at one side of the wrist-pin which is placed at the upper end of the connecting rod, then at the other, and any variation will be easily determined by the degree of tilting of the rod. This test may be made with the wrist-pin alone, or if the piston is in place, a straight edge or spirit level may be employed. The spirit level will readily show any inclination while the straight edge is used in connection with the height gauge as indicated. Of course, the surface plate must be absolutely level when tests are made.
When the connecting rods are being fitted with the crank-shaft in place in crank-case, and that member secured in the frame, a steel square may be used as it is reasonable to assume that the wrist-pin, and consequently the piston it carries, should observe a true relation with the top of the engine base. If the piston side is at right angles with the top of the engine base it is reasonable to assume that the wrist-pin and crank-pin are parallel. If the piston is canted to one side or the other, it will indicate that the brasses have been scraped tapering, which would mean considerable heating and undue friction if the piston is installed in the cylinder on account of the pressure against one portion of the cylinder wall. If the degree of canting is not too great, the connecting rods may be sprung very slightly to straighten up the piston, but this is a makeshift that is not advised. The height gauge method shown above may be used instead of the steel square, if desired, because the top of the crank-case is planed or milled true and should be parallel with the center line of the crank-shaft.