JJ291

Got my oil pan off and trying to get bearing codes but just want to ask one question to the forum.

The drawing in the Service Manual for the Main Bearings gives the Main Journal Code Locations (Numbers). The same drawing on the next page for the Connecting Rod Bearings gives the Connection Rod Journal Code Locations. From looking at locations called out, I have:

B3 3, then B2, then B2, then B2. The connecting rod "half numbers" are 3,3,2,2

Does this sound right?

Also, I guess you can't get your final Main Bearing codes unless you get the number at the end of the block called the Crankshaft Bore Code which is given in the manual as an example BBCBC. Is this under the timing cover? Also, why are there 5 letters? Are there 5 Main Bearings?

Thanks.

ezone

Oh Gawd....

How about just use plastigage to find if the clearance is OK or not, before you go trying to decode the mess?

C&P, FTM:
If the plastigage measures too wide or too narrow, (remove the engine if it's still in the car), remove the crankshaft, and remove the upper half of the bearing. Install a new, complete bearing with the same color code, and recheck the clearance. Do not file, shim, or scrape the bearings or the caps to adjust clearance.

The crankshaft has 5 main bearings.

Looking under an 02 Civic 1.7 engine (I'm too lazy to check your info again), it shows the 5 letter code set for the mains is stamped on one of the webs on the bellhousing end of the engine. You'd have to remove the trans to find it.

The crankshaft holds the other set of stampings, looks like on a counterweight.



If you remove the original bearings, they should have the color codes painted on them as indicated in the C&P:

• Color code is on the edge of the bearing.
• When using bearing halves of different colors, it does not mater which color is used in the top or bottom.

(misspelled word there is exactly as copied!)

Use that as your guide instead?

JJ291

Well - dangit. Already buttoned up when I read this. My plan was to get the bearing codes and order them and next week when I do my oil o-ring to change the rod bearings also and maybe correct the "knack" issue before it wrecks my crankshaft. My mole at Honda said that typically they just order the same bearing code and never really have an issue with them not working out.

I didn't think of plastigaging them ahead of time because if they are out wouldn't you just start with the factory code? If they are in next week then I can just return the bearings I guess.

I guess I can check the main bearings then also although I understand what you're saying that I have to pull the engine if they are out. If my engine comes out again, then I'm pretty sure a JDM is going back in - just bummed I have a 2001 and can't do anything to upsize.

Ezone - you work this professionally, what is the trick with the oil pan. Do you guys go through and clean every nook and cranny etc before putting them back in or are they more forgiving than that? Also, it seems like a good place to put honda bond is all the way down the trough, not just on the corners like the manual says. What's the secret?

ezone

What sort of trick are you looking for? Clean it off and reseal it the way it was from the factory.
I clean as much as I can, I use razor blades and brake cleaner. I also try to let the dang thing sit as long as possible so it quits dripping oil, because oil residue can cause the RTV to not seal properly.

If the pan must be sealed with only RTV, there must be a continuous bead of fresh RTV that will make contact with all of the sealing surfaces. Hondabond (4 or HT), or Honda Ultra Flange (I or II), or Permatex Ultra Gray.

I apply the bead, then smooth it around evenly with a finger. Stuff the parts together before the sealant "skins".

My own rule of thumb: It doesn't take much....and when you tighten it and the flat surfaces meet and squish the excess RTV outward where you can see it..... There is an equal amount of RTV that is squished INTO the engine. THAT can cause problems if it clogs up the oil pickup!

If it uses a gasket, then RTV is only used where there are corners, and anyplace something may not be perfectly flat and even.

Gaskets that are designed to be installed dry, can slip and slide and get damaged when coated with sealant.

JJ291

Alright - will do. Just a PIA to clean the pan but I know it's gotta be done. I gotta make it one week on the job I just did and then it'll be acetone and razor blades.

Got any advice on the bearing changeout or oil pump o-ring or steering rack swap

ezone

Not that can be easily typed, and a lot depends on what all is being done.



Nuts and bolts!
Out with the bad, in with the good!

LOL

JJ291

All I can say is I wish I had changed my frigging rod bearings a long time ago. It is like a a different car! Got some pics for anyone out there with experience to weigh in on. Also, I gotta figure there is a way to do the mains in the car. Thinking I could get them out fairly easy, run a small strip of rag to clear most of the oil get the new one in and plastigage. However, I've seen the "taste great, less filling" arguments on this all over so interested in that opinion as well!

Had a tough time getting shots of my rod ends and the crank because of the light/camera issue but here are some shots of my main bearings and best I could do on the crank. I didn't plastigage the mains because I was worried that without access to the other side to clean them I might get false measurements. However, I think the bearings are OK but basing that on bearing pictures in the Haynes manual.

I did plastigage the rod bearings and they all came in well within the service limit.

ezone

You had the main web off, and didn't change them? Did you have the engine out of the car at that point?


Not sure how tough it would be to do on that particular engine IN the car (not a common job here), but I have done it on various other engines in the past.

Play it by ear....Goes kinda like this:
Loosen all the main caps so the crank drops ever-so-slightly but you don't ruin the seals (torque converter or input shaft will hold up one end, oil pump will hold up the other so there can't be much drop),
remove main caps one at a time,
roll (push) the upper bearing shell out, and back in, and seat it with your fingernails (and maybe a pocket screwdriver).
Install the lower bearing half in the cap,
oil,
then reassemble loosely.
Repeat for the rest,
then reassemble.

Did my old Quad4 this way but couldn't get the rearmost main changed (thrust brg IIRC) without removing the crank. Did all the rest, it lived several years that way.

JJ291

Yes, I had the bearing cap off and didn't change them. Engine was in car. I was after the rod bearings this time and wasn't sure how to do the mains because I didn't want to pull the engine but I didn't have the code on the engine web. After pulling the rod bearings I realized you can still see the original color. Next time...

I appreciate the method you listed. I think it would work for my car but I'm bumming a little bit because I had the oil pump off also to fix the little o-ring and it probably would have been pretty easy as the crank was just hanging there. Live and learn.