Crankshaft endfloat

Having found brand new barrels and pistons on the CJ that I've bought, I thought I'd check end float on the crank before I split the case. I rigged up a home made bracket on a dual gauge I found I'd had for years and never used. It looks like there is between .006 and .007 thou (about .175mm) of movement. Is this too much and can it be adjusted somehow? Sorry for all the questions - complete newb at this.

 

Edit. That was for an 1800

 

Its a bit bigger than ideal .. the engine is worn.. .but I run a T1 at .009 inches (which is still the same as just after building 20k miles ago) because that was what it ended up as when I had had enough of building the engine.
Also when my previous engine was running with a loose flywheel it was still running with 2mm endfloat. Endfloat is a symptom of wear which is easy to measure from outside the engine. Low oil pressure is another symptom. But an engine with endfloat and low oil pressure might go another 10k miless or just give up on a hot day after letting it get too hot.
Fit an oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge and see how well it behaves before spending lots on it.

Does it have good oil pressure still ?

 

No idea I'm afraid on oil pressure. I bought it as us and have just taken the heads off. Is there a shim adjustment or something that enables me to get the end float to .003 thou?

 

the endfloat depends on if the case is worn out.............
have you removed the flywheel and if you have can you see the bearing moving in the case........

 

Yes the flywheel is off. I'll have a look tomorrow. Can you actually see the bearing behind the flange with the 5 bolt holes in it?

 

Hope you measured the endfloat with the flywheel on though?

 

No. Does that make a difference? I tapped the other end with a pigskin hammer.

 

you should measure the endfloat with the flywheel on and tightened..

 

And with any original shims on behind the flywheel!

 

^this

 

Hi. This is my 1st post on late bay. I'm an air cooled mech. Type 4's are my thing.
If you want to do this engine right you will need to split the case and inspect it properly.
If your a few thou over the maximum tolerance I wouldn't worry about it.
The thing with buying a second hand engine is you have no idea if its good or not.
It takes a lot of work to even do a top end rebuild , refit all the tins , exhaust, carbs etc.
Then fit the engine to your van only to find the oil pressure is rubbish.
Split the case and check all the internals.
E.G
Look for
flat cam lobes.
worn lifters
Main bearings that have lost there snug fit into the saddles
Check the fly wheel bearing doesn't have any Back and forth movement ,It needs to be a good solid fit into the saddle. If its loose it can add to the end float clearance because the bearing is moving back and forth as your doing the end float check.
Check the case threads for any stripped threads.
There's a lot to check really.
Regards Garrick.

 

Thanks Mork. I spotted a few mentions of this book and had planned to search for it. Thank you for the link - bought it

 

Thanks Garrick. Valuable info there. I'm a new at building these. Planning to split the case for sure but thought it best to check end float first. You wouldn't happen to be local to south Lincolnshire would you?

 

Hi Mark.
I'm in hoghton , Lancashire.
Nearest City being preston.
When you do split the case and you find it doesn't want to split , have another look for some hidden case nuts . Some of them are a bit out of plain site.
Bit about me
I started in the Air cooled game in the early 80's with my Dad, we were called Bamber bridge beetles.
This business went on full time until 2000. My old man got ill and passed on. I was lost for a while. Years later I started up again just doing Air cooled mechanics. Mostly engines. This is were I'm at now really.
My little claim to fame is this.
type in on google Bamber bridge beetles van.
this should bring up my old works van that got into a vw book. This van was spotted by a Chinese company who copied it and made it into a tin model and is now for sale all over the world .
My old man would be well chuffed seeing this . lol

 

Garrick that is such a lovely story. Found the van straight away on Google - fantastic! Thanks for the tip too.

 

@GARRICK CLARK Welcome aboard TLB mate, I’ve read your posts on VZi over the last few years.

 

OK so I'm thinking this isn't very good news. With the flywheel on and I assume the std shims, there's .025 inch end float. Is this too much to re-shim? Have I got a scrap case?