Cylinder block and crank

mechanism inspection & service

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 Cleaning & Inspection of Cylinder Block 
 The first step is to completely disassemble and clean the block.

 After  cleaning,  the  block  should  be  inspected  for  cracks  before 
machine work begins.

• Inspect  all  crankshaft  bearings,  bearing 

surfaces  and  seal  surfaces  for  damage  and 
wear.
• Observe  the  size  of  the  bearing  inserts 
(standard or undersized).

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 i. Deck Flatness of the Block

A whetstone can be used to clean the deck surface of the block. 
Just remove any nicks or burrs that might give false readings when 
checking for warpage.
The  top  of  the  engine  block  where  the  cylinder  head  mounted,  is 
called the deck.
To  check  deck  warpage,  use  a  precision  straightedge  and  feeler 
gauge. 
With  the  straightedge  positioned  lengthwise  and  diagonally  across 
the deck, the amount of warpage is determined by the size of feeler 
gauge that fits into the gap between the deck and the straightedge.

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Check the deck surface for flatness
 ii. Main Bearing Bore Alignment

 There  are  several  reasons  why  a  main  bearing  bores  are  out  of 
alignment: 
 During  normal  engine  life,  the  block  undergoes  cycles  of 
repeated heating and cooling. 
 Due to high engine loads. 

 Excess heat can also damage a main bearing bore. 

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• The  alignment  of  the  crankshaft  saddle  bore  can  be  checked 
with: 
• Straightedge  after  the  bearing  caps  and  bearings  are 
removed. Place the straightedge in the saddles. 
Attempt  to  slide  a  feeler  gauge  that  is  half  the  maximum 
specified oil clearance under the straightedge.
  If  this  can  be  done  at  any  saddle,  the  saddles  are  out  of 
alignment and the block must be line­bored.

Checking bore alignment with a

straightedge and feeler gauge.

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 2. Bearing Failure and Inspection

• As shown in fig below, bearings can fail for many reasons. 
• Dirt  and  oil  starvation  are  the  major  reasons  for  bearing 
failure. 
• Other  engine  problems,  such  as  bent  or  twisted  crankshafts, 
connecting rods can also cause bearings to wear irregularly.

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 3. Crankshaft Inspection

 Crankshaft damage includes:

 Worn journals
 Scored bearing journals
 Bends or warpage
 Cracks
 Thread damage

 Crankshafts should be stored vertically to prevent possible

damage or warpage.
 Visually examine the crankshaft carefully for the following:
 Signs of heat or discoloration from high operating temperature
 Sealing surfaces for worn, sharply ridged, or scored
 Surface cracks
 If any or all of these conditions are present, the parts need to be repaired
or replaced.
 After visual examination inspect crankshaft for the following:
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 1. Inspect for Cracks
• Methods of finding crankshaft cracks not visible to the eye are:
1. Magnetic particle test:
2. Penetrant test:
3. Ringing a crankshaft test: by “ringing” the counterweights
with a light tap of a hammer (see Figure below).

Ringing a crankshaft test:

i. Suspend the crankshaft with wire.
Holding it with your hand will
invalidate the test
ii. Hit a crankshaft counter weight by
ball peen hammer to check for
cracks.
8/13/2016 Defence university Aofdull
college sound indicates a crack.
engineering 8
 2. INSPECT MAIN JOURNALS AND CRANK PINS
 The crank journal & pin excessively wear because of abrasives in the oil.
• Using a micrometer, measure the diameter of each main journal and crank
pin.
• Measure all crank journal & crank pin for size, out-of-roundness, and taper.

Measurement point result Measurement result Taperness

point
A B
C D
Out of roundness

• If the diameter is not as specified, check the oil clearance. If the taper or
out-of-round is greater than
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engineering
Out-of-Round Wear
 When the engine is first cranked by the starter after sitting for a
period of time, there is little or no lubrication between the
crankshaft and the lower main bearings.
 The result is that the lower main bearing wears excessively and
the main journals wear out of round.

Tapered Wear
 Rod journals sometimes suffer taper wear. The presence of uneven
rod bearing wear, and sometimes piston skirt wear, usually
indicates taper.
 Connecting rods should be checked for misalignment whenever
uneven wear is found.

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 3. INSPECT CRANKSHAFT FOR RUN OUT
 Place the crankshaft on V-blocks.
 Using a dial indicator measure the circle runout at the center journal.
 Set the indicator at 0 (zero) and turn the crankshaft through one
complete rotation. The total deflection of the indicator, the amount
greater than zero plus the amount less than zero, is the total
indicator reading (TIR).
– If the circle runout is greater than maximum, replace the
crankshaft.

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 4. CHECK CRANKSHAFT THRUST CLEARANCE
 The crankshaft can be pushed forward by pressure in the torque converter or by the release

spring pressure of the clutch. This is called end thrust.

 A flanged thrust bearing fits between the crankshaft thrust surfaces, which is used to

controlling back and forth movement (end thrust) is called thrust bearing.

 Using a dial indicator, measure the thrust clearance while prying the crankshaft back and forth

with a screwdriver.

 If the thrust clearance is greater than maximum, replace the thrust washers as a set.

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 Crankshaft bearing inspection
 Keep bearings in order during disassembly
 A bent crankshaft can be indicated when one
bearing wears more than others.
 The resulting bearing wear is usually worse
at the center.
 It is a common and recommended practice to
replace all crankshaft bearings during engine
rebuilding.
 Inspect all bearings for signs of uneven wear Main bearing wear
caused by a bent crankshaft
or damage which could indicate bent or
damaged components.
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 4. Piston Inspection and service
Excessive, irregular scuffing of piston may be caused by:
lubrication, cooling system, or combustion problems
a bent connecting rod,
Inadequate piston-to-wall clearance
(a)
excessive idling at too low rpm
• Not enough oil thrown from the rods
to provide adequate cylinder wall
lubrication (Figure (a)).

 A piston that overheats because of cooling

system problems, will expand excessively
near the piston pin. This can cause (b)
scuffing of the piston skirt near the pin
(Figure(b)).
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 Ring Groove Wear

 The top ring groove wears the most. The ring is forced against the
bottom of the ring groove during combustion. This can cause wear to the
piston.
 An aluminum piston would be worn away by the harder iron or steel
piston ring. This which makes them hard and causes them to wear the
piston ring groove(Figure (a)).
 The ring wears on the surface that rides against the ring groove, leaving
a lip on the lower edge of the piston ring (Figure (b)).
 Rings with excessive side clearance can break. New rings cannot seal
against a worn ring groove. Before cleaning the piston, check the top
ring groove for excessive wear (Figure (c)).
 This check also ensures that a ring of the proper width and depth is used.
 The feeler gauge can measure the clearance between the unworn surface
of a worn piston ring and the ring groove (Figure (d)).

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 (a)

(c)
The top ring wears against the bottom
of the ring groove Checking a ring groove for wear

(b) (d)

A used ring can be used to measure

The bottom side of the top ring wears ring groove wear against its unworn
against the ring groove
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 Piston Service

 When pistons are to be reused, they must be

thoroughly cleaned and measured.
 The pistons must be off the rods with the
pins removed.
 The top of the piston can be cleaned with a
Cleaning the top of a piston using a
scraper.
wire brush. Do not clean the ring
 The top of the piston can also be cleaned on groove area by wire brush.
a wire wheel, but be especially careful not
to round off the edges of the piston head.

 The carbon in the back of the ring groove must be

removed; otherwise, the new rings might not
compress enough to enter the cylinder during piston
installation.
 This can be accomplished using a soda blaster
or an old broken piston ring that has been An old piston ring can be
ground on its end. used to clean carbon from
a ring groove
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 INSPECT PISTON DIAMETER AND OIL CLEARANCE

• Using a micrometer, measure

the piston diameter at right
angles to the piston pin center
line, at the indicated distance
from the piston head.

• Measure the cylinder bore diameter in the

thrust directions.
• Subtract the piston diameter measurement from
the cylinder bore diameter measurement.
• If the oil clearance is greater than maximum,
replace all pistons and rebore all cylinders. If
necessary replace the cylinder block.
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 Piston Ring Wear
 The major cause of ring wear is abrasion.
 This can result from running the engine with
damaged air cleaner, or from using a contaminated
oil.
 When inspecting rings for wear, look for the
following:
 When wear is due to dirty air getting in, the top
compression ring will show more wear and
vertical abrasive lines will be visible.
 When ring wear is due to abrasives in the oil, the
lower rings and cylinder wall will exhibit more
wear and the top ring will have less wear.
The bottom side of the
top ring wears against
the ring groove
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Piston Ring inspection
• Piston ring Side clearance is the
difference between the thickness of
the ring and the width of its groove.
To measure this, place a new ring in
its groove and, with a feeler gauge,
measure the clearance between the The side clearance of the piston
ring and the top of the groove ring is checked with a thickness
(feeler) gauge

 After the block and cylinder bores have been

reconditioned, insert the piston and push each ring
into the lower quarter of the cylinder; then
measure the ring gap.

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The ring gap is measured with a feeler gauge
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 5. Connecting Rods
Inspect Connecting Rod
 Inspect connecting rods for obvious cracks, bends, or heat
damage.
 Rods from large or high-performance engines are routinely
magnafluxed to check for cracks.
• Cracks usually occur on the “flashing” area of the rod beam,
near the bolt holes, or where the beam joins the big or small
ends of the rod.

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 Inspect Connecting Rod
• Rods suspected of being bent or distorted can be checked with a
rod alignment checker.
• Normally a damaged rod is replaced, although equipment is
available to straighten them and to rebore the small and big ends.
Inspect connecting rod alignment
• Using a rod aligner, check the connecting rod alignment.
– Check for bending and
– Check for twist.

8/13/2016 Checking for bending

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 6. Inspecting Cylinder Bores
• Inspect the cylinder walls for signs of wear. 

• Dirt can accelerate ring and cylinder wall wear. 

• Scuffing  and  scoring  occur  when  the  oil  film  on  the 

cylinder wall is ruptured. 

• Cooling  system  hot  spots,  oil  contamination,  and  fuel  wash 

are typical causes of this problem.

• Most cylinder wear occurs at the top of the ring travel. 

• Below  the  ring  travel  area,  wear  is  negligible  because  only 

the piston skirt contacts the cylinder wall.
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 1. Cylinder bore Wear

 Maximum wear occurs at thrust side just under the ring ridge (top of 
cylinder).
 Due to the top of the cylinder wall is subjected to extreme heat, high 
pressure and less lubrication, it forms taper wear
 Too much taper wear is also accompanied by out­of­round (oval) wear, 

 Excessive  piston­to­cylinder  wall  clearance  and  gasoline  washing  oil 

from the cylinder walls increases out­of­round wear.
 Out­of­round wear is more serious than taper wear because a thicker 
oil film can accumulate on the cylinder wall where the out of round is 
greatest.

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 2. Measuring the Cylinder Bore diameter
 The methods of measuring the bore include using :
1. Telescoping gauge and micrometer, 
2. Inside micrometer, or 
3. Bore gauge. 

 Taper  is  the  difference  in  diameter  between  the 

bottom of the cylinder bore and the top of the bore 
just below the ridge. 
 Some taper is permissible, but normally not more 
than 0.1524mm.

 Cylinder  out­of­roundness  is  the  difference  of 

the  cylinder’s  diameter  when  measured  parallel 
with  the  crank  and  then  perpendicular  to  the 
crank. 
 Typically, the maximum allowable specification is    
                      0.0381 mm (0.0015 in.).
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 Cylinder Bore Surface Finish

• The surface finish on a cylinder wall should act as an oil reservoir 
to lubricate the piston rings and prevent piston and ring scuffing.
• The  desired  finish  has  many  small  crisscross  grooves  (Figure  A). 
Ideally,  these  grooves  cross  at  50  to  60  degree  angles,  although 
anything from 20 to 60 degrees is acceptable. 
• This finish leaves millions of tiny diamond­shaped areas to serve 
as oil reservoirs (Figure B). 
• It  also  provides  flat  areas  or  plateaus  on  which  an  oil  film  can 
form to separate the rings from the wall.

A B

Desired Cylinder Surface Finish The desired cylinder wall finish

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for most types of piston rings.
 Cylinder Bore Polishing & Honing
• A cylinder hone usually has three or four stones. The hone is spun 
by an electric motor and is moved up and down the cylinder’s bore.
• Springs  push  the  stones  against  the  walls.  As  they  rotate,  a  small 
amount of metal is removed from the walls. 
• Cylinder  honing  machines  are  available  in  manual  and  automatic 
models. Automatic (Figure B) models allow the technician to dial in 
the desired crosshatch angle. 

A B

Using a tapered sanding cone to remove the sharp

edges at the top of the cylinders created when the
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block was machined Automatic cylinder hone machine
 Installing Cylinder Linear
 Installing sleeves into the rebored block.
 Hammer & driver
 Chill sleeve & heat block
 Hydraulic press
 The  cylinder  can  be  sized  to  use  a  standard  piston  when 
sleeved. 

A dry cylinder sleeve can also be installed in a cast-

iron block to repair a worn or cracked cylinder
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 7. Flywheel Inspection
 Check the run out of the flywheel and carefully inspect its
surface.
 Replacement or resurfacing may be required.
 Excessive flywheel run out can cause:
vibrations,
poor clutch action, and
cultch slippage.
 With both manual shift or automatic transmissions, inspect the
flywheel for damage or worn ring gear.

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