Piston, Connecting Rod, & Bearing: Installation
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- Coat the piston, piston rings, cylinder bore and bearing surfaces with clean engine oil.
- Install rubber fuel line onto connecting rod bolts.
- Install piston, connecting rod and upper connecting rod bearing through the top of engine block.
- Install Piston Ring Compressor (J-8037) onto the piston and compress piston rings.
- Use piston ring compressor and lightly tap the top of the piston with a wooden hammer handle.
- Hold piston ring compressor firmly against engine block until all of the piston rings have entered cylinder bore.
- Use a rubber fuel line in order to guide connecting rod onto crankshaft journal.
- Remove rubber fuel line.
- Install connecting rod cap and lower connecting rod bearing.
- Install the new connecting rod nuts. Tighten connecting rod nuts to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS plus an additional 90 degrees.
- Once piston and connecting rod assemblies have been installed, lightly tap each connecting rod assembly, parallel to crank pin, in order to make sure that they have side clearance.
- Use a feeler gauge or a dial indicator to measure the side clearance between the connecting rod caps. The rod side clearance should be 0.0151-0.0270" (0.384-0.686 mm). See ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS .