Odd ball bearing sizing(?)

I'm getting ready to do some work on the bottom end of my '96. It seems that when Chrysler built these motors they mixed and matched the rod bearings (and mains) to get the desired oil clearances (talk about poor machining tolerances!) for instance three of my rods have standard sized bearings and the other three have a standard upper bearing shell and a .001" undersized lower bearing shell! And yes, they did this nonsense throughout the entire production run of these things. There is a very detailed explaination and chart for bearing selection in my shop manual. My question: those of you that have dealt with this, are the .001" undersized bearings available through auto parts stores or are they dealer only items? Thanks in advance for any responses------------Hans

This is really more common than one might think. Without line honing the block, machining the crank & sizing the rods, this is the very cheapest way to really dial in the oil clearances. READ CHEAPEST.:gag: BY the way they are NOT ball bearings as you put in the title.

And try asking at your local before you go OEM - they can probably get the -.001" bearings for you.

silent_bob said:

This is really more common than one might think. Without line honing the block, machining the crank & sizing the rods, this is the very cheapest way to really dial in the oil clearances. READ CHEAPEST.:gag: BY the way they are NOT ball bearings as you put in the title.

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Okay, I should have typed oddball not odd ball.......sheesh. I know the difference between plain and ball bearings. The thing is I have never come across this in any other motors I've built over the years (domestic V8s, aircooled VWs and Toyotas) could be these motors were built out of the country using inferior machining processes. Now, back to my question, where to find .001" undersized bearings? Thanks, for scolding me for the improper use of the word oddball --------Hans

Oatmeal said:

Okay, I should have typed oddball not odd ball.......sheesh. I know the difference between plain and ball bearings. The thing is I have never come across this in any other motors I've built over the years (domestic V8s, aircooled VWs and Toyotas) could be these motors were built out of the country using inferior machining processes. Now, back to my question, where to find .001" undersized bearings? Thanks, for scolding me for the improper use of the word oddball --------Hans

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No scolding intended, but you may have to buy a complete set of standard & a complete set of .001 to get it right. Oh, andd lot's of plastigage. And yes these should be availabe from the aftermarket.

5-90 said:

And try asking at your local before you go OEM - they can probably get the -.001" bearings for you.

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Sorry I was busy typing my response to Silent Bob when you posted. Thanks, I'll give it a try---------Hans

silent_bob said:

No scolding intended, but you may have to buy a complete set of standard & a complete set of .001 to get it right. Oh, andd lot's of plastigage. And yes these should be availabe from the aftermarket.

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Again, thanks!--------Hans

Oatmeal said:

Again, thanks!--------Hans

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No prob. It's quite frequent for the dirt track racer's round here to do this the cut down on machine work cost, as there engine can be claimed at the end of any given race. So it keeps the cost down.

Shim between the bearing and the bearing housing (housing is the non rotating part)
For mains, shim between bearing and bearing cap.
For rods....
p.s. fast motorcycle engines also use this blueprinting technique.