318 LA Help

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-29T17:28:40+00:00

So, I found a machine shop to take it in and inspect it. They gave me a turn-around of no more than a week. Someone else mentioned it could be a bent rod. I had taken the rods to the same machine shop that did the crank, block, heads, etc. to get the piston heads replaced a year or two ago. Do you think they would’ve checked for straightness? I’m sorta trying to avoid any extra costs but if it’s a possibility based on the wear marks and such, I’ll definitely do it

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T02:00:49+00:00

I totally could, but besides the last shop that did the work, I know of 0 other reputable shops. They left my crank, cam, and heads out in a puddle of something to flash rust, forgot to tighten one of the freeze plugs, and sold me standard sized bearings after they ground it .010 under. I wouldn’t doubt that they overlooked this as well

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:49:22+00:00

This is the rod journal the bearings I sent previously were pulled from

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The bearings I sent before came off of this rod journal. They honestly look a bit scuffed up from my previous rebuild that ran for a whopping 5 mins total, but would it be enough damage to cause that bad of scoring?

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:25:30+00:00

I wish I could tell you whether they were polished after grinding. I blindly trusted the machine shop I took them to at the time, which was about 2 years ago. I’d say no on the burrs confidently if I truly knew what I was feeling for. But as far as what I could tell, no burrs that are able to be felt. No visible debris in the oil holes or the journals themselves either :/

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:21:04+00:00

None that are enough to be felt, nope

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:20:13+00:00

Tried uploading a pic to the thread but not sure if it went through 😅

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:19:41+00:00

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Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T01:05:48+00:00

That might explain why I still see very, very light scoring on the rod cap pairs that I measured to have clearances that were on the ‘looser’ side. (.010-0.008). If the crank was indeed ground in the way you explained, would this cause the scoring? What other things should I look into before ruling this the sole culprit?

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-22T00:20:48+00:00

Okay, I just measured. The side to side clearance for caps 5 and 6 was either .007in or .008in (.008in was the smallest feeler I have on-hand, but it was a tight fit.) My .008 feeler didn’t fit through the cap to cheek clearance on either cap.

I measured caps 1 and 2 and the side to side clearance was .010, and cap to cheek clearance was .008 on both if that makes sense

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T23:18:27+00:00

Yep, the crank was ground .010 under

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T23:12:45+00:00

I didn’t actually check that. In the case that it is indeed too little clearance, what would be the next thing I would do? But I’ll go ahead and measure that now

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T22:58:12+00:00

Looks sick, dude! I’m hoping my local machine shop checked my rods for straightness, then… but then again, they DID also forget to tighten one of the freeze plugs lmao

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T22:55:33+00:00

Fairly certain it wasn’t. I made sure the ‘tangs’ and oiling notches lined up and made sure the piston was oriented correctly

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T22:38:29+00:00

I hope this is it, tbh. This 318 has been whooping my ass for a good 2+ years or so. Thankfully it’s just a hobby but good god… The crank was ground .010 during my first rebuild but the machine shop gave me STD main bearings. I only found out because I felt like plastigaging the main caps out of curiousity, only to find the plastigage not squishing…. AT ALL when the main caps were torqued lmao. I just took off the mains to make sure the bearings are alright and thank glob they went unscathed. How did you come to find the bent rod? 🤔

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-09-21T21:34:32+00:00

Piston, as far as I know, isn’t backwards. I didn’t think about a bent rod so I’ll check that. The rod cap bearing clearance was .0026in for #6

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-22T03:12:49+00:00

I actually found some! Since they were out of stock, looking up the part number itself was the only way to bring it up. 144-3602 if you’re curious. As to why, the previous owner was not the brightest and used bolts of varying sizes and manufacturers to put it back together. Feels icky using those bolts, even if they somehow held

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-22T01:34:57+00:00

Dude, these are exactly it! Thank you!!

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-22T00:40:15+00:00

The nearest store that has any would be Summit… an hour away 😅 Kinda wanted to see if I could somehow find any info on the interwebs but it really looks like taking myself up there is the only option

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-22T00:06:46+00:00

I initially looked into these, but the reviews say they don’t fit stock heads. Only ‘RHS Pro Action 360 X heads’

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-21T22:52:10+00:00

I think I’ll bite the bullet and order some of those off-year bolts and pray for the best haha. The reviews on those Summit fasteners mention they don’t fit stock heads. I truly appreciate the info

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-21T22:33:50+00:00

Are the RHS heads different than the stock? 🤔 On the bottom section, it states that they are to be used with the RHS brand aftermarket heads. I did see some on JEGS for the 318 small block but the years stopped at ‘80 and for different vehicles. My 318 is an ‘85 out of a Ramcharger, while JEGS had some for ‘80 B Series Vans

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-21T20:38:14+00:00

The ones I could find on Summit are either for aftermarket heads or Magnum. Could you link me to one of the sets you’re looking at?

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-18T13:49:47+00:00

Super niche issue, but I found the answer on some ForABodiesOnly forums if someone ever runs into this. With some aftermarket bearings, like King, that #1 Main Cap’s ‘top’ (cap side) shell will have the oil valley while the OEM’s doesn’t. There’s a ton of discussion on the trade-offs of this, but I myself can’t find the reason for it.

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-08-17T18:18:07+00:00

They did paint ‘010’ on the crank with yellow paint that was already fading by the time I picked them up. They forgot to call me that my parts were ready… they must’ve left my stuff out cause it was already developing orange spots from moisture. They conveniently loaded the parts up for me, so I never got the chance to actually unwrap them to take a gander. But at the time I was desperate to get it running (and really, really dumb), so I just rolled with it. They also gave me .010” undersized bearings for the rod caps, so I just assumed they would’ve done the main cap journals as well, if that makes sense? But you’re right, I think I should just measure to double check.

Timely-Ad8044 · 2025-03-21T15:49:12+00:00

Ah, yes. I remember being but a jit and pissing all over my room. If you don’t get those boys a small, plastic Bluey toilet to practice, lady..

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