Tonight we got a lot done on Dan's motor. Dan and Don finished up filing the rings to get a .024 gap on the top ring and .020 on the second one. While they were doing that I cleaned the pistons and crank in diesel fuel, then wiped them dry. Hardly any dirt came off, and the machine shop said they washed everything before we picked it up.........so I guess they did.

Then we got the crank in and checked the main bearing clearances. The manual says they should be between .005 and .021, which seems like a big spread, but ours came out at .006, so we were good to go. Now the crank is in and torqued to specs. We also lightly scotchbrited the bearings to get the surface slightly shiny.

We were surprised to see the machine shop even tapped every hole in the block, not just the head bolts and main bolts, but even the ones for the oil pan and timing cover. I am so happy I found these guys.

Next Dan and I are going to start installing the rings on the pistons and getting the pistons put into the block. It's starting to look like a motor, and I feel very good about the care we are taking this time around.

Don