Thread: General Hemi Info Part 5

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Short block 2:

The next step is laying the crank in. This is very straight forward. Personally I always check the bearing clearance for myself. I’ve used the same machine shop for many years and never had bearing clearance problems, but all it takes is one time on one bearing to ruin an engine.

There are 2 things you must remember to do in the rear main cap area prior to installing it for the final time:

Oil bypass valve or plug: If you are going to use the original style filter and originality is important then the original valve is the way to go. With this system, only a portion of the oil going to the engine is directed through the oil filter prior to going to the rest of the engine. This type of filtering was used for years, and as long as you change oil on a regular basis it generally does fine.

If you go to a more modern spin on type filter and a full flow type system (such as I’m doing) then you will need to use the by-pass plug. This goes in o-ring end first.

Whether using a bypass valve or plug it is critical that the slot be aligned with the oil passage that goes through the block to the oil filter boss. The line on the block corresponds to the oil galley that feeds the filter, and this is the direction the slot in the bypass plug must be oriented to.

Finally you also want to make sure that alignment dowel is in place between the block and the rear main cap. In many case these dowels have been lost if the engine has been taken apart before, but replacements are available. You can also see the rear main-cap dowel in the block. It simply taps into the block prior to the rear cap installation.