Crankshaft end play too tight?

[madcows]

So I'm finally starting to put my 6-bolt together again after a long hiatus and I'm back to fretting about crankshaft end play. I remember when I initially started the assembly after getting the crank and block back from the machine shop, it was so tight with the mains on that the crank would barely turn. The machine shop suggested that I tap on the ends of the crank with a mallet to presumably smush the thrust bearings a little and loosen it up. I don't think I had tried that then, but I may have taken it to the shop for them to do. I don't really remember. At any rate, I put the crank in earlier today to check it out and it certainly wasn't tight like before, but it's not so loose that I can easily turn it with two fingers (maybe because I'm using lucas as assembly lube?). I checked the gap between the crank and the thrust bearings with a feeler gauge and in some spots .05mm is a tight fit. In fact, it's hard to slide it in directly in some spots, so instead I have to stick it in an area where it's loose (in areas where even .06mm fits) and then slide it over.

Since .05mm is the minimal gap size according to the spec, I'm a bit uncomfortable especially as it's not easy to slide the feeler gauge directly in some areas, instead having to slide it over from a different area. Is this bad? Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[madcows]

I ended up getting a dial gauge and magnetic base like the ones Jafro uses in his youtube videos. Using that method, I got .15mm end play which is near the high end of the limit and even a bit more if I really pried on it (using a small pry bar).

It makes me slightly nervous, but I'm going to slap it together like it is. Meh. All I can do is hope for the best.