turned crank 10, 10 now hard to turn

Hey guys I purchased a 05 bew wagon from PO, it needed the crank turned due to cracked oil pan. I had it turned 10 on mains and 10 on the rods. After installing the crank it is hard to turn. After I get it to turn over its not bad but getting it to turn over takes alot of effort. Does anyone have any ideas. I am stumped at this time. I am pretty sure I have every thing torqued correctly. Problem is when I loosen the main bearing caps it will turn over freely. Has anyone had this issue before, cause I am stumped. Any thoughts ideas would be appropriated, looking for ideas at this time.
Thanks Mickey

Wrong size bearings?

Get a micrometer and make sure *all* the journals were turned. Machinists are human and can make errors (i.e. forget to turn one down). Wrong bearings, as suggested already, also. I've seen some mix ups from boxes labeled as another size.

Need an engine.

oilhammer said:

Need an engine.

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Was that supposed to end with a '?'...LOL

How is the rest of the engine? I confess I would be worried about the cam and turbo if the crank got starved enough to damage it.

I would be tempted to find a donor. In general, assemble, spin, assemble further, spin... IF trouble like you describe comes up, check bearing clearances with plasti-gage as it sure sounds like the journals were not cut properly, and or the wrong bearings were stuck in the box.

Douglas

Bad things happen to high stress engines when they are starved for oil. It is no longer 1965, the procedures that worked then do not always play out now.

In addition to the obvious (wrong clearances on the crank and/or bearings), you could also have a "stretched" crankcase, where the main journals got so hot they "crimped" in tighter, warped or "not true" crank journal in the crankcase, not true crankshaft, bent rods, etc.

Not to mention what the turbocharger and cylinder head endured.

If you want to try and salvage that engine, I'd start with getting it out of the car, and torn completely down. Then, start with JUST the crankshaft and maincaps, and see what a simple snug on the main bolts does, without any rods attached. The basics are not anything extraordinary, just the super tight tolerances and the lack of leeway in anything. I have put NEW cranks in PDs successfully without issue, with new [standard] bearings. I'd never mess with machining one of those crankshafts.

PakProtector said:

Was that supposed to end with a '?'...LOL

........................

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Unfortunately he's serious and giving best advice.

oilhammer said:

Need an engine.

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PakProtector said:

I would be tempted to find a donor.

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So you're in agreement then

In agreeance

I completely agree with everyone that has replied. I am also looking for a replacement motor, but I still want to figure out what is going on here. I will continue to dig into this motor and post when I get a chance. I am beginning to think it has something to do with the trust bearings on the 3 journal, but again I have not had a chance to dig into it. Can someone tell me the proper way the thrust bearings are inserted. I did not remove them previous owner did and from what I can tell on the journal there is only one way they can be positioned and that is with the cut out towards the outside of the crankbearing giving lubrication to the crank, so I assumed the thrust bearings for the block were the same. I hope someone can confirm this. Always looking to expand my knowledge, unfortunately sometimes at the expense of spending more money then I should.
Thanks Mickey

michael7208 said:

I completely agree with everyone that has replied. I am also looking for a replacement motor, but I still want to figure out what is going on here. I will continue to dig into this motor and post when I get a chance. I am beginning to think it has something to do with the trust bearings on the 3 journal, but again I have not had a chance to dig into it. Can someone tell me the proper way the thrust bearings are inserted. I did not remove them previous owner did and from what I can tell on the journal there is only one way they can be positioned and that is with the cut out towards the outside of the crankbearing giving lubrication to the crank, so I assumed the thrust bearings for the block were the same. I hope someone can confirm this. Always looking to expand my knowledge, unfortunately sometimes at the expense of spending more money then I should.
Thanks Mickey

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There was a recent thread here regarding the thrust bearings - probably within the last month?

michael7208 said:

I completely agree with everyone that has replied. I am also looking for a replacement motor, but I still want to figure out what is going on here.

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That is the way you learn and know what to watch for next time.

I would take all the main caps off and look for scaring on any of the bearings.
Leave all the bearings in the block.

Put the main caps on one at a time (with the bearings), torque it to specs and try to rotate the crank.
There was a similar thread (mentioned) about centering the thrust bearing how to seat it before tightening.

Add another cap until you find the tight one.
You did coat the bearings with oil?

Plasti-gage that was mentioned would indicate if any of the bearings were tight or loose.
I used it on almost all the engines I rebuilt.