Mike W

I rebuilt my motor from an 89 GXL this summer. The only thing thats been bothering me though was the endplay on the eccentric shaft b/c i forgot to check it. Rotorsports Racing helped me out a little bit w/ a good used rear housing and other parts. The head technician gave me some advice and seemed to emphasize the endplay on it. I was wondering if it would be worth my time to pull the trans and go through the hassle of checking it, and what bad things could happen if i didnt. I know it would be a pain in the *** to take the front cover off and change that spacer. It dosnt get driven that much now either since im in college and its at home, so its not too urgent.

Thanks

HAILERS

I like rigging juries. How about if you got a dial indicator and attached it to the front cover and zeroed it. Placing the indicator against the front pulley. Then have someone depress the clutch. That should shove the ecc shaft forward. Then you could let off the clutch pedal and manually shove against the front pully to shove the ecc shaft fully aft. You should be able to tell how much play is there. Not the best way, but you might try it before taking the transmission out.

Mike W

Definately worth a shot. Lot easier than droppin the transmission. I'll probably take the belts off too.

copandengr

I can't think of any situation where the end play would decrease as the engine accumulates miles. If anything, you probably have too much end play. This is not nearly as dangerous as too little. This is assuming the eccentric shaft , thrust plates, bearings and spacer are the original parts. If you used different parts in your rebuild then there is no telling what your measurement is. From experience I can tell you that almost all engines are originally set up with the "V" spacer.

Most of the wear in these parts is in the bearings themselves. It is very rare to find a thrust plate that has an appreciable amount of wear in it. If you do install new bearings, make certain you check the end play. I used new bearings in my overhaul and had to order a thinner spacer to go with them. The original V spacer made the end play too tight.

The post that referred to using a dial indicator on the front pulley was good advice. Just make sure you apply some kind of pressure on the pulley towards the rear of the engine and then zero the indicator. Now have someone push the clutch in. This should give a close approximation of the end play. Remember that the end play is always set during overhaul with the bearings dry. The oil that they now have on them will take up some small amount of space, so your actual measurement will be slightly greater than the indicator says.

Mike W

thank you. very good advice. i did reuse the original spacer and bearings so like you said it should not be too little. i will check it though just so i feel better. 2 thousandths is the number i believe