hey, I was just wondering, have any of the bearing girdles I had made up ended up on a running motor yet?
the one I have, has been mocked up, but not installed yet, I was just wondering how everyone else has done so far.
-Owen
I too have wondered this. My build has crashed to a halt, due to a lack of employment.
I would also be interested to see what everyone has done to tie the girdle into the main caps.
I would also be interested to see what everyone has done to tie the girdle into the main caps.
Precision machined steel sockets to exactly fill the gap between the girdle and the cap,
and special studs + nuts that go through the girdle and the sockets at the same time.
...although my girdle wasn't made by Truckinwagen.
Precision machined steel sockets to exactly fill the gap between the girdle and the cap,
and special studs + nuts that go through the girdle and the sockets at the same time.
...although my girdle wasn't made by Truckinwagen.
That's pretty much what I was thinking of doing. Did you find a source for these or did you have them custom made?
I would also be interested to see what everyone has done to tie the girdle into the main caps.
Precision machined steel sockets to exactly fill the gap between the girdle and the cap,
and special studs + nuts that go through the girdle and the sockets at the same time.
...although my girdle wasn't made by Truckinwagen.
I wondered about that. The sockets. You wouldn't want them loose, but you wouldn't want them applying force to the main caps and changing the torque either. What it the magic number or preload to install these? I would think you would want some interference, but not a bunch.
I understand the sockets have to be exactly the size of the space that is left between the girdle and the caps. But it's a close thing, because you have to be able to apply the rght torque to the caps through the sockets and the girdle, while not bending the girdle to achieve that. An accurate measurement of the gap should be a very good way to know the correct size. The sockets will have to be made of a strong material, tool-grade steel is a good bet, since these sockets may not crunch or flex under the obviously hard loads associated.
A 'hardcore' option for the caps, that has been used on some of the most powerful TD builds, is to grind the caps down so that the lower faces are completely flat with the level where the stock bolts attach to. Yes, completely remove the arching part of the cap! Then, use precision machined blocks of steel that fill the entire area between the ground-down cap and the girdle. The blocks have then been made exactly right length, so that they also connect to the cylinder block walls at their each end. This is the 'ultimate' evolution of girdle design, but these 'block' style cap reinforcements are quite work-intensive since they must be very accurately sized to four dimensions. Even with just sockets and good studs/bolts to go with the girdle, the block will be vastly better held together than with a stock cap/bolt system.