Chrysler Stratus RHD 1997 Interactive Electronic Service Manual page 898

NO. 2 RING GAP AND SPACER GAP OF LOWER SIDE RAIL EXPANDER GAP
JA
SERVICE PROCEDURES (Continued)
(3) Install upper side rail first and then the lower
side rail.
(4) Install No. 2 piston ring and then No. 1 piston
ring.
Fig. 8 Installing Side Rail
(5) Position piston ring end gaps as shown in (Fig.
9).
(6) Position oil ring expander gap at least 45°
from the side rail gaps but not on the piston pin cen-
ter or on the thrust direction. Staggering ring gap is
important for oil control.
Fig. 9 Piston Ring End Gap Position
FITTING CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS
Engine connecting rod bearing clearances can be
determined by use of Plastigage or equivalent. The
following is the recommended procedure for the use
of Plastigage:
(1) Rotate the crankshaft until the connecting rod
to be checked is at the bottom of its stroke.
(2) Remove oil film from surface to be checked.
Plastigage is soluble in oil.
(3) Place a piece of Plastigage across the entire
width of the bearing shell in the bearing cap approx-
FRONT OF ENGINE SIDE RAIL END NO. 1 RING GAP GAP OF UPPER SIDE RAIL
imately 6.35 mm (1/4 in.) off center and away from
the oil hole (Fig. 10). In addition, suspect areas can
be checked by placing plastigage in the suspect area.
Fig. 10 Measuring Plastigage Width
(4) Before assembling the rod cap with Plastigage
in place, the crankshaft must be rotated until the
connecting rod being checked starts moving toward
the top of the engine. Only then should the cap be
assembled and torqued to specifications. Do not
rotate the crankshaft while assembling the cap
or the Plastigage may be smeared, giving inac-
curate results.
(5) Remove the bearing cap and compare the width
of the flattened Plastigage (Fig. 10) with the metric
scale provided on the package. Locate the band clos-
est to the same width. This band shows the amount
of clearance in thousandths of a millimeter. Differ-
ences in readings between the ends indicate the
amount of taper present. Record all readings taken.
Refer to Engine Specifications. Plastigage gener-
ally is accompanied by two scales. One scale is
in inches, the other is a metric scale.
(6) Plastigage is available in a variety of clearance
ranges. The 0.025-0.076 mm (.001-.003 in.) is usually
the most appropriate for checking engine bearing
proper specifications.
FITTING MAIN BEARINGS
Refer to the Engine General Information Section
for Measuring Main Bearings. For Crankshaft speci-
fications refer to Crankshaft Specification Table.
CRANKSHAFT MAIN BEARINGS
The crankshaft is supported in five main bearings.
All upper and lower bearing shells in the crankcase
have oil grooves. The number three lower main
thrust bearing is plain. Crankshaft end play is con-
trolled by a flanged bearing on the number three
main bearing journal (Fig. 11).
Upper and lower Number 3 bearing halves are
flanged to carry the crankshaft thrust loads and are
NOT interchangeable with any other bearing halves
2.4L ENGINE 9 - 61