The main bearings are located on the crank itself, and their job is to support the crankshaft and allow it to rotate. The connecting rod bearings support the connecting rods and allow them to rotate. When either of these parts fails, your engine will suffer from excessive vibration, which can lead to further problems down the road if not addressed in time.
If you’re having trouble with vibration or excessive noise from your engine, it’s time for a check-up. This guide will show you how to change crank bearings on your vehicle.
Disassembling the engine is not a difficult job and can be done by anyone who has some experience with working on cars. If you are not sure what you are doing or if you don’t feel comfortable performing this job, take your car to a mechanic.
Before you start work, make sure that you have all the necessary tools for the job. You will need a torque wrench with an extension bar and socket set. For squaring up the crankshaft, you will also need a dial indicator and a magnetic base.
To remove the old bearings from your engine, first remove the flywheel and then remove the oil pan and transmission housing. Next, loosen the bolts holding down each connecting rod bearing cap with an impact wrench or air chisel (make sure they are not too tight). Finally, remove each cap with wrenches and pull out any bearing shims that were used in conjunction with them.
Now pull out all three main bearings by hand (they will slide out easily). If there is any oil in them, wipe it off before installing new ones so that it doesn’t get onto any new parts when they go back in later on in this procedure). Now install three new bearings into their respective caps.
Before you begin changing crank bearings on your vehicle, you’ll need to jack up the car so that it’s elevated above ground level. This will make it easier for you to access everything underneath the vehicle without having to crawl around under their yourself. Make sure that all four tires are securely jacked up before proceeding further with this process.
Once jacked up properly, locate where each bolt was placed on each side of your vehicle’s frame rail using an inspection mirror or flashlight (or both!). Then remove these bolts using a socket wrench and a ratchet tool until they are completely removed.
Remove the front main seal by using a puller or prying tool to break it loose from its seat. Take care not to damage this seal when removing it from its seat as it is very soft and can be easily damaged if handled incorrectly.
Once all of these components have been removed you should be able to see inside your engine block where there will be two bearings located at either end of where your crank shaft goes through your block wall into your flywheel/flex plate/harmonic balancer (it’s different for every car).
