I have been reading past postings on this topic but I still have a question (a real wet-behind the ears novice type question); how do you measure crankshaft end float without specialist equipment? Is it possible to do so without buying measuring equipment or taking it to a specialist workshop?
Kevin
You can do the measurements using a fairly standard digital vernier calliper but you need two other pieces of kit to go with it. The first is a calliper depth foot that screws on to the end to allow it to sit precisely perpendicular to a flat surface and permit accurate depth measurements to be made. The second piece of equipment is a suitable length of engineer's parallel in the form of an accurately machined thick metal ruler.
With the vernier calliper you first need to measure the distance between the shoulders on the crankshaft. By placing the engineers parallel across the mating face of each crankshaft half in turn, you then need to measure the depth to each bearing. The end float is then the sum of the second two measurements minus the first.
Given that you need to measure to the order of 1 thou, you can only measure the depth to the required accuracy if the vernier calliper is set up precisely perpendicular to the crankcase mating surface - hence the need for the calliper depth foot and the use of a parallel - if you are out by more than 0.1 deg, the error in the measurement could be as high as 10 thou.
Even with this type of equipment, it is still a demanding measurement and great care is needed to get a consistent result.