Deck height measurements driving me crazy, Need advice Options

[stugray]

Ok, so I bought the deck height measurement tools from the group buy.
But I cannot figure out exactly how the OP intended to use the middle plate.

I have been trying to measure my deck height accurately for weeks now and I either am not doing it right, or I have a problem.

I have the EMW AA cylinders & KB Hypereutectic pistons - brand new.
I am measuring with no shims under the cyls.
I bolt the holddown tool on two cyls with pistons installed and torque to spec (24 ft-lbs)

I set TDC on the cyl I am about to measure with a mag base & dial indicator using the middle of the piston as reference.

I then set a VERY straight edge across both cylinders and clamp it down.
I then measure the top of the cylinder mating surface down to the very edge of the piston using a dial indicator/depth gauge.
I repeat the measurement at least 5 times and average the results.

I am getting measurements that vary from .022 to .032 and they can vary by up to .0067 across a single piston (front to rear). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif)
(measurements at the same spot are repeateable within less than .001)

When we are trying to get these deck heights to match to within a few thousandths, I cannot see how that can be done when the piston can be off by more than 5 thousandths front to rear.

Does this mean I have bent rods or misaligned wrist pin bushings?

I had the entire rotating assembly balanced, so I would hope they would have caught something bent.


I guess my next steps will be to shuffle the pistons around and see if the measurements follow the pistons.
If they dont, I might need to move rods.
Can all 4 rods be removed & replaced without splitting the case again?

Stu

[stugray]

ok, latest update.

I took all four rods off without splitting the case.

They all measured the same from rod journal bearing surface to wrist pin bearing surface to within 0.001.

So I measured the gap from the top of the crank-rod journal to the registers while the crank was at TDC.
I zeroed the depth gauge using yeahmag's plate on cyl #1 and read:
Cyl #2 - 0.000
Cyl #3 - +0.002
Cyl #4 - +0.007

So there is my ~8 thousandths on the deck height on cyl #4.
Now how do I know if it is the crank or the case's fault?

I guess it is time to send them both in for checks.

Who should i contact for a deck height check that could also fix my crank (if that is the problem)?

Stu