44290 Mercury RETAINER, TEMPERATURE SENDER

Start By:a. remove piston cooling jets If possible, removal of the oil pan will make crankshaft main bearing removal and installation easier. See the topic, Remove Oil Pan. The oil pan was removed for photo purposes. The crankshaft main bearings can be removed without removing the oil pan.1. Drain the oil from the oil pan. 2. Use tool (A) to turn the engine and move counterweights (1) in position for removal. Remove counterweights (1) from the crankshaft through the side of the cylinder block.3. Use tool (A) to turn the engine and move the connecting rod bearing surface (journal) to the top center position. 4. Use tool (B) and loosen the four bolts that hold the main bearing cap in position.5. Hold the main bearing cap in position with a pry bar and remove the bolts.6. Remove the bearing caps through the side of the engine. The weight of the bearing cap is 18 kg (40 lb). 7. Remove the lower bearing half (2) from bearing cap (3). 8. Remove thrust plates (4) from each side of the center main bearing.
If the crankshaft is turned in the wrong direction when removing the upper bearing half, the tab of the bearing will be pushed between the crankshaft and cylinder block. This can cause damage to either the crankshaft, or the cylinder block, or both.
On the center main journal that has no oil hole, put a thin piece of soft material that will not damage the crankshaft journal against the end of the bearing, opposite the tab. Hit the bearing with the soft material until the tab of the bearing is free from the cylinder block. Remove the upper half of the main bearing. 9. Install tool (C) in the oil hole in the crankshaft journal and remove upper main bearing halves (5) as the crankshaft is turned and the bearing is moved out of the cylinder block. The following steps are for installation of the crankshaft main bearings.
Make sure the upper and lower halves of the bearings are installed so the bearing tabs fit into the notch in the cylinder block and bearing caps.
Install the main bearings dry when the clearance checks are made. Put clean engine oil on the main bearings for final assembly.10. Install tool (B) in the oil hole of the crankshaft. Put upper bearing half (5) (half with oil hole) in position on the crankshaft. Use tool (A) to turn the engine and push the bearing half in position with tool (B).11. Make sure bearing caps (3) are clean and install lower bearing halves (2) in the caps.
Do not use an impact wrench to tighten the bolts the additional 210 5°.
The serviceman must be very careful to use Plastigage correctly. The following points must be remembered:- Make sure that the backs of the bearings and the bores are clean and dry.- Make sure that the bearing locking tabs are properly seated in their slots.- The crankshaft must be free of oil where the Plastigage touches it.- If the main bearing clearances are checked with the engine upright or on its side, the crankshaft will have to be lifted up with a force equal to the weight of the crankshaft and held against the crown of the bearing. If the crankshaft is not supported, the weight of the crankshaft will cause incorrect readings.- Put a piece of Plastigage on the crown of the bearing half that is in the cap. Do not allow the Plastigage to extend over the edge of the bearing.- Install the bearing cap using the correct torque-turn specifications. Do not use an impact wrench. Be careful not to dislodge the bearing when the cap is installed.- Do not turn the crankshaft with the Plastigage installed.- Carefully remove the cap but do not remove the Plastigage. Measure the width of the Plastigage while it is in the bearing cap or on the crankshaft journal. Do this by using the correct scale on the package. Record the measurements.- Remove the Plastigage before reinstalling the cap.When using Plastigage, the reading can sometimes be unclear. For example, all parts of the Plastigage are not the same width. Measure the major widths to make sure that they are within the specification range. Also, experience has shown that when checking clearances tighter than 0.10 mm (.004"), the readings may be low by 0.013 to 0.025 mm (.0005 to .0010"). Out-of-round journals can give faulty readings. Also, journal taper may be indicated when one end of the Plastigage is wider that the other.For complete details concerning measuring bearing clearances, see Engine Bearings And Crankshafts, Form No SEBD0531. 12 Check the bearing clearance with Plastigage as follows:a. Put a piece of the Plastigage on the surface of the lower bearing half.b. Install the main bearing caps with the word "FRONT" and the cast part number toward the front of the cylinder block. Each cap has a number on the bottom surface and must