bearing caps and button lights

[mikeyp]

just a couple of simple issues i have this weekend.

at last i have all my bearings ready to finish my rebuild but i don't trust the last person who built my engine and want to confirm the positions of the bearing caps.

on my car the old bearings were installed correctly on the upper sides as the conrods and block dictate which way round the bearing goes. so the little lock tab sits in the groove and can only go in one way.

the caps also have this groove for the other half of the bearing but the caps can be turned around. should the little lock tabs both be at the same side of the bearing or should the top one be on the opposite side?

here is a photo of one of the bearing when they were first removed.

you can see on the cap on the left there is the little tab to locate the bearing. should this be mounted at the same end as the other bearing's tab or should the tabs not be on the same side?
did that make any sense?


my other problem is that there is no backlights on my heater controls. should each button have a back light or not?
so far i only have the yellow light for the button that is pressed. it makes it very hard to choose where the blowers are going in the dark.
is this a common problem and whats the best way to sort it?

 

[Murff93GTiR]

You should have numbers stamped on the side of the caps numbering what bore they are for i.e 1,2,3,4 there should be a number on the rod and the cap make sure they are both on the same side,failing that.the locating tabs should be on the same side

 

[mikeyp]

i don't think i explained myself very well. one of the downsides to being stupid...

the bearings can only go into the block, rod or caps one way as dictated by the little locating tabs. however the caps can be turned 180* around and i'm not sure which way round they are meant to go.

should both tabs be on one side of the bearing or should the cap have it's tab on the opposite side?

the picture above shows the tab on the cap but not on the conrod. the tab on the conrod is at the top of the picture, should the cap be installed with it's tab also on the top (as shown in photo) or bottom?

 

[mikeyp]

ok done some searching around the interweb and found that both notches should be on the same side.

 

[pulsarboby]

thats what murf said lol

make sure the oil jets (on rods) face towards back of engine as ive seen a few put in completely the wrong way round

 

[mikeyp]

there are oil jets on the rods? lol i'd best take a closer look at that.

i read what murf said as the bearings fit the race only one way and this can be found from the number or the locating tab. rereading it i see he did say which way round the caps go.
sorry i can't help being thick :lol:

test fitted my head gasket earlier and all seems well there, do i need to put any liquid gasket on it?

 

[mikeyp]

oh and not forgetting my heater controls, are they meant to have a back light?

 

[Murff93GTiR]

No don't put any liquid gasket on the head gasket make sure the head and block are completely dry and clean before fitting it down as it self seals

As too the backlights I can't remember

 

[Gtirchris]

Hey buddy, there are a couple of little bulbs that illuminate the heater controls, I did mine not too long ago, got them from an auto electrical place for peanuts as Nissan wanted about £6 per bulb!!.

 

[mikeyp]

ah is it just a case of the bulbs going then chris?

 

[stevepudney]

Baklights on heater/fan controls = yes they would have had working backlights from new but them not working is a common problem (shes a twenty year old car). As Chris states the problem can be corrected with new bulbs behind the buttons but I think most owners just live without. Easy solution would be to keep your eye out for someone breaking a car with working button lights or ask Bob.

 

[Gtirchris]

Yes mate, it's just a case of replacing the bulbs, simple enough to do, just take off the surround trim and remove the 3 centre gauges and radio iirc and you should be able to access the heater control panel, you will see the bulbs as the just twist into the unit itself, hope this helps buddy.;-)

 

[mikeyp]

cheers guys.

it's not top of my list of things to sort out but it is on the list. untill i relearn the button locations i'll have to make sure it's set where i want when i get in the car at night.
i may well sort it out one evening over the winter when i've got nothing better to be doing.