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Rods or mains, in the car or out are fitted in the same way. You will note I said fitted not replaced.

Not sure what you mean by in what order? Do you mean check the mains then the rods or?

While checking both the rods or mains can be done under the car I personally would not recommend doing the mains with the engine in car but it can be done.



In the car I start with No 1 rod. I use aluminum foil instead of plastagauge. I fold a 1X1 spare to the thickness of .001-.0015. I check fit using the foil, if the crank is hard or snug to turn I call it good remove the foil, oil the cap, button it up and go on to the next one.

If it needs adjustment, after pulling the cap I check the thickness of the shim pack for each side. Often you do not end up with both packs having same number of layers on both sides. I take a layer off the thick side to start with then test fit. After that I go back and forth till I get the fit wanted. After final fitting of each rod, remove the foil and oil and replace cap, torque the nuts to 30-35FTP rotate the engine with the crank to check for binding for each rod as it is done.

I use the aluminum foil because experience has shown me that Plastagauge does not spread like it would in a shell bearing and get false readings using it.

While I have not done a test, I think using foil or Plastagauge requires the just about as much work, pulling the cap removing a shim and rechecking.

The rod shims as well as mains are laminated, each layer is approx .002 thick +/- some. If you are doing in car, just be prepared to be getting under the car and out from under the car multiple times for each rod.

If there are no shims, the refitting can be done but takes some experience to keep the caps flat and is not recommended for average person, would be better if new rods or main bearings are fitted if the babbitt is worn to much.