2. Turn the engine upside down.
3. Loosen the mounting bolts and remove the main bearing caps and/or their axle assembly.
4. If you haven't already done so, remove the old main bearing shells from their beds in the block and caps. Wipe the beds with a clean, lint-free cloth - they should be spotlessly clean.
Checking the working clearances of the main bearings
Note: Try not to touch the surfaces of new bearings with bare hands to avoid unwanted contact of bearings with traces of oil and chemically aggressive substances that are always present on fingers.
1. Wipe the backs of the new main bearing shells and insert the ones equipped with an oil groove (if such is provided) halves into their beds in the block. Place the remaining halves of the liners into the corresponding bearing caps. Make sure that the tongues of the liners enter the corresponding mounting grooves in the beds of the block and caps. The oil holes in the block must also be correctly aligned with the holes in the liners.
Warning! Do not attempt to hammer the unfit insert into your bed under any circumstances. Do not lubricate the bearings at this stage!
2. Thrust inserts (washers) equipped with flanges must be installed in the bed (counting from the timing belt) main bearing (see accompanying illustration). 3. Wipe the bearing surfaces in the block and the crankshaft main journals with a clean, lint-free cloth.
4. Check the patency of the shaft oil holes, clean them if necessary. Any foreign particles contained in the oil flows will eventually inevitably end up in the bearings.
5. Carefully place the thoroughly cleaned crankshaft into the main bearings of the block.
6. Before finally installing the shaft, it is necessary to check the working clearances in its main bearings.
7. Cut calibrated plastic wire from the Plastigage measuring kit into pieces slightly shorter than the width of the bearings and place one piece of wire along each of the main journals of the shaft, parallel to their axis (see accompanying illustration).
8. Wipe the surfaces of the liners in the caps and install the latter and/or their bridge assembly in their regular place. Try not to move the pieces of calibrated wire laid along the shaft journals. Lightly lubricate the threads of the fastening bolts with oil and screw them in, securing the caps.
9a. Tighten the cover and/or cover bridge bolts to the specified torque in three stages in the order shown in the accompanying illustration (Civic).
9b. Tighten the cover and/or cover bridge mounting bolts to the specified torque in three stages in the order shown in the accompanying illustration (Integra).
Caution! Do not allow the shaft to turn while tightening the fasteners!
10. Remove the bolts and carefully remove the main caps and/or their axle assembly. Stack the removed caps in the order they are located on the engine. Try not to damage the flattened calibrated wire and do not turn the shaft. If any of the caps cannot be removed, gently tap them with a soft-faced hammer to release them.
11. Using the width of the flattened threads, measured using the scale on the Plastigage kit packaging, determine the size of the bearing working clearances (see accompanying illustration). Compare the measurement results with the requirements Specifications.
12. If the gap size is outside the permissible limits, it is possible that the wrong size liners were installed (see Checking the condition and selecting the liners of the main and connecting rod bearings of the crankshaft). Before looking for new inserts, make sure that no dirt or oil has gotten under the inserted ones. If the calibrated wire is flattened more at one end than at the other, this indicates the presence of a taper in the neck (see Checking the condition of the crankshaft).
13. Carefully remove the calibrated wire from the necks, scraping off all traces of it with some not very strong tool (for example, the edge of an old credit card). In extreme cases, you can use your own fingernail, the main thing is that there are no scratches or burrs left on the surface of the necks/liners.
Final installation of the crankshaft
Note: If the engine is equipped with a main bearing cap bridge (B18C1, B18C5, D16Y5, D16Y7 or D16Y8), first install the connecting rod and piston group in place (see Installation of connecting rod and piston assemblies and checking the size of working clearances in the connecting rod bearings of the crankshaft). Then bring all pistons to TDC positions so that they do not interfere with the installation of the camshaft.
1. Carefully remove the crankshaft from the engine.
2. Wipe the bearing surfaces in the block and evenly lubricate them with a thin layer of molybdenum-containing assembly engine grease. Do not forget to lubricate the thrust surfaces of the fourth bearing as well.
Caution! Try not to let grease get on the backs of the liners!
3. Make sure the crankshaft journals are absolutely clean, then lubricate (with the same grease) the surfaces of the journals that contact the seals and carefully place the shaft into the block.
4. Wipe and lubricate the surfaces of the liners in the lids.
5. Install the main bearing caps and/or axle assembly onto the engine.
6. Screw in the mounting bolts.
7. In the required order, tighten the bearing cap bolts to the required torque.
8. Turn the crankshaft several times by hand, checking for freedom of rotation.
9. Finally, use a blade type feeler gauge or DTI gauge to determine the amount of shaft end play (see Removal the crankshaft). If the thrust surfaces of the shaft are not worn or damaged, and the bearings are replaced with new ones, the axial clearance should not exceed the permissible limits.
10. Install the new crankshaft rear oil seal (see Replacing the rear crankshaft oil seal).