what is the standard size of the rod bearings? i need to know so when i mike the crank ill know if i got to get bigger bearings

 

.0591"- .0590" (green bearing) is standard, but you also have to to calculate them as the difference between the big end of the rods and the crank pin. The crush and fit you get in the rod is important to know.
Other thing to do is if you have old bearings, measure them or look for the remnants of the color code on the edge, put them in the rod, tourqe to spec and mearsure the inside of the bearings. Difference here and crank pin will be your clearance.

 

plus you may need to compensate for the wear or if you get you crank turned, if you go to the auto parts store they sell a kit that can actually measure the exact size of the bearings you will need, its almost like a wax like material that you stick between the rod to the crank, i dont remember what its called but i know they carry it, and it also comes with directions.

 

The product is called Plastigage. It is OK in a pinch but it is better to measure everything if possible. In testing green Plastigage, which is the one you would need, I have found results vary even when done multiple times on the same bearing.
Plastigauge (notice the spelling difference) is made in the UK and is about four times the cost. In my tests, it is more accurate and consistent.
But get a machine shop to measure everything and be sure the shop does not have a V8 only mentality. Tell them you need to know down to the 10,000th of the inch. Tolerances on Honda's are more critical than those for a Chevy 350.

 

+1... plastigauge... thats what it was called, good job

 

thanks for the info

 

1st of all why are you checking the rod bearings? is your motor knocking or are you just doing a freshening up on it? if you're gonna be keeping your car around for a while and you want to know that the bottom end is right, then go to a good parts source and get a good quality crank kit, and take the rods to a good machine shop and have them resized! then you wont have to mess with all the matching colors for bearing size BS . you'll have like .010 bearings straight across. it's always good to check the clearances with plastigauge though. but if it's a good quality kit, it should fit perfect. if knocking is the reason for what you're doing, then there's
no other choice but a crank kit! i've seen so many guys in here try to put in new rod bearings when their rods are knocking and sometimes they're quiet for a few days but then they start knocking again, and all that work was for nothing! go with the kit!!!

 

Don't turn your crank unless you absolutely have to. Going .010 over just so you don't have to worry about fitting bearings is to be avoided.

Based on what I have seen and heard from others, turning the Honda cranks is not a good idea.The surface nitriding or hardening of the surface on the crank journals appears to be the issue. I have heard several cases of failures on Hondas with cut cranks. The journals can be re nitrided but why screw with all that time and cost if the crank was fine to start just to be sure your bearings fit?

If your crank journals are fine, then there is definitely no reason to cut it and go oversized. Don't do anything more than a micro polish and tell your machinist to use a used polishing band and do no more than is needed. I have found that this only removes about 1/10,000 from the journal, maybe 2/10,000, which may or may not require you to go to the next thicker bearing, depending on where you were to start.

The advice about resizing your rods is good, however, if they need it.

Here is the recipe for figuring out your needs. If you have measuring tools, you do it yourself. If not, the machinist.

1. Measure the rod journals to within 10,000th of an inch.
2. Determine what size rod bearings you have now by looking for the color mark or better, measuring them with a ball-end mic or snap gage.
3. Put them in the rods and use an inside mic or dial bore gage to measure the big ends of the rods between the bearing surfaces, after tourqing to spec.
4. Subtract the measurment of the rod journal from that number.
5. Subtract the amount of bearing clearance you need based on repair manual specs.
6. Divide that number by two.

This gives you a bearing thickness and most people use the Lasky chart I have pasted it below. If it turns out your clearances call for green size bearings, you can buy standard aftermarket bearings like ACL, as green is standard. I have measured the ACL standards and they are within the green oem spec.

BC = bearing clearance
IDBT = inside diameter of bearing tunnel (housing bore)
ODC = outside diameter of crank journal
BT = bearing thickness

Main Bearing thickness by color
Blue 2.013-2.010 mm 0.0793”- 0.0791”
Black 2.010-2.007 mm 0.0791”- 0.0790”
Brown 2.007-2.004 mm 0.0790”- 0.0789”
Green 2.004-2.001 mm 0.0789”- 0.0788”
Yellow 2.001-1.998 mm 0.0788”- 0.0787”
Pink 1.998-1.995 mm 0.0787”- 0.0785”
Red 1.995-1.992 mm 0.0785”- 0.0783”

Rod bearing thickness by color
Blue 1.510-1.507 mm 0.0594”- 0.0593”
Black 1.507-1.504 mm 0.0593”- 0.0592”
Brown 1.504-1.501 mm 0.0592”- 0.0591”
Green 1.501-1.498 mm 0.0591”- 0.0590”
Yellow 1.498-1.495 mm 0.0590”- 0.0589”
Pink 1.495-1.492 mm 0.0589”- 0.0587”
Red 1.492-1.489 mm 0.0587”- 0.0586”

 

well the car was NOT knocking the rings went bad, so i guess you could say im freshing them up, i looked on the bearings and all i could see was 1-2200 STD so i bought the standerd size bearings. does that sound like the right choice?

 

unless the crank is wore down bad, you'll be just fine with aftermarket std bearings!