Can they be re-used?

[benefitx]

well after assembling my whole engine with new bearings , i start it up and its knocking again...

took out the whole engine and tore down the bottom end, one of the rod cap nuts was loose. Could this of been the cause of the knocking?

all of my bearings looked fine, i only idled the engine for 2 minutes , drove it around the block and parked it. can the bearings be re-used? they all look fine.

[BoostinGST]

theres no point whatsoever on trying to reuse them... bearings are cheap. change them out anyway.

[Chrischeezer]

ahh whats the clearance?

[benefitx]

i dont know i didnt check , i just torqued everything back down double checking everything...

[Roc]

well you might have to much clearance or not enough.. but besides that.. check it next time just to make sure..

[benefitx]

i plastigage'd before i put in the bearings the first time around ... it was .002 straight across....i dont see why i must do it again??? bottom end is pretty much new...

and was that really the cause of the knocking...a loose rod cap?

[Big Bronze Rim]

Of course a loose rod cap will cause a knock - it was LOOSE! I would replace the bearings, and yes I would plastigauge again and make sure you use a torque wrench and tighten ALL of the rod bolts. You have to be super meticulous and thorough when building an engine or things like that will happen. Just get new shells, PG it and bolt it back together and you should be ok.

[LongGrain]

might also want to check your small ends.

[Slow Poke]

Just replace the one with the lose rod cap to be safe. I see no need to replace them all.