Franklin Torque and Bearing Specs?
Evan – Your inquiry was passed along to me – I’ll try to help. Clearances on the rods and mains on the 11 should be 0.0015″ to 0.002″ when new. Anything much over 0.003 could use some attention. The pulse oil system is not unilaterally compromised by a couple bearings over 0.003″, but the rods tend to suffer if the mains are loose and not delivering maximum oil. Since rod bearings tend to be the weak spot on these engines, it’s best to keep clearances within tolerance. Rod bolts should be torqued to 30 foot lbs max. More torque can distort the rod bore. Mains can handle significantly more torque – 50 ft lbs is o.k. Be sure to use cotter pins on all bearing nuts. I’m glad to hear of a Ser. 11 in Paso Robles. I hope you did not suffer from any earthquake damage. As you may know, a Franklin was famous for rescues made in difficult to access areas during the big San Francisco quake. Let me know if you need any more info, I’ll try to help.
