I'm in the process of assembling a 2.0 that I put on the shelf a couple years ago. Just got done setting the deck height. Installed the P & C's and torqued on the heads.

So I want to make sure that it turns over freely. So I turn it over by hand. Smooth as silk. That gives me a warm fuzzy. Then I hear the clunk. Scares the bejeezus out of me.

So I start to search the forum. Come to find out it does that before the flywheel is installed and the endplay is set. Makes me feel a little better.
But what causes the noise? I can see the crank move in or out before it clunks. But whats hitting/touching what to make that noise? Not a pleasant sound for something that might be turning at 5500 rpms.

Oh yeah. This is my first complete rebuild. Using Jake's type 4 rebuild video.
Kind of nice. Teacher, teacher can you show me that again? Rewind. Watch it again, and again, and again.

At this point in the video he doesn't tell you to completely turn it by hand. But I'm kind of anal. Had to check.

One day left on my mini vacation. Heading out to the shop to set the flywheel endplay first. If that goes well. I'll install the lifters, oil return tubes, push rods and adjust the valves.
If I need different shims. I found a local shop here in Portland that's had what I've needed.

BTDT. Just finished my t4 video rebuild. That clunk only happens when turned one way. I forget if it is CCW or clockwise. I think the crank is thrown fore and aft by the dizzy gear when not shimmed. Yea it did freak me out when I stumbled upon this. Congrats Did you also balance yours?

The flywheel balanced ? NO.

I'm rebuilding this after it had an engine case failure at 25k. New case, reusing the P&C's and freshened up the heads. Had the case checked by RIMCO.
The PO forgot the oiler washer under the distributor. So it blew a big hole in the case.
Everything was balanced on the original rebuild 25k miles ago.

Maybe I did too. What's an oiler washer?

.....Noises, anybody's guess??

Its the washer thats right under the distributor. It has 4 channels pressed into. Jake calls it out in the video.

76-914 had it nailed on the head. As soon as I put on flywheel the noise went away. Smooth as silk.

Ended up with about .0033 in freeplay. No changes to the shims. Took me a while to get the dial indicator and magnetic base arranged and measuring. But now I'm cruising right along.

Need to order a couple more parts for the thermostat. On this engine it had been deleted for some reason.

All in all a good day. Looks like it will be about 9 days before I can get back to it.

without the flywheel in place and the thrust washers (properly measured) in place, the crank moves quite a bit.
The rods move on the crank and on the wrist pin.
The crank goes in one direction during part of the rotation due to the rod ratio pusing it there, then is goes the other way...again being pushed there.
Could just be the crank clunking against the bearing at the end.

Put the flywheel and thrust washers in place next, check the thrust depth with a dial indicator and see if it still clunks.
If it clunks, start taking it apart to find out why...

Rich

Thanks Rich. That's what I thought. You can kind of see it when you drop the crank in the case.

I've experienced this same thing, it's not the rods, but interference between the distributor drive gear and the distributor iirc. The angle-cut gears will want to push the crank toward the fan end which will make it bind. I always push the fan in as I turn it before the flywheel is installed for fear of the dreaded 'clunk'. After end play is set right there are no worries.