ALIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

General Considerations
Alignment methods will vary depending on the coupling method
selected. On Caterpillar Diesel Engines either a flexible-type or
rigid-type coupling is acceptable, depending on the specific
installation characteristics and the results of the Torsional
Analysis.

CAUTION: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THEPACKAGE ALIGNMENT

BE CARRIED OUT AND COMPLETED WITHIN THE
PERMISSIBLE TOLERANCES OF THE DRIVEN EQUIPMENT
MANUFACTURER.

Alignment Instructions — Single-Bearing Driven Equipment

A. Flexible-Type Couplings — Flywheel

Housing-Mounted Driven Equipment

1-Droop
Mount a dial indicator on the engine flywheel housing. Mark the
engine flywheel housing. Mark the flywheel at points A, B, C, and
D in 90°increments as shown in Figure 7. The indicator tip must
contact the pilot diameter of the flywheel assembly.

With the dial indicator in position (A), set the reading to zero.
Place a pry bar under the flywheel assembly at position (C) and,
by prying against a floor mounted support, raise the flywheel
until it is stopped by the main bearings. (Caution: Do not pry
against the flywheel housing.) Record the reading of the dial
indicator. This is the amount of droop in the crankshaft, which
results from engine bearing clearances and natural droop as a
result of the overhung weight of the flywheel. The flywheel
should be raised several times to get a “feel” for the bearing
clearance to prevent excessive lift which means reverse bending
of the crankshaft.

2-Flywheel Concentricity
Remove the pry bar and check to ensure that the dial indicator
has returned to zero. If not, reset. Rotate the crankshaft, in the
normal direction only, and record the Total Indicator Reading
(TIR) when the flywheel positions (A), (B), (C), and (D) are at the
top. (Refer to Page 58 for proper tolerances).

3-Crankshaft End Play

Ensure the crankshaft-flywheel assembly is completely to the
rear- most position of the engine assembly. Reset the dial
indicator to zero.

Relocate the pry bar and move crankshaft-flywheel assembly

forward in the engine assembly. The dial indicator reading in
this position is the crankshaft end play.

4-Flywheel Face Run Out

Set the tip of the indicator on the face of the flywheel Figure 8.
Position the crankshaft to the front of its end play and zero the
indicator. Shift the crankshaft to the rear of its end play, and
record the TIR. With the crankshaft to the rear of its end play,
zero the indicator.
Rotate the crankshaft and record the TIR when the flywheel
positions (A), (B), (C), and (D) are at the top. Be sure to remove
the crankshaft end play before recording these readings.
Remove the flywheel housing access cover and place a pry bar
between the rear face of the flywheel housing and the front face
of the flywheel assembly. Move the crankshaft flywheel assembly
to the rear of the engine to remove all end play.
5-Flywheel Housing Concentricity
Mount the dial indicator on the flywheel assembly with the tip
located on the pilot bore of the flywheel housing and set the
reading to zero.

Rotate the crankshaft in the direction of normal engine rotation

and record the indicator readings at positions (A),(B), (C), and
(D).

Subtract the droop dimension (Step 1) from the reading

indicated at position (C) and subtract one-half the droop
dimension from the reading indicated at positions (B)and (D) on
the flywheel housing to determine the true concentricity.

6-Engine Mounting Face Depth

With the crankshaft-flywheel assembly moved to the frontmost
position, place a straight edge across the mounting face of the
flywheel housing, from position (A) to (C). With a scale measure
the distance from the rear face of the flywheel housing to
the coupling mounting face of the flywheel as shown in Figure 9.

Repeat the same measurement with the straight edge located on

positions (B) and (D).
Steps 1 through 6 establish the engine tolerances. The following
Steps, 7 and
,8determine the driven equipment tolerances or refer to
manufacturers specifications.

7-Support the driven equipment

input shaft until it is centered (all droop is removed).

8- Driven Equipment Mounting FaceDepth

With the driven equipment mounting and driving flange or face
centered, as described in Step 7, and the flexible coupling
attached to the input shaft, the face depth can be measured.
Place a straight edge across the surface of the front face of the
coupling which mates to the flywheel assembly. With a scale
measure the distance from the coupling mounting face to the
mounting face of the driven equipment housing as shown in
Figure 10.
This dimension must equal the engine mounting face depth Step
6 less one-half of the crankshaft end play as described in Step 4.
If not, it must be corrected by changing the adapting parts, or by
shimming if the required correction is small. Shimming is usually
the less desirable approach.

With the engine and driven equipment tolerances known,

proceed to mount the driven equipment to the engine.

9-Support the driven machine on a hoist and bring it into

position with the engine.

10-Align the driven equipment housing mounting flange with

the flywheel housing, using locating dowels if required. Install
connecting bolts with sufficient torque to compress the lock
washers, but not to final torque.

11-Install the bolts which secure the coupling to the flywheel

and torque as recommended.

12-Check crankshaft end play to ensure that the proper

relationship exists between the engine mounting face depth
Step 6 and the driven equip- ment mounting face depth Step 8.

Place a pry bar between the flywheel assembly and the flywheel
housing.
The crankshaft should move both for ward and backward within
the engine
and, in both positions, remain fixed when pressure on the pry
bar is relaxed. Any tendency of the crankshaft to move when pry
bar pressure is released indicates that the driven equipment and
coupling assembly are imposing a horizontal force on the
crankshaft, which will result in thrust bearing failure. If this
condition exists, readjust the thickness of shims used between
the driven equipment input shaft and the coupling as described
in Step 8.

13-Determine quantity and thickness of shims required

between the driven equipment mounting pads and the base
assembly; locate the shim packs and install driven equipment
mounting bolts to the base assembly.

NOTE: Always use metal shims. Tighten the bolts to one-half the
torque recommendation.

14-Loosen the bolts holding the driven equipment housing to

the flywheel housing until the lock washers move freely. Using a
feeler gauge, check the clearance between the two housings to
determine if the driven equipment is properly shimmed.
Measurement should be made in four 90°increments in the
vertical and horizontal planes. If the feeler gauge indicates any
area where the clearance varies by more than 0.005 in
(0.13mm),readjust the driven equipment housing position by
changing the shims.
There must be clearance at all points when making this check.

15-With the proper number of shims installed to align the

driven equipment housing parallel to the flywheel housing,
tighten the bolts securing the driven equipment housing to the
flywheel housing sufficiently to compress the lock washers.

16-Torque the bolts holding the driven equipment frame to the

base assembly to one-half the recommended value.

17-Repeat Step 14. If the feeler gauge measurements indicate

that misalign-
ment is still present, repeat operation described in Steps 14
through 17 until proper alignment is obtained.

18-Retorque all coupling and mounting bolts to the specified

torque value.

B. Flexible-Type Couplings — Remote-Mounted Driven

Equipment

1-Droop
Mount a dial indicator on the engine flywheel housing. Mark the
flywheel at points A, B, C, and D in 90°increments as shown in
Figure 36. The indicator tip must contact the pilot diameter of
the flywheel assembly.
With the dial indicator in position (A),set the reading to zero.
Place a pry bar under the flywheel assembly at position (C) and,
by prying against a floor mounted support, raise the flywheel
until it is stopped by the main bearings. (Caution: Do not pry
against the flywheel housing.) Record the reading of the dial
indicator. This is the amount of droop in the crankshaft which
results from engine bearing clearances and natural droop as a
result of the overhung weight of the flywheel.

The flywheel should be raised several times to get a “feel” for the
bearing clearance to prevent excessive lift which means reverse
bending of the crankshaft.

2-Flywheel Concentricity
Remove the pry bar and check to ensure that the dial indicator
has re- turned to zero; if it is not, reset. Rotate the crankshaft, in
the normal direction only, and record the TIR when the flywheel
positions (A), (B), (C),and (D) are at the top.

3-Crankshaft End Play

Ensure the crankshaft-flywheel assembly is completely to the
rearmost position of the engine assembly. Reset the dial
indicator to zero. Relocate the pry bar and move crankshaft-
flywheel assembly forward in the engine assembly. The dial
indicator reading in this position is the crankshaft end play.

4-Flywheel Face Run out

Set the tip of the indicator on the face of the flywheel Figure 36.
Position the crankshaft to the front of its end play and zero the
indicator. Shift the crankshaft to the rear of its end play and
record the TIR. With the crankshaft at the rear of its end play,
zero the indicator. Rotate the crankshaft and record the TIR
when the flywheel positions (A), (B), (C), and (D) are at the top.
Remove all end play before recording each reading. Remove the
flywheel housing access cover. Then place a pry bar between the
rear face of the flywheel housing and the front of the flywheel
assembly.

Move the crankshaft-flywheel assembly to the rear of the

engine, removing all end play.

5- Mounting
The engine and the driven equipment should be mounted so that
any necessary shimming is applied to the driven equipment. The
centerline of the engine crankshaft should be lower than the
centerline of the driven equipment by approximately 0.0065 in
(0.165mm) to allow for thermal expansion of the engine. The
value 0.0065 in(0.165mm)allowed for thermal expansion is for
the engine only. If it is anticipated that thermal expansion will
also affect the driven equipment centerline to mounting plane
distance, that value must be subtracted from the engine thermal
expansion value in order to establish the total engine centerline
to driven equipment centerline distance. When measuring this
value, the TIR will be 0.013in plus the droop as estab lished in
Step 1.

Shim packs under all equipment should be 0.200 in (5 mm)

minimum thickness to provide for later correc- tions which
might require the removal of shims.

6-Coupling
Attach the driven member of the coupling to the flywheel and
tighten all bolts to the specified torque value.

Gear-type couplings, double sets of plate-type rubber block

drives, and Cat viscous-damped couplings are the only ones that
can be installed prior to making the alignment check. Most
couplings are stiff enough to affect the bore alignment and give
a false reading.

7-Angular Alignment
Mount a dial indicator to read between the driven equipment
input flange and the flywheel face and measure angular
misalignment. Adjust position of driven equipment until TIR is
within 0.008 in.

8-Linear Relationship
Mount dial indicator to the driven equipment side of the flexible
coupling and indicate on the outside diameter of the flywheel
side of the coupling. Zero the indicator at 12 o’clock and rotate
the engine in its normal direction of rotation and check the total
indicator reading at every 90°. Subtract the full“droop” from the
bottom reading to give the corrected alignment reading.

The value of the top-to-bottom reading should be 0.008 in (0.20

mm) or less
under operating temperature conditions, with the engine
indicating low.

Adjust all shims under the feet of the driven equipment the same
amount
to obtain this limit.

The final value of the top-to-bottom alignment should include a

factor for
vertical thermal growth.

Subtract one-half the “droop” from the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock

reading. This
should be 0.008 in (0.20 mm) or less.

Shift the driven equipment on the mounts until this limit is

obtained.

Note: the sum of the side “raw” reading should equal the bottom
reading within
0.002 in (0.051 mm). Otherwise the mounting of the dial
indicator is too weak to support the indicator weight.
9-The combined difference or readings
at points B and D should not exceed a total of 0.008 in (0.20
mm). (SeeFigure 12).

10-Crankshaft End Play

The crankshaft end play must be rechecked to ensure that the
driven equipment is not positioned in a manner which imposes a
preload on the crankshaft thrust washers. (Refer to Step 4.) Place
a pry bar between the flywheel assembly and the flywheel
housing. The crankshaft should move both forward and
backward within the engine and, in both positions, remain fixed
when pressure on the pry bar is relaxed. Any tendency of the
crankshaft to move when pry bar pressure is released indicates
that the driven equipment assembly must be moved rearward on
the base assembly or, if
used, the number of shims between the input flange and the
flexible coupling must be reduced.

Tolerances and Torque Values

Permissible alignment tolerances and torque values for
Caterpillar standard mounting hardware are available from your
Caterpillar.

CAUTION: DURING OPERATION, SHOULD A CHANGE IN THE

VIBRATION
OR SOUND LEVEL OCCUR, ALIGNMENT SHOULD BE
RECONFIRMED. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR
SEMIMOBILE INSTALLATIONS AND ON ANY FIXED
INSTALLATIONS WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO INFREQUENT
RELOCATION. ALIGNMENT SHOULD ALSO BE CHECKED ON A
PERIODIC BASIS OR AT TIME OF MOVEMENT IF INSTAL-
LATION IS ON A SUBBASE OR SKID- TYPE BASE.