Connecting rod bottom bearing. What to look for? 84 Marathon

[szettel]

I had the oil pump go on my 84 marathon, realized too late. Piston/rings and cylinder scored bad, rings basically ground into the piston.. Not pretty. Bought a top end rebuild kit. I put the kit on and it's mostly back together.

My question is about the connecting rod bearing... Should I be able to see the bearing itself on either side of the connecting rod, and should it move side to side on the bearing? Something tells me there should be a spacer or washer between the counter weights on the shaft and the connecting rod to keep it in the center. Could these washers have broken off when it was starved for oil?

Does this mean I need a crankshaft and bearings now too?

Thanks.

[cart around]

Read page H-13 of the manual, and decide what excessive play is.

If it was me, I would be worried about up and down play, and go with side to side play. I'm pretty sure mine had a lot of side to side play. Still running strong.