I'm putting together my stupidly expensive 540 BBC (Merlin tall deck, Diamond blower pistons, Eagle rods, Scat crank) and discover my rod side clearance is 0.028 to 0.029. Way more than the recommended clearance in the range of 0.018 to 0.020. The bearing clearances are fine, 0.0025 all rods. So, how much will excess side clearance screw things up? Too much oil spewing out between the rods, lowered oil pressure, blah blah but is it worth getting another crank? Also, the deck height was set at 10.185, and now at assembly the pistons are still 0.017 in the hole! I'm guessing that the stroke is not actually 4.25 or the rods are short. Lesson learned: CHECK EVERYTHING AND ASSUME NOTHING! AFTERMARKET PARTS ARE OFTEN WRONG!
DetroitJim