Ok just dropped my k1 crank in indy block and as soon as I put no 3 main cap on it went tight any one have any experience on this looks like I need to take material off thrust sides off bearing these are clevite
MS876P low deck mains thanks in advance.

Did you "set" the crank properly after installation?

Before you do any grinding or material removal on the thrust bearing try loosening the center main bolts enough so their not tight, maybe 10 to 20 Ft Lbs. torque on one bolt and use a block of wood and a 3 lbs. sledge hammer or a big rubber or brass hammer and smack the snout of the crank several times backwards hard enough to the rear of the block to make it move a little bit and then on the back of the crank slap it again forward to help seat and center the center main cap to see if you can get .004 and up end play
Let us know if that makes it usable

Do you have stock bolts or aftermarket studs?

If you have aftermarket studs you may want to drill out the #3 cap to 17/32. This will allow a little more wiggle room to adjust the thrust as mentioned above..

I had the same problem with my Indy Low deck and a Molnar crank. I couldn't get any end play no matter what I did to set the main cap. When I measured the width of the thrust surfaces on the bearing shells, they weren't perfectly parallel. I ended up taking the thrust surfaces down using a granite plate with 400, 600, 800, then 1200 grit. Been together 2 seasons now.

ok all done with 10 thou end play thanks

What did you do to get 10 thousandths back?

I'd rather have ten than four.

Also, just for future reference, take the material off the front side, not the thrust side. Probably obvious, just thought I'd mention it.

must admit I did take a bit off thrust side just worried I would run out of copper surface. This is very time consuming, using flat plate and wet & dry with wd40 thanks for help

I just ran into the same situation with a stock 400 block going to a stroker with King main bearings. Crank was binding with thrust bearing torqued down. But when i removed the bearing, i saw a few shiny spots, so i just polished them down with a bearing scraper.

Instantly freed the crank up and got me .005”. I dont know, sometimes certain high spots must develop when the cap is torqued down to spec i guess. But all it took was slight polishing in a few tiny areas. Btw, the block was align bored and honed with the new billit steel caps.

I think that some shops that install the after market main caps don't get the cap surfaces exactly square to the block surfaces

Yoi are absolutely correct about that. I see it all the time. They just knock the caps on and start line honing. This is a problem with Ford's as well. I took half of a Thrust bearing and cut it in two that I use to set the cap straight before line honing. I put each half of either an upper or lower bearing Over The Parting lines so that it holds the cap straight to torque it down, then you can just pull them off to start honing.

When they aren't lined up, and you line the thrust up, you've cocked the line hone whatever it took to flatten out the thrust.

I’ve had that happen to me on a 340. The cap had little bump on one side and the new kid did not see that and the cap was cut crooked. I had to to straighten it out with a flat stone and 1500 grit.