[Roscoe]

Just because you aligned it with the pins does not mean it is aligned. You have to use a dial indicator to true the shaft. This could be your problem. By the way, do you have a pilot bearing installed?

From Lakewood:

Unfortunately checking the alignment is a major pain in the neck... literally if you're working with the engine in the car. The procedure for checking the alignment is to mount a dial-indicator on the flywheel so that the plunger contacts the lip of the bellhousing bore. With the bellhousing securely mounted to the block, rotate the crank 360 degrees and observe the gauge. The total travel of the needle, divided by two, is the amount of misalignment between the crank centerline and the bellhousing bore. Lakewood specifies no more than 0.005" misalignment. Any more than this and you should correct it using offset alignment dowels in the block or welding offset washers over the dowel holes in the bellhousing.


Roscoe