[SAJ]

Bearing crush is very important and checked by installing the bolt or bolts on only one side of the cap, whereupon the gap left on the opposite side between the cap faces can be measured with feeler gauges and compared with the crush specifications. Usually about 2 to 5 thou. Removing the crush will do exact,y what Terry says. And theni this case new soft plastigauge will give a false bearing clearance because it will crush without the shell being forced against the cap - the shell not being rounded by correct crush.
Old stifF plastigauge can give a different result here by partly forcing the shell into the cap before the plastic yields and flattens out.
SAJ in NZ