Stock Rod Bearing Wear
08-21-2005, 03:47 AM
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Stock Rod Bearing Wear Ok. My car has 97k miles on it and when I replaced the rod bolts I decided to check everything out while I was in there. Every single rod bearing from #1 to #8 looks exactly like this. Other people have said it looks normal, but have any of you LS1 guys seen anything like this cause problems? I'm going to replace all of them with standard size bearings before any damage to the crank occours.
12-16-2007, 02:17 PM
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Bump...
While replacing my rod bolts with Katechs, I checked my bearings as well. They all look pretty similar to the ones above, although with noticeably smaller grey areas of wear (only 60k miles) and probably more fine scratches streaked across them.
Anyone think they are worth replacing? I know its a cheap thing to do, but I'm worried about being able to replicate the exact tolerances and bearing sizes that the factory assemblers use. I'm a complete newbie to domestic V8s though, and am used to people assembling import motors, screwing something up, and having them grenade far sooner than they would with a factory bottom end
I assume the mains would generally show much less wear, correct? I've got the motor in the car, can't get to those, and really don't feel like pulling the crank.
Actually... Are all factory bearing sizes the same? I know on imports, the sizes of each bearing used are often stamped on the block somewhere, but I can't find anything like that in my repair manuals. Would I just go purchase standard SBC large-journal bearings, slap them in, and call it a day?
Are any brands of bearings preferred over others?
Thanks for any help,
Grant
While replacing my rod bolts with Katechs, I checked my bearings as well. They all look pretty similar to the ones above, although with noticeably smaller grey areas of wear (only 60k miles) and probably more fine scratches streaked across them.
Anyone think they are worth replacing? I know its a cheap thing to do, but I'm worried about being able to replicate the exact tolerances and bearing sizes that the factory assemblers use. I'm a complete newbie to domestic V8s though, and am used to people assembling import motors, screwing something up, and having them grenade far sooner than they would with a factory bottom end
I assume the mains would generally show much less wear, correct? I've got the motor in the car, can't get to those, and really don't feel like pulling the crank.
Actually... Are all factory bearing sizes the same? I know on imports, the sizes of each bearing used are often stamped on the block somewhere, but I can't find anything like that in my repair manuals. Would I just go purchase standard SBC large-journal bearings, slap them in, and call it a day?
Are any brands of bearings preferred over others?
Thanks for any help,
Grant
12-16-2007, 03:29 PM
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Whoaa. you resurected my old thred! LOL!! I think they are worth replacing. I just got the stock size clevite bearings from autozone and they are still running great! I did use plastiguage to check the tolerances on all the bearings before locking them in there and the tolerances on all the bearings went from .007 down to .005 which is acceptable. I also noticed an increase in oil pressure from the bearing change! You should be fine replacing them. One thing to watch for is that all the bearings look the same when you take them out! If one looks different you might have a problem! PS my car now has 110,000 miles on it and is still putting 400hp to the ground!
12-16-2007, 03:39 PM
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wow that looks bad . i am doing the same but at 36k on her they look way better .i would be concerned with what look's like a high spot on the bearing.
throw some new one's in.
mike
throw some new one's in.
mike
12-16-2007, 06:09 PM
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Ah, glad to hear its still running well for you. I picked up some tri-metal Clevite CB-633Ps from NAPA, and I'm tossing them in. All the stock bearings do look more or less the same, so I'm going to plastigage one or two of the cylinders as soon as I can find some gauge thin enough.
The top half of the stock bearings looks very different though... They aren't not worn through to the darker metal like the bottom ones are, but instead have a much bigger wear pattern; it almost looks like a stain.
The top half of the stock bearings looks very different though... They aren't not worn through to the darker metal like the bottom ones are, but instead have a much bigger wear pattern; it almost looks like a stain.
