As a person who pulled wrenches for 25 years and have rebuild engines up to 2,000HP diesels, install bearing shells dry. For the poster that says he never has installed bearings "proud", did you file a couple of thousandths off the ends? Bearings are designed with "crush" built in. The ends of the shells are slightly thinner and as you tighten the bearing cap bolts, the shells are pressed tight into the bores to hold the shells in place. The thin part is so the bearing does not get tight at the sides as it sqishes a tiny bit. The bore surface should have a slightly rough surface "stone honed" for the back of the bearing shell to bite into, and they should be installed dry. The sharp edge of the bearing bore on the tang side should be slightly dressed with a worn hone stone or fine emery on a file. This is so that sharp corner does not peel a sliver off the bearing back as you put then in place. This is tricky while doing a 250,000 mile bearing rollin on a heavy duty engine. The bearings and bores should be dry at assembly for maximum retention at first. Due to the hammering stresses while running, a little oil can work between the bearing shells and the bore. This is generally black and stinks like oil that has been in a fire. Indicates the heat present in normal operating conditions in the bearings when that oil is "cooked".
