How does this happen to a rod bearing?

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ValiantOne

ValiantOne

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I had to pull my crank to replace a rear main and found this rod bearing. The journal was in amazingly good shape. I just replaced this bearing and let the others eat. What in the heck would cause the weird wear like this?

Almost like it got water or something in there and froze and "popped" little pieces of bearing material out.

Weird.

PS. now that I look at the pic online it doesn't quite look right. The bearing is kind of pitted.
 

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Galling.

Looks like the bearing to crank clearance was too tight. Looks like it got hot from lack of oil and that's when galling occurs. I'm sure more will follow with input.
 
If the rest of the bearings were good.... what is the history on the motor?
 
67Dart273 said:
Here's a good read

kingbearings.com/files/Engine_Bearing_Failures_and_How_to_Avoid_Them.pdf


mahle-aftermarket.com/media/local-m...b-2-1114-engine-bearing-failures-brochure.pdf

Dammit I cannot get the last one to post as a link

Go here

http://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/na...re/engine-bearings/#enginebearingsfailurebroc

and download the bearings failure brochure
Click to expand...

Hey that is some great info. The low oil pressure or contaminated oil seems like the most likely candidates under the pic that looked like this one.

I was getting a flickering oil light when the engine was hot. The car has 135k on the odo. I know it was maintained well by the original owner as I have the service records going back to the beginning. But all the bearings were starting to show some copper so I know there was some pretty good wear on her.
 
135K ??????
That girl is due for a rebuild. Oil light flickering.
I bet that crank needs turned, among other things.
 
Just normal wear and tear on an old engine thats not EFI. The copper is showing, thats just wear. The pits start when the bearing get thin, then little pits start. As the crank turns they get bigger and bigger, like a small pot hole getting bigger every time a car goes over it. If it was due to heat, the journal would show signs of heat as well as the bearing. I see no signs of heat here.
 
How would it being non EFI have a bearing on the wear? Inquiring minds...
 
Yup - just worn out. Sometimes antifreeze or condensation contamination can get pits like that too, if the engine sat for a while before being run or fixed. If the bearing looks like that - you should mic the crank journal too.
 
MRL Performance said:
Just normal wear and tear on an old engine thats not EFI. The copper is showing, thats just wear. The pits start when the bearing get thin, then little pits start. As the crank turns they get bigger and bigger, like a small pot hole getting bigger every time a car goes over it. If it was due to heat, the journal would show signs of heat as well as the bearing. I see no signs of heat here.
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With Humble Respects Sir,

Agreed, I would lend My vote (non-efi) to the wear context, & further bet the
pictured 'shell' was in the upper position in the rod ...

With Apologies, just an observation.
 
It is a 273, not /6. I mic'd the journal at .001 to .002 under stock. It wasn't worn evenly either hence the variance.

The engine is temporary while I build my 5.9, so I just stuck a bearing in it. The idea was just to reseal it and putt around until the 5.9 is ready. I also decided to do an oil pump, water pump and freeze plugs. Good thing too as the freeze plugs were just about rotted through.

I sure won't be taking any long drives far from home!
 
EFI engines run way cleaner than Carb engines, so the oil gets contaminated faster with carb than efi. This bearing wear is very typical and normal for high mileage , older carb type engines that sit for long periods of time.
 
ValiantOne said:
It is a 273, not /6. I mic'd the journal at .001 to .002 under stock. It wasn't worn evenly either hence the variance.

The engine is temporary while I build my 5.9, so I just stuck a bearing in it. The idea was just to reseal it and putt around until the 5.9 is ready. I also decided to do an oil pump, water pump and freeze plugs. Good thing too as the freeze plugs were just about rotted through.

I sure won't be taking any long drives far from home!
Click to expand...

With the forged crank in that 273, the bearing will wear out long before the crank journal will. Did you measure your oil clearance with the new bearing? It should be ok.
 
toolmanmike said:
With the forged crank in that 273, the bearing will wear out long before the crank journal will. Did you measure your oil clearance with the new bearing? It should be ok.
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I did not measure oil clearance. I just figured with a new stock bearing the oil clearance would be better than it was before. Again, just a temporary situation. I have already gone WAY further than I wanted to with this reseal. In fact the motor is mostly buttoned up at this point. I hope it runs and doesn't leak!!!!
 
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