Just received rod bearings and...

[SHOtimer]

My Dad said that rod bearings he had seen before were always a lot more smoother and had a chrome like finish. I have the correct ones CB-1435p, that have a light gray smooth yet rough surface this is ok? Thanx,
Doug

 

[Off Road SHO]

I don't know about the smooth yet rough surface you're talking about, but the grey color is from the soft lead compound that the coat the bronze with. I think they do it to keep the bronze from tarnishing...I think.

Tom

 

[sdpatt]

The gray is more than just oxidation protection, but yes, those are the correct bearings. Just make sure you line the tabs up correctly and properly torque the nuts in stages.

 

[shojuan]

Looks just like my sets that just came in Doug! thumb And I got rods and mains for my SHO AND truck. Yeah, I've found similar differences in finishing with wheel bearings. Last year when doing wheel bearings for my truck the BCA/Federal Mogul bearings had a mirror like finish and the Timken bearings had a rougher dull finish. But most people will tell you that Timken doesn't make a crap bearing, so go figure? shrug Anyways, don't worry about it, just make sure to put the new bearings in the same way the old ones comes out.

 

[SHOtimer]

Thanx. The pan will be coming of Friday morning at 9am. Wish me luck and I will post what my bearings reveal.
Doug

 

[SHOZ123]

Soak the manifold studs with PB Blaster 3 or 4 times the day before. Be sure to pre-**** the bearings on the crankshaft side only. And get an extra tube of the black RTV.

 

[SHOtimer]

Should I clean and make sure their is no oil or such on the non-crank side of the bearing and rod?
Doug

 

[billh]

We used to prep rod bearings for our race engines by polishing them with ultra fine Scotchbrite and cleaning them with Lacquer thinner. (Ultra fine Scotchbrite is gray in color, acquired from an automotive paint store) This removes the coating that is applied from the factory. We started doing this after discovering a rod bearing with a surface flaw. I have since done this on all of the engines I rebuild for street use. We found that the surface coating on the CL-77's was particularly rough, and since there is no time for break-in for a Super Stock drag race engine the bearings have to be smooth and clean. Federal Mogul used to make an "AP" series bearing that was smoother and could stand more load than the CL-77's. I don't think they are available any more. Good Luck
Bill

 

[shojuan]

Gee, now I don't know whether to just put mine in as is or to polish them up like Bill does. What to do, what to do?

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

I remember as a kid watching my father polish bearings as you describe for his Yamaha motocross bike

 

[SHOtimer]

I appreciate the suggestion but plenty of people have had good fortune just installing them fresh out of the box. I would be afraid that I would probably screw them up trying to polish them, so I'm gonna go ahead and see how it goes.
Doug

 

[billh]

SHOtimer:
I appreciate the suggestion but plenty of people have had good fortune just installing them fresh out of the box. I would be afraid that I would probably screw them up trying to polish them, so I'm gonna go ahead and see how it goes.
Doug

When I had the bearings replaced in my car, they simply took them out of the box and installed them in the engine. There are a number of things that people who build race engines do that the average mechanic wouldn't consider. Keep everything as clean as possible, you won't have any problems.
Good Luck
Bill

 

[SHOtimer]

Thanx, I am gonna try to be as clean as humanly possible, take my time and do it right. Oh, and say my prayers the night before, the morning of, during the process, and after.
Doug

 

[jedhead]

You can compare your bearings at this site:

http://www.engineparts.com/motorhead/techstuff/bearingfailures.htm#

Bob

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

hmm, excellent site!

Thanks thumb

 

[SHOtimer]

If you follow that site into bearing installation tips you can go down a couple paragraphs and in big bold letters it says "not to polish or grid away at new bearings with any type of abrasive" this is stated in big bold letters. That is kind of contradicting what has been advisted earlier in this post. Who to believe?
Doug

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

If you re-read that post it was application specific to race-ready motors where there was no option of a break in period.

also keep in mind that those motors are torn down and rebuilt every so many runs down the track wink

 

[SHOtimer]

So, the intelligent thing to do with our SHOs would be take them out of the box and put them in the motor. Drive it nice for the first 500-1000 miles then have fun.
Doug

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

something like that.

But I dont feel that they even need THAT much of a break in.

Some people say just let it idle (or keep at reduced RPMs) for a few hours.