Rod bearing fun.

[yamapowered]

here is what happens when you use synthetic Amsoil in your SHO for 70k
only two oil changes in 70k, car has 130k total, Im sure any oil wont protect rod bearings when
the engine is abused like I abuse this yamaha, but Im impressed with the results.
the crank had absolute no wear with the bearings shown.
as much as some may slam what I use for lubrication, I still use this oil, never
to spend any more money for petrolium oil in any vehicle I use ever again.

I posted a few other interresting pics also.

http://www.voogru.com/images/shopics

FYI, this is voogru's older brother, Javier.

 

[Lorenr]

Rod bearings R & R

For 70,000 miles, those bearings don't look that great. If those bearings are paired as they seem to be in the picture, then the journal for the first pair has a problem or a bunch of dirt or debris was pulled through the oiling system.

I'm sure there is nothing wrong with your oil and the oil remaining in your oil pan looks pretty fresh, but if you drive a car really hard as you say you do, try changing the oil more often. Oil changes are cheap protection.

I agree those bearings look great for only two oil changes in 70 K miles, but what would they look like if you changed it every 7,000 miles?

 

[yamapowered]

the oil in the pan had 27k on it well used and abused, and the total miles on the car I forgot to add earlier was 130k
Javier

 

[Rockledge]

Those bearings are no poster child for Amsoil.

And changing the oil every 30K+ is a terrible practice, regardless of which oil you use.

 

[jelloslug]

The rod bearing I pulled from my 3.0 at 160k with very spotty oil change history looked WAY better than that. I would stick with good dyno oil changed every 3 to 5k miles based on those pics.

 

[SHOMurph]

Change your oil with Castrol and if your car has over 120k....change those rod bearings.

Better to spend a little now then need a new motor.

 

[Yamaha V6]

Actually, if I understand it correctly... 35k per oil change, they don't look that bad. Remember guys, I spun a bearing with Mobil 1 Synth on my own cars at 74k & at 105k on my 2 95's, both w/ synth changed at 3k miles.

When I blew the 95 ATX's engine at 120k at Road Atlanta (basically 45 minutes straight at WOT / 6k rpms), and the connecting rod shot through the pan, I'd been running Amsoil since the spin at 105k. The wrist pin was broken but clean w/o burn marks, as was the mangled connecting rod. The crank & bearings were clean as well - mechanical failure on the rod bolt was the diagnosis.

I've seen that kind of wear on some SHOs at normal mileage before (~100k). For 10X normal oil change intervals, that's not that bad.

 

[TRSCobra]

Heres what mine looked like with 146k and who knows what kind of oil. And my oil pan was DISGUSTING, so I doubt the car was well maintained.

 

[yamapowered]

it seems to me these engines eat rod bearing no matter what, I have used AMSOIL for 5 yrs now in everything I use that burns gas/diesel, I wont change my mind, ever. :corn:
I wanted to show you guys that this oil keeps the engine clean and keeps the percentage of failure dramatically down compared to fossil grade oil, and its cheaper than 3000 mile oil changes by a long shot hands down.
those shot rod bearings didnt spin or put on scratch on that crank, oh and check out the bottom of them piston crowns, CLEAN! Using AMSOIL saves you real MONEY

 

[SuperchargedSHOguy]

interesting...they really don't look too bad with over 30K per oil change...

 

[Yamaha V6]

Exactly Chris. Not that I'm advocating ABUSING your engine like this, but for the circumstances, not bad.

I believe I used Amsoil for awhile in my blower 91 SHO as well last year before selling it. I still changed the oil more regularly than recommended (2-3k on the blower car & 3-5k on the ATX from memory, or after each track day, whichever came first).

 

[60kmaintenance]

Mine looked like it has been using awful oil, and has 138k on it.... The bearings looked way better.

I think your bearings look poor to be honest.

 

[yamapowered]

well to add to the destruction of the bearings, I did have issues with the oil light coming on, many times for the past 50k the oil light would come on and flicker off and on for a couple days then go out for a month, then it would happen again, off and on.
I drove anyway cause with rpms the light would eventually go out, now that I look back on this I realize that the small pieces of the bearings could have lodged into the pressure relief in the oil pump and cause the pressure loss, I say that cause some small pieces of copper were stuck in the oil pickup, anyway now the engine is doing fine no more knocking and oil light issues.
and has fresh AMSOIL 10W30 flowing for the next 25k
check out the history channel program MODERN MARVELS all about lubrication. I saw it today and they had a few minutes on the AMSOIL company and its products, that was
really interesting to say the least
Javier

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

now that I look back on this I realize that the small pieces of the bearings could have lodged into the pressure relief in the oil pump and cause the pressure loss,

Actually, it was on because of those torn up bearings.

At idle the volume of oil flow is very low, so is the pressure. With huge clearances between the crank journals and the bearings, there is very little restriction for the flow of oil.

I picked up my SHO with 90k on it. At 105k, I swapped the bearings. It had been a track driven car, went thru 4 clutches before I got it, and had NOT been driven easy. From the records the car had always used crap "discount" oil. But they were regular changes, ranging from 3k-5k changes.

For referrence, here are mine at 105k:

I think your rod bearings look like garbage. The pan on the other hand, looks excellent.

No matter, based upon this thread, I see no reason to change to Amsoil.

 

[Silver95]

150K Miles, original bearings, previous owner never stated anything about them being replaced, and he bought the car brand new and kept up on maintenance.

 

[yamapowered]

going to the discount auto and buying 1 month engine insurance isnt as exciting as buying one year engine insurance, I cant make myself go backwards, especially when I own 3 cars and maintain 2 more in my family, it would be like owning a jiffy ****,
once a year is much easier for me to deal with oil changes,$35 oil and filter last one year, 25k, not $15 every month, 3k.
if it was any other ford engine, rod bearings wouldnt be an issue, 7000+ rpm yamaha will eat rod bearings,
now if you happen to be gramps and you never see the high side of 5000 rpms them rod bearings will last 350k not 130k or sooner
Javier

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

It sounds to me like you are just loking for a reason to be lazy and cheap Either that, or you just dont understand the basics of owning your own vehicle(s). Maintenance is a given, no matter what car you own, or what oil you dump into it. Fall behind on mainenance, and the car will eat you alive with repair bills.

It cost me a bit under $15 per oil change per vehicle, and 15 minutes of my time every 3k. But I dont drive more than 10k a year. So thats what, $45 or $60 a year, and 45 or 60 minutes of my time

Thats pretty damn cheap insurance to keep the innards of a motor healthy, and NOT looking like the bearings you posted pics of.

BTW, at the rate Im going right now, I wont hit 300 k for another 20 years

 

[DHMag]

my cost per oil change, $2.49 plus tax...filter only. oil changed every 3K miles, which is about every 4 months.

these engines dont eat rod bearings. if they did, they would be changed at sooner internals than 120K. i see no reason to boast about Amsoil when all youre doing is talking smack. btw, this is not a Ford engine.

 

[60kmaintenance]

Oh good heavens..... I am sure he understands what is going on. I can kind of see his point, but I prefer better protection, and road bearings that look half ok when removed. He obviously does not, which is ok, but it could cause problems.

 

[yamapowered]

It sounds to me like you are just loking for a reason to be lazy and cheap Either that, or you just dont understand the basics of owning your own vehicle(s). Maintenance is a given, no matter what car you own, or what oil you dump into it. Fall behind on mainenance, and the car will eat you alive with repair bills.

It cost me a bit under $15 per oil change per vehicle, and 15 minutes of my time every 3k. But I dont drive more than 10k a year. So thats what, $45 or $60 a year, and 45 or 60 minutes of my time

Thats pretty damn cheap insurance to keep the innards of a motor healthy, and NOT looking like the bearings you posted pics of.

Thats funny you say cheap and lazy, if you were standing in line behind me and watched me pay $50 for 2 gallons for Amsoil and one filter you would think to yourself that guy is nuts or stupid.
as far as Maintenance goes my rod bearings didnt die cause lack of maintenance, its a well known fact these engines wear rodbearings, this thread proves it.
I very well understand that using hydrocarbon oils, i/e anything@ discount cant and wont ever hold up to the abuse that superior synthetics can withstand. I used dino oil for 10 years with constant issues, I tried something better and haven went back.
I bought my 91 with 65k on the car and it was poorly maintained, it was all ragged out i/e rust water, burnt out mocha interior,ragged out rack&pinion, leaking and moaning power steering pump, vibrating cracked warped brakes
and who knows what for oil, so by looking at the pictures of my ragged out bearings you really cant say that my oil failed me, it could of been close to that for 70k and 2 years of what it took to drive that. :wave:
oh and it takes me at least 30 min to change my oil, I let it all drain out, then I have to run the used oil to the local dump, so its safe to say an hour of my time for the petrolium is a waste of time all together, for one good reason,
when you collect 150 200k your engine is worn out from all the cold starts, cold hydrocarbon oil wont flow till its warmed up wearing and burning your cylinder bores and piston rings, garbage canned worn cylinder bores wont pump air just pumps oil out the exhaust.
Javier :corn: