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Re: Engine Main Bearings?

To: "Hugh Barber" <tr6nut@sbcglobal.net>,
Subject: Re: Engine Main Bearings?
From: "Kai M. Radicke" <kai@radiohead.net>
Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 23:51:40 -0400
> http://www.team.net/html_arc/fot/200404/msg00305.html

There is a very interesting part of that message that suggest people try to
use MG Metro Turbo main bearings.

1) These Metro Turbo bearings are of very high quality.

2) Your crankshaft MUST have cross drilled mains!!!!  The bottom half of the
Metro Turbo bearings have no oil groove, it is a solid shell, So in order
for allow for proper lubrication of the bearing the cranks on all Metro
Turbos were cross drilled.  Likewise any motor that uses a similar style
non-grooved bearing.  Deleting the oil groove in the Metro Turbo bearing
gained the bearing something like 35% more load carrying capacity... hence
the reason it was spec'd for the Turbo motor and not the standard A Series
Metro engine of the 1980s.

3) I have no idea if Metro Turbo bearings would work in a TR.  I just happen
to know that information about the bearings because I have been fascinated
by that car for quite some time.

Clevite MGB tri-metal bearings will work for TR rod journals if you grind
your journal down to the size of the MGB journals obviously.  There is some
more detail about using the Clevite MGB rod bearings here:

http://www.triumphspitfire.com/substitute.html

Vandervells are still available from some very stingy sources, you'll just
pay through the nose for them.

Now, since I just have to say it, your bearing would last a lot longer if
you put a GT6 motor in your TR6!  Seriously.  I really believe that a lot of
the undue wear TR6 motors experience, especially in the rod bearings, is a
result of the engine geometry... not of poor bearing quality or the lack of
certain materials in replacement bearings.

Kai





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