[Shotimes] rod bearings

[Leigh Smith]

I think of oil flow as going into a bucket full of holes. It leaks out 
everywhere. At factory clearances all the leaks are about the same. When 
one wears / opens up, that one becomes a problem. The mains are before 
the rods, so if that one wears, it does double damage by starving the 
rods. The SHOs seem to wear out rod bearings first. Why? Who knows? 
Highly stressed :-), starved at RPM, or starved on start-up?, take your 
pick. (It does have a looong oil pump pickup tube) .FWIW on a small 
block chevy, rod to rod side clearance had more to do with low speed oil 
pressure than rod bearing clearance.
Lee


Ron Porter wrote:

>I see it as the other way around. Rod bearings, by design, take more
>punishment and are more susceptible to failure. Mains have a rather easy
>life (relatively speaking). I see the loss of oil pressure due to wear on
>rod bearings.
>
>Ron Porter 
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
>On Behalf Of MICHAEL SHELBY
>Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 12:31 PM
>To: shotimes@autox.team.net
>Subject: [Shotimes] rod bearings
>
>
>There has been a lot of discussion about replacing the
>rod bearings lately. I always assumed that low oil
>pressure was due to wear on the main bearings. Once the
>main bearings are worn, the rod bearings become starved
>for oil and fail. 
>
>If this is true, replacing just the rod bearings would
>be a temporary fix. Have people found that replacing
>just the rod bearings brings their oil pressure back up?
>
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