[Shotimes] I hope my bearings are right!

[Steve Tatro]

I have heard of one spun main bearing.  Contrary to Paul there are many, many stories on SHOforum.com about spun rod bearings.

Even with 130k miles you should be okay, if you've been careful to do two things over the years: (1) change the oil regularly and (2) don't lug the engine!

Lots of people more knowledgeable than me have decided that lugging the engine (when there's very low oil pressure) is what wears down the bearings.

This may explain why bearings seem to fail prematurely a lot more often on MTX cars than the ATXers do.  It's tough to lug an engine with an ATX ;^)

If the car's been well cared for and well driven, you should be okay for awhile longer.  There's a well known member of the SHOforum who finally replaced his around 270k miles (IIRC) and found wear, but nothing out of the ordinary.  He's convinced that with proper driving and maintenance the bearings should be good for about 200k miles.

BUT, for about $60 in parts, if you have any worries about the history of how the car was driven or maintained, replacement bearings are some cheap insurance.

Also, a spun bearing does not mean the end of the engine.  There have been many cases where the owner was simply able to replace the bearings and go on his/her way.  As long as there isn't major damage to the crank bearing journal it shouldn't be a serious issue.

Good luck,

Steve Tatro
Red/Black '93 with 178k miles (original rod bearings - planning to replace this fall)
Monroe, Ohio

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul L Fisher <sho@paul-fisher.com>
Sent: Aug 4, 2004 7:25 AM
To: Bobbonnit1@aol.com, SHOTIMES@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: [Shotimes] I hope my bearings are right!

I have heard of zero spun main bearings. I have heard of 3 or 4 spun rod
bearings. The cars are getting old, people love running them to the 7K
redline.


Paul L Fisher

'99 Ford Taurus SHO Toreador Red Clearcoat Metallic 68K - Kirk'ed 2/29/04
 
 - Amsoil Two-Stage Air Filter - TS-124
 - Amsoil Series 2000 0W-30
 - Amsoil Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid
 
SHO Club member http://www.shoclub.com/
Check out my web site http://www.paul-fisher.com/
Amsoil dealer http://www.paul-fisher.com/oil.htm

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Bobbonnit1@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 1:16 AM
To: SHOTIMES@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shotimes] I hope my bearings are right!

I hear alot of SHO's having a  problem with spun main bearings.  What's up 
with this?  Anybody ever  had this fatal mishap?  Is it a factory defect?   
Wassup?    
 
 
Robert K.   89'  130k  white   all oem
_______________________________________________
Shotimes mailing list
Shotimes@autox.team.net
http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes
_______________________________________________
Shotimes mailing list
Shotimes@autox.team.net
http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo/shotimes