rk2k2
CEG'er
Pricing and availability on the plates? 5000 miles doesn't really bring me the peace of mind I'd like but I'll give it serious consideration.
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- Thread starter rk2k2
- Start date
Pricing and availability on the plates? 5000 miles doesn't really bring me the peace of mind I'd like but I'll give it serious consideration.
BAD SVT
Addicted CEG'er
look in the classifieds or contact bugz. am not sure tho wot the prices r. clevitte bearings are only 20bucks. i beat myself whenever i think about not using clevittes. i did buy em to install, but somehow i forgot to put em in during the swap. hope it doesnt bite me down the road.
BAD SVT
Addicted CEG'er
oh, one more thing. its human nature to want good comments from others. problem is, it generally doesnt happen a lot. if there's anything i've learnt here on ceg, its that. a famous person once said, "if your expectations of people arent high, you never get dissapointed when they dont come thru." just a thought...
rk2k2
CEG'er
Wow, I just recently saw that posted outside one of the cubicles at work.
As for the comments, I suspect once I begin posting some pics ...
BAD SVT
Addicted CEG'er
see
? so i guess its common knowlege afterall. actually, i think it i saw it in a fortune cookie :laugh:Reebs
meester super sleuth
The plates are only about $20.00. If you want to spend the big bucks and do it right, all the power to you know. The plates are also a right way to do it as others have said, but they aren't as optimal as the headwork you plan on paying for. I used them on my boosted 3L and I used aviation form a gasket because it is thick and I was afraid that the fuel contact from the injectors spray with the rtv would slowly eat the rtv and cause a vacuum/boost leak. I never had a leak even with all the boost pressure (up to 14 psi). And a vacuum leak is the only thing that "can go wrong" so to say with these plates so it really isn't a risk that you need "peace of mind" about. Worst case senerio, you need to pop off the intake manifolds and fix a gasket... 1 hour and it's done. This isn't really a matter of reliablity or peace of mind, it is more just a matter of cost.
Blackcoog
Hard-core CEG'er
FYI I've used the plates on quite a few builds. I always JB weld them to the heads and it works perfectly. I used RTV on a few and I didn't like how it turned out. JB weld works great as long as you make sure it's perfectly filled in all the way around so it seals.
TourDeForce
Hard-core CEG'er
Clevites are what I hear about all the time... I was wondering if there was some quantifiable benefit over using another brand of bearing for the rod bearings. Are the Clevites that much better?
Reebs
meester super sleuth
Only company that makes the tri metal rod bearings for a duratech motor that I know of. They are the best the very inexpensive. They have been tried and proven. Not sure why you would want to try anything else?!? :shrug: New fresh OEM rod bearings would be my second choice.
Yup, for the price the clevites cant be beat. For a while there was some fear that Clevite was going to discontinue the bearings and I believe someone else sourced some from a different manf. But clevites are readily available and cheap!
TourDeForce
Hard-core CEG'er
Welp. I've got a set of Federal Mogul 'Sealed Power' bearings ready for my install. They're bi-metal aluminum alloy on steel, so they should be fine.
<< Research begins >>
<< Research begins >>
Reebs
meester super sleuth
didn't Federal Mogul have some part in designing or making clevite rod bearings? I am sure those are decent bearings, but why not go clevite for the cheap price of them and proved quality?
rk2k2
CEG'er
As for me, I wondered whether Clevite is actually the best bearing to get. The only place I've heard of them being used is in Nascar and other race cars. Such cars are typically rebuilt after each race so I wonder if there is any high mileage data available on them?
Regardless, the machine shop I'm using recommends the Clevite's for mains and conrods. Can't remeber why he didn't recommend for the cam.
Regardless, the machine shop I'm using recommends the Clevite's for mains and conrods. Can't remeber why he didn't recommend for the cam.
Reebs
meester super sleuth
NASCAR uses the best. If they can handle that, I trust them for my high mileage setups. Alot of us guys have run them for many many HARD miles and that should say enough in itself.
TourDeForce
Hard-core CEG'er
NASCAR uses the best. If they can handle that, I trust them for my high mileage setups. Alot of us guys have run them for many many HARD miles and that should say enough in itself.
I did some research and the tri-metal bearings are best in high load situations like race motors and heavy equipment. The bi-metal are recommended for all other applications.
Even so I'm gonna get the Clevite bearings. I don't like what I've been reading about FM's business practices.
The deliberate assumption of massive asbestos & other liabilities that were followed by aggressive attempts to have the Federal Government assume those liabilities. When those attempts failed, FM filed Chapter 11 to postpone remediation and tried to force the Feds to assume the cleanup. Even now emerging from the Chapter 11, they are fighting.
The whole time, the acquisition deals required FM to (and they did) set aside 2.1 billion dollars to fund the cleanup efforts. They just wanted to pocket that money after the fact & have us taxpayers foot the bill.
Screw Federal Mogul.
Blackcoog
Hard-core CEG'er
For the cam? The Duratecs don't have bearings for the cams.
Rara
Hard-core CEG'er
The Clevite rod bearings are Tri-metallic, while the OEM bearings are bi-metallic. The OEM bearings will provide a long life with minimal wear, but are not at all forgiving of any foreign material or low oil pressure because they are much harder than the Clevites. The Clevites being softer will wear sooner than the OEM bearings, but are far more forgiving when something small goes wrong, or under high loading common in a modified engine. As far as the differences in wear, new OEM bearings are designed for 200k miles or more, while the clevites, i would imagine would be more like 100-150k miles or more. Those numbers would be minimums of course.
It sounds like your machinist is a decent enough guy; so far everything you've said about him sounds good. The welding up of the ports on the heads really is the best way to go assuming you can clean them up and get the flow good (make sure you fill in the bridge between the ports so the flow paths stay split all the way through), it's just way too expensive for most folks on here, and the bugzuki plates offer 80% of the benefit of the welding at a fraction of the cost. That's why so many here like them (we're all cheap, lol.)
rk2k2
CEG'er
Went to the machine shop this morning and the lower end was really clean in his opinion. It was his opinion, to save me the money, just to leave the lower end alone. He did say if I WANTED the Clevites on the conrods he'd do it but since the engine only has 10K on it he would leave it alone. I'm thinking leave it alone as long as I can refrain from driving it as hard as I had in the past. And at 52 I shouldn't be driving like I used to but ... sure was fun cranking up and down the canyon on those tight twisties.
And with all I've been hearing from people that have had tranny problems and the such at 60K and beyond (some before that) I'm thinking it's time I settle down.
And with all I've been hearing from people that have had tranny problems and the such at 60K and beyond (some before that) I'm thinking it's time I settle down.
Rara
Hard-core CEG'er
Nah, w/ the quaife and a decent rebuild on the trans while its apart, it should be pretty darn solid for anyhting short of competitive road racing.
The rod bearings are really easy to change out, and still not even that difficult to change after the engine is installed int he car (drop Y-pipe, drop pan and windage tray and bam, they are right there)
The rod bearings are really easy to change out, and still not even that difficult to change after the engine is installed int he car (drop Y-pipe, drop pan and windage tray and bam, they are right there)
rk2k2
CEG'er
I was contemplating having the transmission done even though it only has 44500 on it and it wasn't giving me any problems when the engine died. But come to think of it, I was hearing some sort of chattering sound that seemd like it was coming from the front driver side wheel area, but where a sound is actually coming from can be decieving. So I was just going to have it all carefully looked at before reassembly. Hopefully it was the differential making the sound and the Quaife that just arrived 20 minutes ago will resolve it ... wishfull thinking