Bearing do i need to take 2 steps back?, Silverline vs. others Options

[jmargush]

I am in the middle of a 2056 build and have started to assemble the short block.

The bearings I bought are Silverline, in the past two days or so I have been checking some things and have seen several posts about Silverline bearings being inferior.

The case isn't closed yet.

So should I pull the the gears back off the crank and source some other main and cam bearing from another manufacture?

Jeff

[CMONNETT]

I would use other bearings. Check the samba for NOS Mahle or KB. They're out there you just have to find them, and they cost quite a bit more. But its worth it in the long run.

[stugray]

Order a new set from Jake. If he sells them, they are the right ones.

Stu

[jmargush]

I ordered these new from European Motorworks back in December.

I have been reading that there are some silverlines that are steel backed not sure if mine are right now, I'll have to check.

What brand is Jake selling? Are they steel backed? does this matter?

[jmargush]

mine are steel backed

[Katmanken]

It's important that the crank and rod bearings be made right to prevent binding and to maintain the correct clearance for oil pressure.

It seems that bearings contain babbet which contains lead, so the manufacturers of decent European bearings were pretty much hounded out of business by the new "Green Police" regulations. What we have now are bearings of poorer quality as the manufacturing shifted out of Europe to other places. Feedback from several people suggest that the Silverlight and in some cases even the Mahle and KB quality is not consistant and you need to measure them carefully. Silverlight seems to be the worst of the three.

First is a visual check for missing or damaged babbet in the bearings. If it's not smooth and uniform, you need new bearings.

Then I'd check and see that the full bearings fit snug in the case halves without rocking (front to rear of the case). Then you need to see if they are ovaled by pulling the bearing out of the case, rotating it 90 degrees and placing it back in. If it feels different, it's ovaled and trash. You will have to pull the pin in the case to "oval check" the pinned bearings and don't forget to re-insert it. Try spinning the full bearings on the crank to check for binding in any position.

Check that the the split shell bearings fit the case correctly and that the ends of the bearings are not above or below the case, and that there is no gap between the bearing shell and the case saddle. The first one identifies the "wrong shell length" issue and the second one will show you if the bearing shell is /or is not curved correctly.

Then I'd use plastigage to check crank / bearing clearance.

So yeah, you should take things apart and put them back together several times just to be sure.

Did I forget anything? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)