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Now what rod bearings?

S

SHOgoFast

Hard-core CEG'er
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With Clevite no longer making rod bearings for the 3L what do the wise men of CEG recommend? My searches around the internet have found that many of the popular bearing makers do not offer a performance oriented bearing for the 3L duratec.
 
I have not, I placed two orders online and they were both not filled. I will call around tomarrow. But, for the sake of future 3L builds lets keep this discussion going.
 
if they quit making them, some of these suppliers will have the last sets laying in there warehouses and such. maybe we should all go out and buy up a couple sets or something if this is the case, so for at least a while yet, people can get the bearings from fellow CEG'ers. i'm not sure on the price of them, but i'd be willing to pick some up around MN if they are really discontinued.
 
They really are discontinued but I was able to fine some at NAPA. Call a local store and have them search their warehouses. Should be a few sets still available. Either way, I am curious what the next best thing would be since these will run out.

I think I paid 6-7 per bearing.
 
My vote still goes for ACL bearings.

No they do not make std clevite rod bearings. Like I said in another post I had a friend of mine call the plant and he said that they do not make them nor do they plan to. If your lucky you might find a parts supplier that has a set still in stock.

I'm sorry but I forgot to get you a p/n today. Hopefully I'll remember tomorrow.

Click on products>bearings>aluglide

http://www.acl.com.au/
 
word from a friend who is a design engineer on the Duratec is that a year or two ago all Duratecs started getting tri-metal rod bearings instead of the old crappy ones. I'll try to get some verification on that and some part numbers.
 
Awesome Rara, that would be some good info as my 3L block is out of an 04 Taurus so it might be included. Only 4000 miles and $400.13...that was a good day.

So we have one vote for ACL and a few that are still finding Clevites. Anyone else have experience with other manufacturers?
 
LKQ out of Wisconsin. They have one still at that location with 15k...i think they want 450 for that one for some reason. Actually, if you search all of LKQs various facilities I believe they will ship whatever you find to the nearest location for pic up. There were PLENTY of 3L duratecs to be found, many with less than 20K and all for less than 500. Sadly, if you search for escape or tribute motors the price shoots up to like 1000.
 
Rara said:
word from a friend who is a design engineer on the Duratec is that a year or two ago all Duratecs started getting tri-metal rod bearings instead of the old crappy ones. I'll try to get some verification on that and some part numbers.
Click to expand...

Please do!

I had the same thing happen to me. NAPA took the money out of my checking account(i saw it cause i work at the bank), and then put it back in. They couldn't fill my order for the bearings.

So...what should i get? This is going to be a fairly large shot of nitrous on a 3L(125-150) with the new turbo kit replacing that whenever it comes out.
 
Rara said:
word from a friend who is a design engineer on the Duratec is that a year or two ago all Duratecs started getting tri-metal rod bearings instead of the old crappy ones. I'll try to get some verification on that and some part numbers.
Click to expand...
The past and current supplier of main/rod bearings for the Duratec is Federal-Mogul. A year or so ago, production switched to a lead-free aluminum alloy bearing. The backing is still steel. Most all OEs are having to remove the lead out of their vehicles to comply with environmental legislation around the world (mainly Europe, I think). The Clevite Trimetal bearings have lead, so I doubt that your source is correct.

Everything that I have heard is that the lead free aluminum alloys are not quite as good as the older stuff. But the older stuff is not an option for OE use. The best stuff right now are the sputter bearings. I know of a diesel engine on the market now that is only using them for upper rod bearings due to the heavy loading on those particular bearings. They are also much, much more expensive than "regular" bearings, so the key is to use them only where necessary. They have high sensitivity to dirt and clearance so there are many grades (thicknesses) depending on the rod ID and crank pin OD.
 
But for those of you looking for an Escape motor do your research on car-part.com. Call around the local shops that are listed even if they don't have a price. I did a search for my area(Michigan) and most were priced between $700.00 and $1500.00 but when I started calling and mentioning I was "looking around to find the best price on a 01+ Escape motor...", well needless to say I only drove 25 mins. and got a 01 Escape motor with low miles on it for $400.00 plus a $50.00 core charge. Also I found others right around the same price and mileage.
It seems some people are having trouble getting these motors for a good price in other states. If anyone needs help locating a motor, drop me a pm and I'll try to help you out as best as I can. PLEASE be serious when sending pm's. Also, check into shipping to your area from MI 48317.

SHOgoFast said:
LKQ out of Wisconsin. They have one still at that location with 15k...i think they want 450 for that one for some reason. Actually, if you search all of LKQs various facilities I believe they will ship whatever you find to the nearest location for pic up. There were PLENTY of 3L duratecs to be found, many with less than 20K and all for less than 500. Sadly, if you search for escape or tribute motors the price shoots up to like 1000.
Click to expand...
 
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Ok, since this post concerned me a little about clevite possibly having discontinued this bearing, I contacted my parts source on these. They could not confirm or deny that they're going out of production, but I can get my hands on a decent number of sets of these bearings right now. If you're interested, PM me for pricing on them and I'll place an order late tomorrow or Friday. They take me about 4 days to get in and then I will mail them out to you. Basically a group buy, but just for you guys reading this thread.

The same thing goes for main bearings which I know a lot of you don't change out so that might not affect you as much, but the offer is open on those as well.

Also, just so I'm not accused of trying to incite panic here, there is supposed to be a part number available from Sealed Power for these bearing sets as well. I didn't check availability on those, but they will be Sealed Power brand and not Clevite so we don't know the actual manufacturing difference in the bearings other than the reputation that Clevite has for being the best.

Thanks,
Rick
 
Buckshot77 said:
Also, just so I'm not accused of trying to incite panic here, there is supposed to be a part number available from Sealed Power for these bearing sets as well. I didn't check availability on those, but they will be Sealed Power brand and not Clevite so we don't know the actual manufacturing difference in the bearings other than the reputation that Clevite has for being the best.
Thanks,
Rick
Click to expand...
The Sealed Power bearings should be the same as used in Duratec OE production since Sealed Power is just an aftermarket division of Federal Mogul. They may or may not be lead free. Looks like the FM webpage has a online Sealed Power catalog with the bearing set part numbers.
 
Buckshot77 said:
The same thing goes for main bearings which I know a lot of you don't change out so that might not affect you as much, but the offer is open on those as well.
Click to expand...

I don't want to pee on your Post Toasties but the mains are still available in STD size.

BTW the block cleaned up fine. :)
 
Yup, I didn't check on the mains as to whether or not they were on the chopping block. I've used both clevites and federal moguls in the mains before. Glad the block worked out for you. I figured it would be all right.

Thanks,
Rick
 
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