Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications 3.0L Duratec Noticed grooved rod bearings during my 3.0 Project

I was in the process of swapping in new set of rod bearings into my 2003 Escape engine when I noticed that 2 of the rods have grooves in the bearings. Upon further examination, looks like the crank journals for those two rods have slight scoring, something detectable with a finger nail.

Any suggestions? I was going to try an polish the journals and install the new bearings. If the crank needs to be cut, I may just scrap the project at this point and stick with modifying the stock engine. Crank Cut + Main Bearings + new TTY bolts + oversized rod bearings = too much money at this point.


Thanks,
Michael

Want to spend lots of money?

I thought not. Just slap in the new bearings and run with it.

Well, depending.
That happens all the time on stock engines and bearings, usually because a piece of carbon or some foreign particle works its way into the oil. The softer metal of the bearing (used to be babbot) would give way and make room for the particle to protect the crank, but scoring occurred often and would in many cases affect nothing on the longevity of the engine.
Ford has gone to the harder aluminum bearing, yet still soft when compared to the crank, so that the bearings last longer before wearing out. The do allow a foreign particle to do more damage to the crank however.

Honestly if it isn't deep then the pressurized oil film will keep the crank suspended off the bearing anyway and you will be fine. Now if it is a serious gash or a burr, that would need some work. Very carefull work to remove the burr with a fine file and then some fine polishing can be done in the vehicle. Check to see if there is any upraised portion in the scoring. If material was just worn away, like a ditch then you'll be fine versus built up like a berm which may harm the new bearing.
Again, if it is a small yet smooth score in the journal then I'd just make sure you size the bearing to the crank journal with the correct clearances and call it a day.

Thanks for the suggestions. The scoring on the crank are not very deep at all, just small scratches (1 on each of the 2 journals) that can be felt with a fingernail. I was going to get some emory cloth and use that with some WD-40 to polish out the grooves. Being the 1st time I have changed bearings, I just wanted to make sure I didn't waste money building up the engine to have it fail because of this. Just needed some reassurance is all

Regards,
Michael

Be carefull using emery cloth. If you don't polish that back to a VERY high shine you may be hurting your bearings in the long run. Like I said, if they aren't raised up scratches, i.e. higher than the rest of the journal metal around them, then just leave it alone and put in the new bearings. They won't get any worse unless more contaminants get in there.

I wonder if this has anything to do with that extra casting sand in the block that Terry H. found out about from Ford on some model year 3L blocks? I can't imagine having multiple scratches without any sign of the contaminants unless there was leftover silica. Well, you've probably flushed out all the particles through oil changes by now so I'd guess you are in the clear. Just be sure to use good filters.

****Edit***

Ok, I realize this is a 3L project! If I were you I'd look for any other evidence of scoring up in the cam bearings too. Personally, I'd add a set of main bearings to the list.

Contact Procyon. He was saying that some of these TTY bolts can be reused several times. Too be honest though, if you only saw those two little marks and there is nothing else then I'd run it. If you see ANY other signs then take your time and save up the extra cash for the new components.

Yeah, no other signs of wear, cam bearings look fine. The 1st engine that I received from the same place, a 2001 Escaple 3.0 had a wiped out cam bearing. They replaced it with the current engine. There aren't any raised raised sections on the journals so I will just make sure they are clean before reassembly.

After running a search on the VIN, the vehicle comes up as a Theft Recovery... Wonder if that has anything to do with it