Thruster Bearings

["Bruce Hevner" <scramblr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Usually, you only see Thrust Bearing wear with Std. trans. engines.

Only when used with manually adjusted clutch linkage. We see 3 times the
thrust wear on V-8s because of bad torque converters.

>You're rod bearings are taking a hit too, since they're being forced into
areas and angles not >seen before....

Only in extreme cases. MOST engines have a good bit of clearance between the
side of the piston pin boss and the rod. This allows the rod to move
rearward and still maintain alignment with the crank journal. Pull one of
the rod caps and check the bearing. If the wear looks pretty even it should
be OK. BUT,,, don't forget that the thrust BEARING is only part of the wear.
The rest is in the thrust flange of the crankshaft.  REBUILD TIME!!!
But hey,, that's just ME!

Bruce Hevner