[67TIGER]

I have been installing the bearings in the rods and torqueing the caps preparing to measure oil clearance.
Sealed Power/FM Bearings and Eagle I-Beam Rods. '67 400 Block.

The bearings seem to be misaligned even after being torqued. I have cleaned everything very well and have even tried moving the bearings to different rods to see if things changed, no real difference. 2nd picture shows it better.

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, is there any particular preparation that I may have overlooked? I don't think this would be a problem on the inside of the rods (where they face each other) but I'm concerned about rubbing the fillet on the outside of the rods.

Any idea's or suggestions?

[steve25]

That’s not good !
Is it the difference in the locating tabs in the bearings, or the tab notches cut in the rods?

[grandam1979]

Do you have 2 upper or 2 lower bearing together?

[67TIGER]

Steve, I'm going to have to look the tangs a little closer. I didn't notice anything odd. Bearings seem to go into place correctly.

Grandam, I don't know. I didn't think there was a difference in uppers and lowers for rod bearings.
Maybe I'm wrong on this?

[Gary H]

I recently had a Sealed Power rod bearing that measured .004 thicker from one side to the other. That's not mistype, .004 from one side of the narrow part of the bearing to the other. Doesn't do much for your confidence in the manufacturing process.

[steve25]

There is no upper or lowers unless one has a hole for the location pin for use in a Aluminum rod.

[Skip Fix]

I just found the same recently on a Clevite Mahle HXN. The tangs are straight when you put each half in separate so mine must be at the edge.

Steve my Clevites are stamped Upper and Lower.

[67TIGER]

Gary, I guess I should measure the bearing thickness at different spots and see what results I come up with.

Does this look like a bearing (manufacturing or QC) problem?
Maybe I should try another set of bearings?
Would Clevite or King be a better choice if I buy another set?

[steve25]

Yes skip but not his FM brand ones.

[NeighborsComplaint]

I think you're mixing up top and bottom halves.

[67TIGER]

I'm going to check into this mixed up bearing shell thing tomorrow.
I really thought the rod bearing were all the same for this type of rod.

There were two trays in the box with 8 bearings each. Nothing I saw indicated an upper/lower position.
If this is the problem, then it's all my fault.

I'm really appreciative of all the help on this forum.
I wouldn't learn anything if not for you guys here.
Thanks!

[Jay S]

Pretty common to see that on bearings these days. Tabs are positioned wrong, i mix and match them to better alignment, if it is to bad I order another bearing. I doubt it is anything with the rods. Even seen on King bearings, and I think a lot more of Kings than FM’s. You can usually tell if it is a issue with the bearing insert when you move the insert to another rod the problem follows the bearing.

[KEN CROCIE]

My set of clevite cb758hn s are marked upper and lower. One side is chamfered and the other is flat

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by steve25

There is no upper or lowers unless one has a hole for the location pin for use in a Aluminum rod.

Some HP and Race bearings will have upper and lower rod bearing shells. This design is for the aftermarket crankshafts that have large fillet radius. They will add extra chamfer to one side of the bearing shell only so the side of the bearing doesn't ride into the chamfer. They will be marked upper and lower. Just can't tell if this is the OP's issue from the pics provided.

[67TIGER]

Sorry about taking so long to get back here, a couple of power outages last week and it's starting to get cold here!

I took a couple of the rods apart and switched 1 bearing half between each one. Seemed to look a little better but not perfect. I noticed most of these bearings have a small chip/notch in the corner where the edges meet (you can see it in the above pictures) so I won't be using them.
Maybe the way I installed them caused this but I closely examined the bearing shells and could not see anything that would indicate upper or lower.

I did take the older .020 over bearing (also F/M brand) out of my older rods and installed them in my Eagle rods, fit was perfect! Maybe there is a problem with the new bearings?

I have ordered a new set of F/M Sealed Power bearings, should be here later in the week.
Anything I should be looking for or watching out for before installing these new bearings? I will post the results of these new bearings when they arrive.
Thanks for all suggestions!