Thoughts on aluminum bearings

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clutchdust

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I'm kind of new to the idea of aluminum bearings and remain partial to the old style, steel/copper/lead design. I am just skeptical of an entirely aluminum bearing. Is that unfounded? Are aluminum bearings the wave of the future?
 
clutchdust said:
I'm kind of new to the idea of aluminum bearings and remain partial to the old style, steel/copper/lead design. I am just skeptical of an entirely aluminum bearing. Is that unfounded? Are aluminum bearings the wave of the future?
Click to expand...

TT???:clobbered:
 
I can testify that they don't work in the high RPM's of my racer. They don't have the capacity for the loads.

Probably would be fine for a sensibly driven street car, I don't know.

(having never driven sensibly)
 
GM uses aluminum bearings in about all their engines and have for years and all the GM crate engines I have seen have them as well.

For many years F/M has sold aluminum bearings and I have used some in some lower class circle track engines after 2 seasons of racing they looked like they came out of the box and the crank look like it was never run. Now Clevite and king bearing sells them.

I guess if you know what your doing they should work fine.
 
Interesting to hear. But that's why I was asking. Just seems like they might be easier to deform and wear if your oil film gets a little thin. But then again, that's not good on any bearing.

I've been a little leery of them for any kind of performance engine just because I don't know how durable they are. Probably wouldn't hesitate to put them in a "going down the road" motor.
 
My only comment is about a A516 Dodge trans....a 727 with a O/D tailshaft housing that is LONG and heavy as hell, bolted to the rear of the housing....

and in that housing rear is a strange aluminum hub that has a oil passage in it, and supports the firest/reverse? drum with that stout rear band on it....

and it's nothing but steel on aluminum, when tearing this unit down the steel drum was all gouged out on the bearing 'surface'....but the aluminum hub was not.....I wonder about that to this day....methinks this unit been worked on before and I bought a bunch of crap from local crooks....

given correct information, methinks it would have been lots cheaper by about 260 bux on the rebuild....

:(
 
clutchdust said:
Interesting to hear. But that's why I was asking. Just seems like they might be easier to deform and wear if your oil film gets a little thin. But then again, that's not good on any bearing.

I've been a little leery of them for any kind of performance engine just because I don't know how durable they are. Probably wouldn't hesitate to put them in a "going down the road" motor.
Click to expand...

Went to the PRI SHOW last weekend and King bearings had a seminar on their aluminum bearings and they seem like a pretty good bearing.

Its hard to beat the V-series bearings.
 
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