Crank rod bearings

I am rebuilding my sy91 engine and looking for a standard size bearings for cranck and rods
I need help with recommendations and maybe part numbers

Regards
 

DaveP's Ghost

Well-known member
You're going to end up with King for the rod bearings, at least. Kings are a Chinee bearing, but readily available, and tolerances are good enough for stock-ish engines. The rod bearings are specific to the 4.3, they are different diameter and width from SBC 5.7 bearings. Std 4.3 rod bearings in anything other than King are tough to find, at least they were 10 years ago. I doubt availability has improved.

Main bearings ARE the same dimensions as 5.7L 86-up 4.3L. The mains may be easier to find in domestic brands like Clevite or SealedPower (now Mahle). I know Clevites are very popular, but I've never liked them in my engines. They are "soft" and wear quickly. In SyTy which are subject to being rattled pretty hard by detonation, I've never used Clevite. Too soft, but that is nothing but one guy's experience.

I've had to use Kings in the last several engines I've built. I don't have a lot of feedback, but in this case, that's probably good.
 
Im running Kings in my new build. I like them more than the clevites I had. The factory is in Kiryat, Israel not china . The china bearings that everyone runs are ACL ... used to be made in Australia until 2010.
 

DaveP's Ghost

Well-known member
The [King] factory is in Kiryat, Israel not china . The china bearings that everyone runs are ACL ... used to be made in Australia until 2010.
Thank you for this. I stand corrected.
I just looked at a box of Kings I have in my stash and it doesn't mention country of origin anywhere on the box, label, or bearings themselves. I thought this was a requirement for importation into the U.S.? Guess not.

Happy new year.
 

5YCLON3

New member
Subscribing in case of any new posts. I am currently in the process of pulling my engine to rebuild due to rod knock.
 

WyoSyclone

Active member
Kings are good. One has to be careful when ordering Clevites... they use suffixes that indicate the hardness and usage recommendation for the bearings. In our engines you only want to use a Clevite if it has a "P" suffix. They are getting hard to find. I found a set a while back, Part #CB1358P... they are also available in undersize versions.... .001" to .010". If there is no number after the letter designation, it is a standard size bearing. Last set I bought I paid $138. Hope this helps.
EDIT: These are in reference to the CL77 Clevites.
 
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