thanks for the replies, guys. i was told to tighten up the rods by another builder this time around. They were around 2.5 though before. I suppose I'll loosen them up next time. I had been using plastigage before to measure the clearance, but I used a bore gage this time. I set a micrometer on the rod journal diameter and zeroed the bore gage on it. Then read the clearance directly from the bore gage. I noticed that the bore gage could scratch the bearing (spring too tight) and could conceivably give a clearance greater than actual. Is this what you guys use, or should i check with plasigage and stop fooling around with the bore gage?

I was really shocked to see how quickly the bearings went out (literally 10 minutes idling). I pulled out #2 rod bearing and it looks in decent shape, except for some wear around the top of the bearing.

I am starting to think the mopar is rejecting the bowtie parts!

tony