Rod bearing damage???

I pulled my motor that has been having issues with no oil pressure at startup for seconds. The main reason i pulled the motor was to fix some oil leaks. I had the pan off and figured id check the bearings just to see.... what do you guys think? I can feel the lines with my fingernail but cannot catch them.

another bearing

and what is up with the crank radius here?

last bearing pic

Yuck!!!! I don’t like what I see.

It sure looks like the final finish on that crank was a little off.

This ^^^^^^^^^

Looks like you had dirt in the oil, Maybe missed cleaning an oil passage or something during the build. or no filter, or ineffective filter on the crankcase.

I would NOT reuse those bearings

I’ve seen damage on bearings just like that from shops that don’t have the proper tools to run through the bores after a bore and hone. I think my shop calls it a broach. It cleans all of the grit that gets stuck in the microscopic groves of the cly wall after a stone hone. I really clean my cly bores with ATF and a clean paper towel till it comes back with no color except red. It looks like grit got in your oil somehow.

What crank are you running, and do you have the correct bearings for it? I tore down a small block stroker that someone else built not too long ago. Scat crank had filet journals, but whoever built it put regular width bearings in with no chamfer. Result was one spun rod bearing and some others looking like your pic. It is time to go through your motor for sure.

Do all the rods look like this ?
Do the mains look like this ?
How do the piston skirts look ?
How about can bearings and cam journals ?

In other words, what good and what’s bad in the engine.

If this wear is confined to the rods and mains the gallery’s were likely contaminated. Could have been media from block tumbling, honing oil that had metal in it that was not cleaned, etc.

We need more info.

The bearings look to be the narrow bearings, wide bearings would crowd the journal radius.

dirt/debris

To help determine the dabris take the filter apart and use a magnet in the pleats to see just how much/what you get

Agree with others, contamination, probably all at start up

Lack of oil pressure on startups isn’t helping the issue. I would want that resolved before it goes back together. Check to make sure all pipe plugs are installed, heck pickup to bottom of pan clearance, install a magnet in a safe place, check your crank thrust clearance with your at it, what kind of oil filter?

Check your connecting rod side clearance as well. Looks like some hot spots on the side of the crank throw.

maybe an anti drainback filter like the Wix 51515R will help speed oil psi on startup.

Are the threads in that rod ok , looks funny to me .

I pulling the crank and taking it to the shop. Talked to the machinist and he says he will polish it out. So Ill be replacing bearings for rods and mains.

While it’s apart scrub, scrub, and scrub EVERYTHING again.