Have engine stand, thanks Mark!!

[Ranman65GTO]

For some reason, my new 389 is eating the thrust bearing. *I am going to have to pull it and I am hoping that someone might have a stand I could borrow (for a couple of weeks?). *Thanks.

[REED_RACING]

Randy thats not good. :'(I have a stand to use, call Mark it's in his shop. If you can't get a hold of him, call me 425-830-8041. ;D

[theJUDGE]

Randy,
sorry to hear of your challenges.
How have you determined that it is your Thrust Bearing? What is the motor doing?
I have heard that you can't ride the clutch during break-in, that can toast a thrust bearing, the added crank forward pressure & heat lessens the lube on the bearing.
Also what was your crankshaft endplay set at?
And in answer to your question, I have an SD engine transporting stand that belongs to Reed Racing, & I also have a roating stand that is on wheels (standard shop model). The one Reed is referring to is mostly a stationary storage or transport unit.
Let me know your thoughts.

[Ranman65GTO]

The one I need is the rotating shop model. Thanks Mark, I will contact you for a convenient time to pick it up.
I did my first oil change at about 450 miles and opened up the filter to see if there was any metal. The filter looked fine so I continued driving the car. Later, I was in my garage and decided to have a look at the residual oil in the oil filter canister and that is when I found minute particles of copper. I immediately pulled the existing filter that had about 300 more miles and found copper in that one too. The big question was "where was it coming from?". I made the decision to continue to drive the car (the weather last weekend was awesome, drove around with top down of course!) and keep and eye on the oil pressure. It remained stable and constant so I put a total of 1000 miles on the new motor, pulled the third filter and again found copper. Got a hold of a dial indicator and measured .018 inches of crank play (engine was at .007 at time of rebuild).
I believe at this time that the cause of the failure was my clutch being adjusted too tight. When I dropped the motor in, there was about 3/8 in. of play in the linkage. After dropping the car off the stands and driving it for a while, something changed and it tightened up.
I also believe it is important to check clutch free play with the engine running, as a rotating pressure plate seems to clamp harder when rotating as it does when static, thereby pushing the fingers out against the throwout bearing.
There is a chance that the shop that ground my crank did not properly prepare the thrust surface, I won't know until I disassemble the block.
Needless to say, I am very disappointed. I was hoping to get started on the body but I guess the Bondo is there to stay for a bit longer :(

[theJUDGE]

Randy,
hmmn, I hate this kind of stuff as much as you do.
You are welcome to come over & grab the engine stand when ever you want, I have the rotating (as opposed to roating) one you can use with the grade 8 bolts.
Sounds like your endplay was set right initially, mine was at .008.
Interesting theory on the clutch setup & tightness, man, that spooks me too thinking about it. A possible clutch that is set too tight can grenade a bearing. ??? >:(
Anybody else care to comment?
Did you have a chance to change your oil minutes after initial break-in of the cam?
Any foreign matter from machining & assembly would at that time be flushed from the oil, protecting future bearing wear.
I was told that even a single tiny particle can destroy a bearing if it would get in there, causing the bearing fleck in the filter.Does the oil pressure respond quickly to blips of the throttle?
Keep us up to date, because to me, this is a hot topic, with many of us Legends club guys building new motors.
Best wishes Randy.

[Ranman65GTO]

Yes, the cam break-in went perfectly. I pre-pressured the oil system, installed the distributor and static timed it. It lit right off and ran perfectly for the 20 minutes. Oil was drained and replaced immediately.
I found an interesting article on the subject of Thrust Bearings at the following site:
http://www.aera.org/tech/tb1465r.htm
Interesting read, however the aspect of bearing wear as a result of an improperly grounded vehicle has me scratching my head! ???