[Walt Fricke]

A race mechanic once told me the rod bearing progression is: some loss of power, followed by an increase in oil temperature, followed by BANG. Sounds reasonable: bearing starts failing, more internal friction = loss of some power. More friction = more heat in the oil. And, of course, the BANG is self explanatory as the extra heat and friction get to be too much for the rod bolts.

Of course, the trick is to recognize "some" loss of power. Or at least catch it at the rising oil temp phase. I've never been able to do either.

A friend had Carillos lose a bearing (a bit of O ring in the crank oiling passage). Things got so hot that when he shut off the motor, it could not be turned over again. The rod big end was all blue. But it didn't break. There is a loss of power for you.

Walt Fricke