OEM Bearings

[enjoi.this]

Ive been looking through the TSRM and there is 5 different size rod and main bearings toyota offers for the 7m-gte. Im rebuilding my motor here next weekend and im trying to decided wether to go oem or with clevit bearings.. Im rather picky when in comes to proper clearance and I dont mind spending a little extra on something I know will help me with that. Once my motor is out I will be able to see what number is stamped on the crank and main caps. What would some of the experianced engine builders reccomened on this.

 

[the_ghost]

I was worried about clearance issue's too so I went OEM. But l could've sworn the bearings were ACL marked up by Toyota to around $24 each. I would see if you can order the different bearings from somewhere else...I was too lazy and bent over for Toyota, got raped.

Also my Toyota parts guy was an idiot so make sure you know which size bearings to get and pay no attention to this guy. If you have any doubt talk with the Toyota mechanic.

So far I have 1000 miles, low boost, haven't pasted 4K rpm, and 3 oil changes and the motor is very quiet and smooth...knock on wood!

 

[Jeff Lange]

If I was being picky and sticking with Std size bearings, here's what I'd do:

If you see no damage to the crank/bearings, take the crank out, send it to be polished.
Once you get the crank back, mic the crank journals as well as all the rods and the block. Confirm that your measurements match the bearing size that was in each spot. If there are any that are now out of spec, make that correction. Order all the bearings according to your findings from Toyota. Plastigage everything, confirm that your clearances are now correct.

If you see any damage on the crank, you'll want to know if it can be polished and still be within Std spec before doing anything else.

Hopefully after all of this, you now have perfect clearances with Std size bearings.

Basically... follow the TSRM. If you are willing to accept a slightly wider range of tolerances than the very specific Std ones, you can get aftermarket Std bearings, if you have any that are too tight, you can correct that. If you happen to be too loose on any, you may have to get Toyota ones anyways, provided that a Toyota Std bearing 5 would make up for it, chances are it wouldn't and you'd need to go U/S anyways.

From what I've seen, chances are, if there was no damage to anything, and it looks good in there, you'll probably end up putting the exact same size bearings in that you just took out. If there is any scuffing/marks on the crank, you may need to move up a size or two if polishing can take care of it.

Basically... follow the TSRM, it's all in there. Good luck.

Jeff

 

[bluepearl]

^^^ This is the exact way that I did mine. By doing alot of measuring with mikes, telescoping gauges and plastigauge, clearance was in the lower to middle of the toyota spec. Bearings were about 10 dollars per pair from Kurt at Elmhorst toyota. It's been great since.

 

[enjoi.this]

I will use a mic on all my mains and rod bearings for sure. Once I select my correct bearing size plasti-gauge. Im almost 100% certain ill be able to use stock spec mains. My 7m runs really good in its current state, super quiet and smooth (for a 7m) :biglaugh:
Thanks for the info Jeff and ghost, Once I get my engine torn down im going to price toyota bearings compared to aftermarket just to see. Im located in Canada so prices will be even more expensive.