Journal Speed?

True bearing shims? Haven't seen that since Allis Chalmers used them in the thirties, forties, and fifties.. Now, a larger diameter bearing (thicker shell) to use a different crankshaft in a particular block? That I have seen a bunch of times, Chevy small blocks mostly, but with Fords too.. But.... Changing bearing speed is not what killed your bearings. Without knowing (or remembering) all the details... If you had a cap misalignment, a misaligned crank gallery, or a bent crankshaft, your failure would have been early on and probably only on one journal (as you noted).. Having ALL the mains show excessive wear tells me that it is probably not a supply side problem, as it did not show up at the rod journals first. But, were the cam bearings change, and were the cam to cam bearing clearances proper? Most of the time I have seen even premature main bearing wear is high loading at low rpm's (lugging). What rear gear are you running? What weight are you running? What is the road conditions where you run the vehicle? You say original... How long did it sit? How did you bring it back to life? What does the crankshaft look like (staining on the main journals)? Lot's of questions, but you asked Jeff

The 352 Packard has 2.500" mains, same as the 289 Stude. The 351 Windsor has 3.000" mains.

I had bought a model "A" coupe that was stock many years ago and the first thing I did was change the oil..Started it up and it ran fine,,,but after about fifteen minutes it let loose with white smoke then black...Yeh I used detergent oil and it had nothing but non-detergent oil all its life..Don't have to tell you that was the end of the engine. It cleaned it so good. Oh it ran ok but it put out such a fog that I finally pulled the motor and made a street rod out of it.

Dave B.

Bet it was the oil:

Dad drove this car last during the summer of 67, then it was cubby holed in different storage barns around home until he had his own storage garage in the late 70's. Only movement it saw was when he moved storage facilities. He would start it 20 minutes at a time in storage and always say.... "doesn't that sound great"? Car was maintained sporatically for 35 years, going years between oil changes. Since I was only a kid when the car was driven last I can't say weather it had good healthy oil pressure after it was good and hot.

In the first 75 miles in 35 years I stuck and bent a valve. I think the fresh detergent oil, in concert with a lame stock oil pump had a lot to do with the bearing failure. When I had the top of the engine apart for the valve job, I disasembled all the lifters, cleaning them in kerosene as well as the top of the engine and the lifter bores. I let the kero run down into the sump and out the drain hole. This was the start of my oil pressure problems. Yup, I hear all you guys saying "Bingo, Dumb ass."

I then dropped the pan to pull the oil pump. Joe Hall looked at the pump and confirmed it was a the weak original pump and needed an overhaul. I sent it to Packards International for overhaul and modification.

OK, BUT WHY THEN is there not even a scratch on the rod bearings?

My journal speed idea is probably not on target since Jack Vines says the journal is only 2.5 inches. It sure sounded good though!! Thought I could cast the blame squarely on the SPC engineers instead of the guy in the mirror.

I'll pay my stupid tax and get on with fixing it.

When I took apart the 232 engine after my car had sat outside for17 years I found large cavities in the bearing faces. Looks like acid in the oil ate them.

Could it be that some time earlier in the car's history, the rod bearing were changed, and the mains left alone? Usually rod bearings will need replacement before the mains do.

If you tear the engine down, see if the main and rod shells have similar markings.

Gord Richmond

There;s a pretty good bearing troubleshooting guide available to download here-