what should i do? (motor guru's wanted) *long*

[paulmaione at videotron.ca (Paul Maione)]

>   I would agree with Chris on the main bearings... I would NOT
>recommend using the one-piece design.  This was designed for old
>people who have soft clutches and don't drive their cars hard.
>Think about it... a stiff clutch and hard shifting applies quite a
>load on the thrust washers.  With the one-piece design, when
>that load is applied, the center section of the bearing tends to
>want to move with the thrust portion of the bearing and the bearing
>will wear prematurely... just not a good design IMO.

i actually bought new 3 pc bearings with the intent of putting
them in, but with the slight shaving i did on the side of bearing cap,
i'm not sure if it'll be 100% solid. i wanted to open the pack and
test fit them, but i can't bring them back if they've been opened. i'm going
to go shuffle my pile of parts and check and see if my old 2L block
has them. i just want to make sure that they won't fall out. i know
the 1pc's won't fall out, but it seems that people aren't too fond of them.

i spoke with some people around here that are strictly into workin on
vw's and they told me that they use the 1pc quite a bit with never an
incident. even the guy that built my motor said that he built a couple of
16v rallye cars with 1pcs that get thrashed all the time and they're holding
up.

is it possible that the clutch killed the bearing? the clutch feels very
soft, almost like stock. everything seemed to be in good order when i
removed it. like i said, i'm just gonna rebolt everything back up and just
double check and make sure that it's all good before i fire it up again.

>Mike Potter recommended to me to use the separate thrust washers
>and bearings.  He said that this is the best idea for anyone who
>will be driving the car aggressively... and with all the years
>he has been racing and such, I trust that he knows best.

i agree.
and i definitely don't drive my car like an old granny. i live at 7000 rpms,
i get my mail sent there! :)
just don't want to punch it silly and then have those thrust bearings fall
out. i'm going to test fit thrust washers and then see what my best alternative
is...


thanks ben

paully