Non-OE rod bearings?

[chris719]

I know a lot of people are using ACL, BE, some using King, etc. What's the highest mileage someone here has on aftermarket rod bearings and are there any examples of, say, ACL shells pulled out of an engine? I can find hundreds of examples of original bearings pulled, but I have not seen one pic of an ACL or BE bearing pulled out of an S54 to see what it looks like.

[fattycharged]

Pretty sure some BE have been removed, willingly or not


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[bigjae46]

I think there is a large population that think aftermarket bearings are a one and done fix. I don't think it is...my opinion.

I stick with OE bearings. Known quantity and the replacement cost isn't bad at all since I DIY.

[bmwfnatic]

Most of the ones that are being done a second (or third if you include those that were recalled) time now will have OE bearings, because they were done ages ago back when the OE bearings were cheaper compared today, and there were less aftermarket offerings available.

[dukeofchen]

I'd venture to guess that many of us with aftermarket haven't put enough miles on to warrant a new set yet. Maybe track guys who replace on shorter intervals although that also wouldn't be indicative of wear intervals on the street.

That being said, while not an indicator of ultimate service life plenty of us get oil tested frequently if not at every oil change - which should be a decent signal for unusual wear if the tests trace back to the installation point of new bearings.

15k here on ACL standard clearance, oil tests at 3-4k mile intervals have all come back pure.

[JokerElite]

I'd venture to guess that many of us with aftermarket haven't put enough miles on to warrant a new set yet. Maybe track guys who replace on shorter intervals although that also wouldn't be indicative of wear intervals on the street.

That being said, while not an indicator of ultimate service life plenty of us get oil tested frequently if not at every oil change - which should be a decent signal for unusual wear if the tests trace back to the installation point of new bearings.

15k here on ACL standard clearance, oil tests at 3-4k mile intervals have all come back pure.

I second this. On the contrary, I haven't heard of any failures either. Opted for ACL standard. Got a Blackstone report done after 2k miles and all was well.

[chris719]

Thanks. All your replies makes sense. Was just hoping to find someone with ACL that had done like 50k and looked good or something like that. If you sample every oil change then that should give some comfort, but I still have trust issues with UOA after hanging out on m3post as the S65 bearing debacle unfolded. A number of guys had good reports from Blackstone and then threw a rod, but most of them did not have an entire history.

[dukeofchen]

A number of guys had good reports from Blackstone and then threw a rod, but most of them did not have an entire history.

Yeah I think this is the root of the distrust of Blackstone reports after the collective trauma we've all experienced with rod bearings.

I'd say if you have a strong baseline on new bearings early in their life (I changed the oil early at 2k miles for a first data point) then you'll have collected enough data to confidently assess down the line when the lead values start to creep up, or the second copper starts to appear.

Based on the horrid conditions of my shells when replaced, I wouldn't bet anything on Blackstone's universal averages, their test comments, or anyone else's absolute values without a baseline set of results specific to my engine. Pretty sure I was a fraction of a hair's width away from spinning several of them.

But I'm sure someone here has done 50k on ACLs that will chime in.

[bavarian3]

Yeah I think the problem is mileage. I have ACL's but it's highly unlikely I'll ever put the miles on them to need to pull them.

If I was to do it over again I would just use OE.

[Bornacane]

Having mine done next week and mechanic said he has used other brands per customer requests but always prefers OEM for rod bearings. Is that consistent with most opinions?

[fattycharged]

Use whatever the shop is warrantying for 3 years.


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[Tbonem3]

Thanks. All your replies makes sense. Was just hoping to find someone with ACL that had done like 50k and looked good or something like that. If you sample every oil change then that should give some comfort, but I still have trust issues with UOA after hanging out on m3post as the S65 bearing debacle unfolded. A number of guys had good reports from Blackstone and then threw a rod, but most of them did not have an entire history.

What's one or 2 data points gonna really do for you anyway? It'd be false sense of security, though, truly, you'd probably be just fine running any of the available options.

[chris719]

What's one or 2 data points gonna really do for you anyway? It'd be false sense of security, though, truly, you'd probably be just fine running any of the available options.

True but one or two is more than zero, if you see one set pulled after 50k and they look pristine, well, the OEM bearings have almost never looked good at that kind of mileage.