clevite 77 bearings for 3500

[farmerz24]

does anyone know if clevite offers performance rod and main bearings for the 3500? i suppose the 3400 main bearings will work, but now i need rod bearings for the bigger 3500 rod journals. 2.250. i think any 4.3 v6 or sbc ones are too wide and i dont really want to narrow bearings.

any ideas?

[bszopi]

I actually tested the 4.3L bearings last night and they seemed to fit just fine. I guess there are advantages of having a spare 4.3L in the basement..

[SappySE107]

Yeah, what are the odds that a 4.3 would come in handy on this site. Next you will be collecting 3800 parts "just in case".

[Superdave]

Yeah, what are the odds that a 4.3 would come in handy on this site. Next you will be collecting 3800 parts "just in case".

I started doing that years ago.. i have a whole 3800

[86euro]

May I ask what is different between a 4.3 rod and 350 rod? It seems people are always mentioning shaving 327 and 4.3 rods. Is it because a early 327 and 3400 share the same journal size and a 3500 is the same as 4.3/350?

[SappySE107]

We have a winner! Yes, thats why.

[farmerz24]

aren't the 4.3 bearings wider than the 3500's?? If not good news . is the big end of the 4.3 rod the same width as the 3500 also bszopi?

[bszopi]

I can check tonight and verify, but the bearings are the same width from what I could tell. The 4.3 bearings fit on the 3500 crank just fine. The big end of the 4.3 rod is still too wide to fit the 3500 crank though. I'll try to get some measurements for comparison tonight, and possibly some pics as well.

[farmerz24]

interesting, so the bearings fit but the rods do not. it would be nice to know if the bearings are exactly the same width, as the rod narrowing can be addressed. also, with narrowing the rods, the bearing tangs are still in the correct positions, right?

[bszopi]

The batteries in my camera died after a few shots, and most of the shots were blurry anyway, but here are some measurements for ya...


I also measured the pin sizes and they appeared to be the same size (~0.92" IIRC).

[treeZ24]

the wrist pin size OD diameter?

[bszopi]

Yeah, the wrist pin OD measured ~0.92". I'll try to go down again tonight and measure it again to get the actual size, but I know it was 0.9x"

[bszopi]

Ok, it was more like 0.966"for the wrist pin OD.

[farmerz24]

so i guess all one needs to do is narrow the big end of the rod then? the narrower bearing wont be an issue either i suppose?

[kwhauck]

where can I find the 3400 clevite bearings, I searched and can't find where to order them from!