Rod bearing inspection/verification

[Ben Baird]

It's been a number of years since I have sent in a message so please 
forgive.  I got a light ticking noise under load and deceleraction about 2 
years ago and had pushed an oil change about 1k mile past it's due date and 
the oil was a bit low when I checked it.  I assumed the worst and hastily 
parked the SE-R.  I tried the standard diagnosis of reving engine and 
listening for noise at ~3200 RPM as well as pulling injector harness on #3 
to listen for noise change, but could not get enough to make a informed yay 
or nay.  So after 1.5 years of being parked and finally having a garage to 
work in I tore the bottom end off this weekend.

I did not find any brass shaving in the oil pan.  I did however find a few 
pieces of what I assume is aluminum (more like mini chunks) of unknown 
origin.  This is teh first time the oil pan has been off in 17 years to my 
knowledge (not original owner), and the peices are too thick to be bearings 
(~2mm thick, not lead).  They could be left over pieces from a number of 
things (casting flash, aluminum from threads, or something?) and there were 
only like 2-3 of them in the bottom corner of the pan.  Since the engine has 
been ultra reliable and only the slight tick should I be concerned about 
these (it already had updated chain tensioner years back)?  During 
dissasembly I did find a pinhole size light passing crack in the primary on 
my HS Gen 5 headers.  This may explain why I could not duplicate the noise 
fully when not in load doing rev testing?

Now that I have it all the way down I got my block numbers, counterweight 
numbers, and rod numbers for the bearings and I know I have grade/size 1 
bearings in all 4 rods.  My questions are these.  I so far have not gotten 
any of the standard signs of bearing failure that I know of so far.  I did 
not see any brass, was unable to get enough change in noise while engine 
running and #2 or#3 injector unplugged, and I don't see any heat 
discoloration or burn oil around the #3 rod or crank like I have seen many 
comment on (infact the oil is darker around 1 and 2 where the mini baffel 
does not cover).  Is there any other way to diagnose without actually 
removing the bearing?  If I remove the bearing and it is ok can I put it 
back in or is it a forgone conclusion that once it's out it needs to be 
replaced anyway.  Is it purely academic and I should just replace the 
bearing?  I know a lot of the guys who have been building motors and cars 
will say just do it and forget about it, but I have a known layoff coming 
and money is already tight.  I am trying to get my SE-R back on the road to 
save fuel costs on my truck, and I miss driving it.  Maybe I am just 
paranoid and it's just that exhaust leak?  This list still has the best 
knowledge and experts on it so I came here before I ordered up 4 bearing 
sets.

Other info: engine has ~250k on it, saw redline daily till parked, has HS 
intake and headers and Stromung exhaust so noise diagnosis is not so easy. 
Engine ran on oem oil filters and mobile 1 as long as I have owned it.  No 
start up clatter.  I noticed the noise after driving next to a wall on way 
back to work after taking clockwise onramp at about 50mph and about a quart 
low (I know it's stupid).  Noise is barely noticeable when not under load. 
I am paranoid.  lol

BTW I am still on digest, cause I have been too lazy to change it, so any 
direct CC's would be appreciated.

Ben '92 SE-R  still tickin, but maybe not in a good way.