This is my first post, although I've spent hours reading and learning over a period of years. So, I owe the members here a retro-active thanks.

I got new rod bearings for my 22R and they look like swiss cheese, with four oil holes. The upper bearing has an oil hole where it belongs and then it has another hole a short distance away. The lower bearing has two oil holes where it doesn't need any at all. Total of three extra unnecessary oil holes. I think it's a case of the manufacturer saving money by using the same bearing for the upper and lower and probably being able to sell the same bearing for different engines by having oil holes all over the place.

The place that sold me the bearings said they have been selling them for years that way with no problems but I kind of wonder why someone would pay good money to have their crank ground and polished and then put holey bearings in it? I think the oil film gets disrupted by all those holes and the load capacity of the bearing is decreased.

The bearings are also silicon aluminum alloy and I don't know much about it, as I've always used the old-school Clevite 77 tri-material bearings although this is the first time I've tackled a Toyota. I think the original bearings were not aluminum alloy.

Just wondering what the experience here is with the aluminum "holey" bearings as they seem to be pretty common.

Thanks,

Bob

 

Well, in case anyone might be interested, I ordered new "old school" Clevite 77 rod bearings, they were about the same price. They evidently have one extra hole (a hole in the lower bearing half) so that they can use the same bearing insert for the upper and lower bearings. One extra hole is better than three extra holes, but still, it seems the accountants are winning the war with the engineers. I'd buy OEM bearings from the dealer but they told me Toyota has discontinued 22r rod bearings.

Bob

 

thats interesting. Where did you go for the bearings? Napa, autozone, carquest?

 

I ordered OEM bearings about a year ago for my 88 from the dealer. I know they still make them.

They had 1 oiling hole for the top and bottom. Have no idea what they were made out of.

 

The first set of bearings with the three extra oil holes were packaged "Enginetech" and were made by King Bearing. I'd like to keep the seller nameless since many vendors sell the same bearings and just because I personally don't like the three extra oil holes should not reflect unfavorably on the seller.

The Clevite 77 bearings came from rockautoparts.com. I don't know if there is a connection between rockautoparts.com and "Rock" parts but somehow I think they're separate and unrelated?

Bob

 

Interesting. I called a different dealer in another town, sure enough they still can get them.