Crankshaft Bearings

For our turbo Buick engine, we had an opportunity to select from a variety of bearings.  This post will cover some of the basics we discussed with our machine shop.

When it came down to it, we had two choices of bearings for our crankshaft.  We could either use the Sealed Power “H” bearings or a Calico Coatings coated ACL bearing.  The Sealed Power bearings are hard and would have needed some scraping to clearance the radius on our crankshaft.  This was part of the reason why we chose the Calico coated bearings.

Crankshafts

Steel Forged Crankshaft

When it comes to the internal combustion engine, there is no component more important then the crankshaft.  Crankshafts are the backbone of the rotating assembly and are responsible for much of the work of an internal combustion engine.  When doing an engine rebuild, there are a variety of factors to consider.

Having discussed this with our local crankshaft machine shop, The Crankshaft Company, it was determined that the best course of action for our high performance turbo Buick application was a 3.8L steel forged crankshaft.  The Crankshaft Company noted that this crankshaft offered added durability because of the improved radius in the connecting rod and main journals.  Additionally, steel forged crankshafts are able to flex under extreme loads whereas a cast crankshaft would simply crack.