In one of my other threads, i asked about rebuild kits and whether or not to replace the rotor and main bearings.

There is visible wear on them but they are barely within spec, so i thought might be good to replace them when i do my rebuild (which is soon) and it will be all good, dont have to worry about it.

Someone then said if i replace the bearings i have to worry about oil starvation. Ive searched but i cant figure out why this would be.

To me, having worn bearings would cause oil starvation because the clearance is too large, thus decreasing the oil pressure = issues.

Can someone enlighten me? Its a 12A engine so i know it was not mentioned because of the thermal pellet present in 2gens

 

No you will not have any starvation issues. If you did, then all new first gens back in the day would

You should be fine. There are some oil mods that can help decrease the chance of having starvation issues. I can list them when I get back if you would like.

 

If you could, or point me to a couple threads. Ive seen references to oil mods in a bunch threads. One being changing the oil pressure regulator? But not much else, just people saying you should do some upgrades lol

 

One mod is the oil pressure reg. See some of wackyracer's threads on the subject. Some guys also change the oil jets. I believe that Weber #200 jets are used, but you can search around to double check.

Replacing the bearings won't cause oil starvation. You just have to be extra careful with the break-in when you have new bearings (because of the tight fit). Also, your break-in period is longer. Since you are just within spec, go ahead and do new bearings. You could look into 3-window rear bearing if you are planning on racing/high rpm operation.

 

Awesome, that was the info i was looking for guys, I just couldnt figure out how replacing my bearings could potentially starve the oil.

I dont plan on racing the 12A, so i dont plan on getting the 3 window.

Thanks again for the info!

 

* Under the oil pump on the front iron, you can kinda "drill" for lack of better terms, the oil galleries. Smooth it out and try to eliminate the sharp corners.

*Shim the OPR with washers and/or tapping the head down

*Remove the bug screen on the pick up tube and flair out the ending tube. Make sure you wire your pick up tube bolts together. With no bug screen, you can suck anything up. Lucky for you, nothing will get sucked up unless it is a random bolt or pieces of a blown seal.

*You can make your own baffle plate. Drill the holes for the oil pan bolts to go through, and drill about a 3" hole for the pick up tube to go through. Cut your dipstick to where it barely touches the plate, fill with oil until it is about 1/8th up the dip stick. This prevents all the oil from leaving the pick up tube area on hard accel/decel when you will need it most.

*Weber 200AC jet in the E-Shaft. These will decrease your oil pressure at idle (make sure you get your pressure raised, or have the car idle at 1k)

If I can find any more or remember any I will post them up.