This is why I switched to King from my last attempt at ACL years ago.
This kind of shit is just sickening and why I hold them in less regard than any other manufacturer. @DSSA how often do you see/hear of this coming out from your inventory?

Straight out of the box. Cut open the shrink wrap on it as if I was performing brain surgery

Rods AND mains, two different boxes.

Is it going to affect anything? Probably not, but God damn they just don't care about finish, do they?

Mine looked the same way, as do the extra boxes of "X" bearings. I cleaned mine with BPC.

The scratches (I should have been clear this is what's up my ass right now) are just ... Annoying.
I get it, it's likely cosmetic and debris embedded in a bearing or even super minor scratches on a crank surface ar probably still deeper but it really just makes you go boo

I'm in a no nonsense mood right now I guess

I just went with Clevites and called it a day when I saw Kings weren’t available anymore.

ACLs were the only thing that was available that I could find. My last set of ACLs were 6 to 8 years ago, had the same issue except even deeper gouge on one. It's sad to see little has changed but at the same time I can only surmise that many others have the same thing. I can't be the only unlucky twice one here...

Sooo....I had a set that had one half that had a pc of METAL shaving in it. I tried to pick it out but I ordered another set and made things work, I just hadn't mentioned it.

And here's the rub, ordering another set means a trip to the border and time off work, so for a few minor scratch blemishes I don't know if it's worth it.

You mentioned you had a few spares of STD, I might take you up on perhaps #3..
Will see once I have them back in hand and I can get a feel for how bad it is. Everything's at the machine shop.

Just LMK Curt.

Every box of Acl alumiglide bearings I’ve ever opened had metal shavings in them.

They’ve also had qc issues with 6g72 bearings (sizing).
I use king in everything.

King doesn't make XP bearings anymore it seems. Everyone but ACL seems to have stepped out some time ago.. can't find stock anywhere.

Josh says that King has been promising new stock every 6 months for years and has not yet delivered, otherwise I would be all over a set of STD size main and rods.

Extremepsi may have a set of rod bearings but that's all, and it's possible their inventory isn't up to date either.

On my domestic engine builds, I always run Clevite 77's. Have you considered them for your 7 bolt?

1990TSIAWDTALON said:

On my domestic engine builds, I always run Clevite 77's. Have you considered them for your 7 bolt?

Clevite H Series Tri-Metal Main Bearings | Mitsubishi 4G63 Engines (MS

Mitsubishi 4G63 Main Bearings (H Series Tri-Metal) by Clevite CLEVITE engine bearings have been winning NASCAR sanctioned races since the very first NASCAR championship in 1948 and have powered every single NASCAR champion since then to Victory Lane, setting the pace for quality and reliability...

www.maperformance.com

Click to expand...

I’ve used clevite for many 6g72 builds. They’re always in spec.

I have clevite alums in my other 6 bolt for rods and they checked out well
I don't know if the ACLs are out of spec, it's just that they had a couple scratches. The clevite or king could be the same for all I know.
That is, if either were available. "Usually ships" means nothing now..

It's actually easier to find 7 bolt bearings. It feels like they've abandoned the 6 which is what I need.
I mean, just look at map's bearing offerings for 6 bolts. They say 4-6 weeks typically for king xp but JNZ hasn't been able to get them for years.

I know it's a month out on shipping, but Summit claims to be able to get the King bearings. A phone call would verify drop shipment from King or maybe confirm availability.
LeathalPerformance claims to have a set in stock.....but you never really know.
Just a few searches while I am sitting around, doing nothing

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curt-s said:

It's actually easier to find 7 bolt bearings. It feels like they've abandoned the 6 which is what I need.

Click to expand...

Everything’s out of stock

Maybe???
Sealed Power 5103M Main Bearing Set https://a.co/d/9d2hKED


Rod bearings:

Thanks guys. I'll check these scratches more when I get everything back and if I can't feel a damn thing and they're in spec clearance-wise, I'm likely just going to run them. A scratch is better than a protuberance and I doubt that I'm going to spin a bearing because of any of those imperfections.

I just had this moment of venting as I'm continually getting pushed back in the queue for measurements still, I just got a call that my basement furniture was delayed again without a solid date (which was later rectified with my sales agent -- coming Tuesday), and then I remembered this. I spotted this the evening I got back from picking it up at the border and just went "ah fk it" at the time but it's been on the back of my mind ever since.

Somebody tell me I'm not crazy to just use them if they're in spec

Sad to see that any future 6bolts are basically ACL builds though, eh?

curt-s said:

I have clevite alums in my other 6 bolt for rods and they checked out well
I don't know if the ACLs are out of spec, it's just that they had a couple scratches. The clevite or king could be the same for all I know.
That is, if either were available. "Usually ships" means nothing now..

It's actually easier to find 7 bolt bearings. It feels like they've abandoned the 6 which is what I need.
I mean, just look at map's bearing offerings for 6 bolts. They say 4-6 weeks typically for king xp but JNZ hasn't been able to get them for years.

Click to expand...

The aluminum bearings will start to delaminate around 125hp per cylinder. Right around 15-25* after vertical they’ll start losing pieces of bearing.

I have sold numerous ACL Race and King XP sets to shops/professional engine builders in Japan. To be honest, I have never received any complain even once.

I don't know how deep the scratch is but if you care about it, maybe you should ask Calico for CT-1 dry film coating.

As for King XP shortage in the market. One of causes is, not only in DSM community but many people misunderstand about the ACL Race bearings appearance. And many of them want to use King XP recently, because it looks better out of box.
Put aside the quality control, that uneven brown-ish color surface on ACL Race won't affect anything. (The color would vary some has blue-ish, some has darker or lighter or mixed) That electroplating layer is very thin, it would be polished by journal once the engine starts running. So usually shallow scratches/marks on surface layer wouldn't affect anything.

Personally I use both ACL and King. I try look for King XP first. But I don't really care much, I just pick the one up that is available at that moment. In my 1g recent engine, I even have ACL/King mixed.

Just to be clear, no, it's not the colouring, but you're also saying this for the general public too. I've known about the colour ACL bearings are for a long time.

It's purely the scratches. ACL either didn't take the care packaging them for the shrink wrap or the three or four of them were like this during final QC and they passed it anyway. I'm thinking of calling ACL, whatever numbers I can find, on Monday to ask . My guess is when they were gathering the bearings together by hand to wrap, corners of some scratched the surface of others, and they just went whelp.

But I think if I can't detect the scratches by feel or by light probing with a nonmetalic feeler, then they should work as intended still -- unless somehow a scratch would compromise the entire surface. I can't see that, though, as minor debris would do that constantly until it gets embedded, if it ever does.

It's annoying. Two sets, well over a half decade apart, both having the same imperfections.

If someone had told me that they could get King bearings, instead of the opposite, I would have gone that way because I prefer their thrust bearing design over the alternatives.

curt-s said:

Just to be clear, no, it's not the colouring

Click to expand...

I was aware of that. Just shared little-known info. And I explained how it won't affect if the scratch is shallow. If deep, then it's simply defective. Ask the vendor for exchange or refund.
And here is another little-known info, Tomei sell ACL Race bearings by rebadging name (only for 7 bolt though). They sell standard size in 3 grades and selling "per pair". So no need to buy 3 different size complete sets for adjusting clearance. You can make your own set by mixing different grade.

Well look here, quality control seems to be an issue EVERYWHERE!!
???
Maybe this will lighten the "mood"!
Hmmmm

All jokes aside QC is indeed worse everywhere, because of the degenerates you have in the workplace these days.


Summing up a massive rant into a simple sentence; it's because everyone has this "I'm a f*cking slave" mindset to EVERY job they have, so not only do they not care about the product they're making/reviewing/QC'ing, they actually blame the customer/people purchasing this product for their current "slavery" job. You see it everywhere now. I can't even blame one generation, it's multi-generational at this point.

I’ve only ever used ACL race bearings in my engine builds. Never had an issue. Only time I ever had a bearing issue is when I went to the king and missed a shift at Pocono, spinning a rod bearing. Went back to ACL, and that motor was together for 5 years of track only abuse. When I took the motor apart the beginning of the off season, I was blown away with how not destroyed they were. Overheated? A bit, but that’s cause I was routinely burying my 250° water and oil temp gauges. But yeah….The new motor going together will be with ACLs. But I will give em a closer look before installing.

I ended up ordering a second set of each from @DSSA. I would have preferred the chunk o' change go towards machine shop costs but I'd rather feel good about what I'm putting together and have options when it comes to mixing for clearance.

Thanks @1990TSIAWDTALON for the offer of the spares. I'd feel bad depriving you of a few but if I'm replacing 3 or 4, that's a bit too much to ask.

Now if the next set is also the same way, I'm sure to let ACL know what's up.