Rear main bearing condition question

[GRTfast]

Had the rear main cap off while replacing the rear main seal (in car). Mark IV big block. Bearing had some visual debris (Tiny metallic looking particles) buried in it on the right side (side the crank is spinning towards) near the split. I could barely feel then with my finger, just felt a little rough. Entire bearing had some light scratches, but no large scale wipes or anything like that. Crank journal was immaculate. This is a street engine with 16000 miles on it. Clearences were setup pretty loose when built. Oil pressure is good, engine runs like a top.

Does that sound normal? I kinda expected the bearing to look more pristine. Sorry for the lack of pictures. Didn’t think to take any. Got it back together last night and went for a long drive this morning. Oil leak is fixed, everything is working great.

[pamotorman]

if you do not have the oil filter bypass valve blocked unfiltered oil goes thru the engine till oil pressure is equalized on both sides of the filter bypass valve closing it.

[Newold1]

Do an oil change, save a little oil in a oil sample bottle kit. Send in that sample along with a sample of the exact same weight and brand of oil as was in the engine. Have them test the oil, the test will tell you what metal those tiny specks are. Take the oil filter and carefully cut open and look for metal debris. You can use a magnet on it and if its iron it will be on the magnet. Chances might be this was initial debris that was in the engine when first built and run and you are probably just fine. If the oil test report shows high metals, copper, aluminum and iron or others you might be having a more current issue. Sleep easy, you are probably just fine.

[GRTfast]

Do an oil change, save a little oil in a oil sample bottle kit. Send in that sample along with a sample of the exact same weight and brand of oil as was in the engine. Have them test the oil, the test will tell you what metal those tiny specks are. Take the oil filter and carefully cut open and look for metal debris. You can use a magnet on it and if its iron it will be on the magnet. Chances might be this was initial debris that was in the engine when first built and run and you are probably just fine. If the oil test report shows high metals, copper, aluminum and iron or others you might be having a more current issue. Sleep easy, you are probably just fine.

Will do. This is kinda what I expected. There is never any visible metal in the oil when I change it. I’ll get the analysis done though. Thanks for the info.