7.3 IDIT Bearings and rings

typ4

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DO NOT replace those cam bearings. They are bored after install at the factory. All of them I have seen are copper.
I have .001 under rod bearings available if your clearances need tightened .
My machine shop says 2-4 months on mains and rings.
 

SkylabTech86IDI

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My opinion is that, since your engine is completely torn down, if you're going to replace the main and rod bearings, go ahead and replace the cam bearings too. It's just cheap insurance. That way you know what shaped they're in.
On the rings, if you have the Factory Turbo pistons, they take a different style of ring than the N/A pistons do. Make sure what type of piston you have before you order new rings. If you have a N/A 7.3 with a turbo on it, then you probably have N/A pistons, but you can't tell what someone put on the inside without looking.
I’m going to guess that in order to use N/A pistons on a now-turbo’d N/A then you’ve got to use a thicker head gasket right? Do the thicker head gaskets suffer from higher failure rates?
 

IDIBRONCO

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I’m going to guess that in order to use N/A pistons on a now-turbo’d N/A then you’ve got to use a thicker head gasket right? Do the thicker head gaskets suffer from higher failure rates?
That would depend on your piston to valve clearance. If you have enough clearance, it doesn't matter what head gaskets you use. From my own measuring, Fel-Pro head gaskets are .010" thicker than Victor-Reinz head gaskets. That's both before and after being compressed. I don't know of there being any issues with thicker head gaskets being blown out any more often than the thinner ones. The gasket material itself doesn't hold any compression in the cylinders. It's the fire rings (made of metal) that hold in the compression. They are compressed when the head is torqued down so the .010" difference in thickness shouldn't matter at all.
Rest assured that there has been A LOT of N/A engines that had a turbo put onto them without doing anything underneath the valve covers.
 
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