Originally Posted by Jamesp (Post 532941)

The oil is coming from splash oil in the crankcase.

The only sealing the bearing is meant to do is seal the grease inside the bearing. The bearing is not an oil seal except to the inside of the IMS tube, and that is one of the big problems with the bearing set up. Oil can get past the bearing and cook in the tube. This creates an acidic slime that can eat the IMS bearing. The bearing does not seal oil to the outside of the engine. There should be an O ring on the bolt to do that. If it is leaking lots of oil, the O ring on the bolt may be missing.

The bearing you show is not a full contact seal bearing, I'll hazard a guess it's the Pelican replacement looking at it. I bought the Pelican kit for the better bolt, and replaced the bearing with a full contact 6204 steel bearing with high temp grease and Viton seals ($6.00). I didn't catch if your engine was originally single or dual row. If dual row I'd suggest a dual row bearing.

If you have metal in the oil, your situation does not lend itself to an open bearing. Metal particles in a bearing will lead to premature bearing failure.

If it were me, I'd source a full face contact steel bearing and plan on replacing it next clutch job. If this is a case of a dual row bearing being replaced with a single row and a spacer, I'd get a new dual row full contact. I'd also replace the rear main seal. In my view leaving in a worn seal is not finishing the job.

Some folks would agree with this approach, others not. In the end it's up to you. One thing I think everyone would agree on is if it is a dual row replaced with a single row and a spacer, at a minimum go back with a dual row. Best of luck on whatever you decide.

My 2 cents