rear main oil seal

[Almeek69]

would it be a good idea to replace all the main bearings while i'm in there doing the rear main oil seal.

[old_man]

In the old days, back before most of you were born, replacing the bearings without turning the crank was a common occurance. As long as you get to it before the journals get eaten up, it can be a new lease on life for a high mileage engine with low oil pressure. If your oil pressure is fine, I don't think I would do it. Now a new oil pump is definately not a bad idea. On an older engine, a high volume pump isn't a bad idea either.

[Barger]

Be careful with the high volume pump I got one from NAPA and the pick up hit the pan when installed on my 97. I'm sure there is one that fits just not that one.

[skipc]

It kinda loooks like it's easy to take a 4.0 pan off when lifted on stands. Any hidden gotchas, or is it pretty clear and easy?

What measurements would you take to determine if you were a candidate for this quick bearing replacement? What would be numbers that would make sense, both for spec'ing the replacements and for the amount of wear presently?