Just pulled them and every one is toast, the front bearing more so than the others.
I have always changed the oil and a nvery near regular basis plus I have been running Mobil 1 synthetic.

Why has this happened in just 78K miles. I did have some GM guide plates wear bad as a result of the wrong length push rods so that is the only case of metal shaving I am aware of. The rocker geometry was offset to the exhaust side a good bit. I figured the filter would catch most of that but maybe not.

The #1 rod bearings were real bad but the rest of the rods and mains showed wear but were not ruined.

I drive the car hard but not an abusive level. Is there a certain driving style that takes its toll on berings? Could thos worn guide plates have done this? What the hell?

 

Having the valve train geometry incorrect probably put extra strain on the bearings.

 

I guess this is possible, I would guess that there was less than 3K on the bad geometry. Could very well be.

 

How far off were the pushrods?

 

In order to achieve a dead center narrow pattern I had to go from the stock 7.200" to 7.050". It was a big jump and the bad pattern was clearly low to the exhaust side. I have obviously have the right size pushrod cause I have zero guide plate wear now.

 

Ya .15" is a big jump and possibly put added stress on the bearings since the valve train was in a bind at all times.

 

I really hope you nailed it, cause now I will have beehives and the LE1.5 cam going in.