Crank thrust bearing wear

A friend likes to hold his all original Corvette's clutch down when at rest at traffic lights, etc, waiting with trans in first gear. That technique is taught at some Motorcycle safety foundation cl***es.

There are some articles and even tech papers by Mahle etc touting improved thrust bearing profiles to enhance lubrication of the thrust bearing area.

I have only seen a few cranks (Volvo, Chevy, probably others) worn in that area. Their History in regards maintenance and oil condition was not known.

Is it really common for thrust bearings to wear with stock and moderately stiffer clutches?

Dan T

 

I've seen cranks in heavier trucks where you could watch the crank pulley move out and in when the clutch was pushed in and have thrown away a bunch of sbc cranks with bad thrust surfaces. So yes I would say that that wear is pretty common.