T, It looks like I had it backward. I was told that even one nick in a ball bearing would eat the race until it destroyed all the bearings, so you had to be more careful with them. We have both seen some pretty nicked up journals actually last pretty long in use. It probably something to do with how much area the force is spread upon. I really never had any engine design training, so I just connected the only two dots I had. I better re evaluate the conclusion. Either way, that little old 40 horse 650 engine lasted a long time with no oil filter. I remember it only made about 5 PSIG of oil pressure, so it was really more of a glorified splash lube system.
