crankshaft journal scratches

[nascarmikeb]

I have a 350 4bolt that has a knock in lower end. I removed oil pact to inspect rod journals. Upon removing rod caps, on one of the journals I notice a definite scratch/cut going around the journal. When I do the "fingernail test" my nail can barely feel the "scratch"

My question is, what is the maximum tolerance for such a scratch if a tolerance is even acceptable here. There may be no room for any type of scratch on the journal. Just trying to figure out if I do need to have it ground. It is a scat crank. standard stroke, has not been ground before.

Also, when inspecting the rod bearing, I do not observe any "visible" signs of wear. I do intend to get some plasti-guage to check the clearance to determine how much wear there is.

Mike