Scratch marks on rod-bearing caps, sign of a rebuild?

[anarchyx34]

I just had the pan off of my 1.6td and I noticed scratch marks on the rod bearing caps indicating which cap goes where. They look pretty crude and I'm wondering if this means someone probably rebuilt this motor before. I was able to see the cyl wall on one of the cyl's and it looks smooth as glass. I figured if VW wanted identification marks on the caps they would be printed or something just not scratched in. Here are the pics to show what I'm talking about.




Does everyone's motor have these?

[935racer]

No, this is not factory, apparently your engine was rebuilt by a cave man :lol:
Some people use stamps/punches to # the caps but this is a poor idea, especially if the cap is removed from the rod, you can throw the cap out of round. Use fab/paint markers instead.

[hillfolk'r]

i cant remember if vw bearings have them but most bearings have a date code on them
then it may have somethin like  1-79
first month,79,year
i cant remember if vw does this
maybe someone dropped the caps to inspect? yea paint is nicer
look closely at the bolt heads for the mains+ stuff,with some detective work,ya may see nicks on the bolt heads from the socket contacting them

[Master ACiD]

hey thats exactly the marks i use when rebuilding a motor. maybe you got a motor that i once owned?