AZTVR has the right idea. It IS possible to replace all rod and main bearings WITHOUT dropping the crank or pulling the engine. The service manual actually has a procedure for doing just that. Having just done an In Car piston swap, checking the rods and mains is very easy to do...but bearings should not go bad at 30 some K miles so I would think there is probably a mechanical issue involved. The pistons are a press/interference fit (no bronze bushings). The actual bearing material my have bronze or a similar alloy under the grey layer. They are a soft metal alloy. If you are into that, the bearing is pretty much shot and to get visible particles in the filtered oil is a serious failure. But again, that just doesn't happen to a 30K motor. Also seeing as this vehicle has only been owned a short time, I wonder what the history behind it is. Before I pulled any heads, I'd drop the pan and diagnose from the bottom-up (pull the valve covers too since that is pretty easy and you can view the valvetrain action with a remote starter). When I pulled the pistons/rods on my 32K 01 GTS that had been running a ROE blower for 15K miles, the rod bearings were pretty worn IMO. Not into the bronze underlayment, but definatley had experienced some punishment (or course I had some detonation problems leading to a piston failure....it all goes hand in hand). I have had a few 100K motors with better looking rod bearings. Whatever approach you take, be logical, take notes, and eliminate potential causes one by one. Don't try and cover too many variables at the same time. And finally, don't be shy about digging into this motor. Its is really a simple design.
