Is it posible to identify whether one's engine has the caged big end connecting rod bearing or the crowded big end connecting rod needle roller bearing
You must remove the cylinder to gain visual inspection of the crankshaft and connecting rod big end.
You will also need a very powerful LED torch to shine light in between the connecting rod face and the crankshaft face.
You will then need to rotate the crankshaft so that the big end connecting rod lubrication cutaway is visible.
With a powerful light shining on the big end, you will be able to see in between the crankshaft face and the connecting rod face, gaining visual inspection of the needle rollers.
The crowded needle roller bearing assembly has the individual needle rollers packed against each other without any gaps between them.
The caged needle roller bearing assembly has the needle rollers separated by approximately a needle rollers width of free space, so effectively there is half as many needle rollers transferring connecting rod pressure to the crankshaft. In other words, each needle roller must carry approximately twice as much load as the crowded needle roller assembly.
The disadvantage of a crowded needle roller bearing assembly is that it is more susceptible to over heating at higher revs, because the needle rollers are not separated from each other by a bearing cage.
So long as you are sensible with engine rpm, the crowded needle roller system is bullet proof compared to the caged needle roller assembly method, because connecting rod pressure is spread over a greater number of needle rollers.