Doing a cheap cheap rebuild since I’m 17 and on a budget, was wondering if the big end of the connecting rods need to be honed, or are just new bearings fine? Also wondering if I could reuse the stock connecting rod bolts semi-safely. I read that they could be reused 3-5 times, but I see conflicting opinions everywhere.
Generally they can be reused a number of times. But ultimately the best thing to do is measure the end to see if it is out of round. See instructions below. http://workshopmanual.com/files/1075/pdf/page-35.pdf
Absolutely Not!!!! on honing. Yes you can use the rod bolts....maybe How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines: Monroe, Tom: 0075478568918: Amazon.com: Books ^^^^ Get this book. Tom Monroe tells you how to build one and check specs with just home tools. Get this book!
Oh sweet so I should just be good to check if its out of round, clean em up a little and slap em back in? The bolts look pretty good, nothing stretched. Ill definitely take a look at that book, sounds like some insanely good info
I've gotten by with the same rods and not had them resized and reused rod bolts. Just understand that your not building a 100,000 mile or 6000 rpm motor.
Get the book. It's all in there. Read it. Read it again. It may take a little time for it to all "click". but you will get it. Using that book I overhauled this 68 302. It turns out all I needed was pistons, rings and bearings. It's been a really good engine and it was done nigh 20 years ago. The only machine work I had to have done was pressing the old pistons off and the new pistons on.
As to honing they do when in reconditioning a rod. The bolts are removed and a small amount of material is removed from the mating surface of the cap and rod. A slight amount more from the out side edge of the rod than than next to the bore then new bolts are installed and torqued. The small amount removed from outside edge will cause the sides of the bore to move in. Then the big end is honed back to size.
Yeah out of all the motors I built only 3 had full prep'd rods. The others had nothing done to the rods but measured, cleaned, and checked out. Never had a bad motor, all seen 6000 at least several times in their lives and all made it at least 100,000 miles....
YES! Ask questions here too if you don't know and get the right answers. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask and damage your machine or worse, you. You are young and need to learn the right way. You are on the right road here so please don't screw up and listen to your friends. In the end they probably know less than you and you are getting educated here.
Yeah all my friends are into Honda’s and ****, this place is a life saver for advice on old v8s [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I understand about your friends but you need to know that the proper way to inspect, measure and repair or rebuild applies to all engines. What you can learn about a Honda might serve you well on your Ford. The more knowledge you acquire, the more you will be able to make decisions based on a good foundation of engine building principles. Be patient and be careful before spending money on parts. Not everyone is your friend or honest. Good luck with your project.
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