Maybe you can confirm my thoughts on this. I have a friends motor apart for inspection before it is to go in his old camaro. It is a 350. The problem is ......when I was inspecting the lower end I noticed the #1 rod has a Blue band around the middle of the beam. All rods show signs of heat at the pin area from being fitted with the .030 pistons. My thoughts are that this blue band of heat mark in the middle would be a failure point on a 400hp motor. Am I correct or just worring over nothing?
seriously is bluing at the middle of the rod beam acceptable , I have a machine shop sying it "probably" won't be a problem. I just figure that it has to of changed the hardness in that area.?.
I'm no metallurgist but I'd think if the rod looks straight and the thrust faces on the big end don't have any irregular wear patterns it's good to go. Besides they heat the small end till it blues to get the pins in anyways and they weld on cranks all the time too.
I guess it's just that I have not seen rods blue like that in the middle. I always send mine out unless they are floaters of course. This was done i suspect at a home shop....I noticed the rod stamped #s are randomly positioned through the block (the number etched by someone dis***embling) ....there are odds on even and vice-versa
Unless the "blueing" is around the big end, I would'nt worry. But, if there's a lot of money in the engine, for your own piece of mind, replace it. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Some one went a little over board in heating the rod end up. I have never seen it that far down the rod they may have used a torch to heat it instead of a sunnen rod heater.
I wouldn't run the rod if you're going to do more with it than trundle around the street. Take a look around - you can find some "stock replacement" type rods by companies like Eagle and **** for around $150 a set, new. They're forged out of better steel than the originals, probably machined better, and they come with better bolts. http://www.compe***ionproducts.com/products.asp?dept=271 For the difference in price between reworking an old set of rods with one being questionable, these represent a pretty good deal.
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