$600 to do rods?

[IXjamesXI]

I am trying to figure out what I ought to be paying to have my rods reconditioned. 3.0 liter SC engine.. nothing too crazy. Big end measures out to 56.000-56.015 mm on all rods, even with ARP bolts installed and torqued.. which is within spec it seems. Engine had 65k lazy street miles on it when I tore it down. The small end bushings seem a little worn and "brown," but new JE pins don't seem to have any play when installed.

I was just quoted $600 to re-do my rods by a shop.

After my measuring.. I am debating even bothering doing it at all. I am having a hard time integrating my measurements with the idea that "rod big end must always be resized when using ARP hardware." Thoughts?

I called Ollies.. their price seemed more reasonable.. I was expecting them to say that they needed a wrist pin to fit the small end bushing precisely, but they said 22mm is 22mm, they don't need my wrist pin. Didn't I read on here that the JE pins are ever so slightly different than a stock pin? I will go back and search.

[Gordo2]

I don't have the receipt handy - but my machinist charged me around $200 to recondition the rods which included resizing the big ends, weight match & balance and pin fit the small ends.

I researched the need to recondition the rods and found most of the pro's on the board highly recommend it.

Gordo's 3.2L Engine Rebuild - Ready to Reassemble

Also, my experience with JE pins - they needed to be "pin fit"

JE Wrist Pin in Connecting Rod - Tight

Good luck, Gordo

[tharbert]

I think I paid just over $200, large end sized and small end rebushed at a local race shop. They asked for a wrist pin for sizing.

Ollies does only air cooled Porsche and no doubt has a box chocked full of wrist pins to use.

[KTL]

$600 seems a bit high for rods in good condition. By comparison, my last engine debacle required that the rods be closely inspected to see if they could be reused. Mine were Pauter rods subjected to an oiling failure. I new one was going to be junk. In the end, I got all new ARP bolts, all new bushings, small and big ends honed & therefore C-C length made all same, crack checked.

I paid $850 and that included a new single Pauter rod. One rod was toast and all of the small ends had to be reamed/resized to accept new bushings because they were stressed in a way that tried to strip them from the bore.

If you measure your pins, you can tell your machinist to hone the pin bushings to your desired clearance. Or just supply a pin and they can do the math for you.

If you're looking for a specific clearance, look at JE's specs and you'll see their 22mm pin is actually 21.9964 = 0.866 in. When I measured my pins, they were 0.8658 and 0.8659 which is off by a few tenthou. Not a huge deal but still makes a difference if you're shooting for 0.0006 clearance. Throw them in some pin bushings that have seen some wear and you'll probably be at the limit of clearance? Just food for thought.

And it's worth noting that pin clearance in the rod bushings vs. pin clearance in the pistons themselves are quite different. My most recent set of JE 95mm pistons have 14 thousandths (0.0014") clearance. Pin is 0.8658" and the piston bore is 0.8672"

[911pcars]

Better to shop around. $600 sounds a bit high. However, those who adhere to, "You get what you pay for", may be attracted to the higher-than-norm pricing.

I'd have the rods resized to spec and new small end bushings installed. Supply them with the new pins to they can pin fit them unless you can guarantee your measuring device (ruler, finger, caliper, telescoping gauge, outside mic, etc.) is identically calibrated with theirs.

Many shops suggest resizing the big end if replacing with aftermarket bolts. The higher torque setting (~30 vs 45 ft.lbs) may not create an ideal ID if the cap is tightened to a lower spec. just before resizing.

Sherwood

[RedCoupe]

KTL isn't 14 thousandths .014 not .0014?

[KTL]

Yep my mistake. Should have said 14 ten thousandths

[shbop]

$600 is way too high.

[Spenny_b]

FWIW I had the small ends re-bushed and honed by the machining shop, intending to use the stock 3.3 pistons that had come out previously. Long story short (its all in the build thread, linked below) but I ended up getting a new set of Omega pistons (3.4); despite the small ends being honed to the dimensions, when Fred (Mr Omega Pistons) had a look, he wasn't at all happy with his pins being fitted into the rods as they stood...iirc, he guesstimated whatever the clearance was, whilst holding them in front of me....he then disappeared to go and measure them using his lab grade instruments; his guesstimate was absolutely spot-on....thats years of experience for you!; anyway, he considered them too tight for the lubrication he would want the pins to get, so for free, he gave them a tickle for me, and got them shipped back down to my pals race shop with the next shipment of pistons....great service, great company.