Mercutio

I just picked up my rods and pistons from the machine shop. These are stock GM parts, but after spinning some rod bearings, I had to have new rods pressed into my old pistons.

Anyway, on 4 rod/piston combos, the dot on the piston faces the flatter edge of the rod. On the other 4, the dot faces the rounder edge of the rod.

Is this correct, or do I need to take the parts back? I know the rods have to mate to the crank a certain way, but if the rods are in the correct position and the piston dots on one bank face the rear, am I going to have a problem?

Mercutio

Just talked to the machinist, and his opinion was that the bearing locking tabs need to be on the edge of the rod closest to the oil pan.

If the piston dots face the flat edge of the rod, 4 rods will have those locking tabs to the outside, and 4 to the inside.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

It doesn't matter which way they go with stock LS1 components. The crank journals have a fillet rather than a radius, so as long as the dot on the piston is facing forward, you'll be okay.

Now on aftermarket stuff, or anything with a radius journal, the chamfer side of the rod should face the cheek of the crank and not face the other rod.

Mercutio

I'm not knowledgeable enough to contradict you--and I appreciate your help--but if that's the case, do you know why Alldata and the Workbench "How to Rebuild GM LS Series Engines" indicate that the flat side on each rod has to face forward? I've seen a lot of conflicting info, so I'm not sure what to believe at this point.