New pistons and Rods!!!
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From: Jupiter, Florida
New pistons and Rods!!! I have a few questions about doing a forged piston and rod switch. For people that have done this swap, this is my D.D. but the new rods and pistons are just for a few months because I almost have the money for a new stroker and I want to do a big shot to work things out in the drivetrain area before i throw the new stroker in. How fast can this job be done? I obviously need to take the motor out so if I took it out swapped parts and put it back in how long could it take? Also, do I really need to get the block honed and all that stuff because this is just so I can have some fun for now and work some bugs out? If it is a necessity to get it honed and all that how much would it cost? Thanks for all the help in advance.
Gregg
Gregg
If you go the rods a piston route you are better to send the block to the machine shop and have the pistons hone fit.As for cost everybody seens to be all over the place in my area but i would think in the 150 range.Now the kicker if you do say a eagle rod with a say je off the shelf piston your going to have to balance the crank and when i had to do that it cost me 300 bucks to balance because they said they had to use alot of heavy metal.My thoughts is if your going to bulid a stroker just do that and be done with it.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Buffalo, N.Y.
If it were me, I'd wait until I got the crank. You're gonna have to torque plate hone the cylinders, align hone the bottom end, clearance notch the block for the stroker, clearance the underside of #8 piston (to clear the crank reluctor wheel), chase the threads, do some de-burring, and hot-tank the block. Doing a stroker the right way requires proper block prep. The machine work on my block (pretty much what I described above) is going to cost around $500.00. And you NEVER know what you're going to find when you start ripping into an engine.
I have a lift in my shop. It took me about 6 hours to disconnect everything under the hood (fuel, electrical, brakes, A/C compressor, steering column, shock tower fasteners, shock tower brace, etc), remove the torque arm, disconnect the hydraulic clutch fitting, remove the drive shaft, and the necessary exhaust pieces. It took another hour or so to un-bolt K-member from the car, and lift it off the engine/tranny. Hard? No. Time-consuming? yes. This is it for me. Unless I'm forced into it, once that car is back together, that engine will stay there until I die.
You'll need a few specialty tools, too. You have to have one to disconnect the fuel line, and, the way I did mine, you'll need a puller for the power steering pump pulley. And don't believe the stuff you read about disconnecting the hydraulic clutch fitting with a screwdriver...it didn't work for me, anyway. I had to make up a tool out of copper tubbing that wound up looking something like the fuel fitting disconnect tool.
I have a lift in my shop. It took me about 6 hours to disconnect everything under the hood (fuel, electrical, brakes, A/C compressor, steering column, shock tower fasteners, shock tower brace, etc), remove the torque arm, disconnect the hydraulic clutch fitting, remove the drive shaft, and the necessary exhaust pieces. It took another hour or so to un-bolt K-member from the car, and lift it off the engine/tranny. Hard? No. Time-consuming? yes. This is it for me. Unless I'm forced into it, once that car is back together, that engine will stay there until I die.
You'll need a few specialty tools, too. You have to have one to disconnect the fuel line, and, the way I did mine, you'll need a puller for the power steering pump pulley. And don't believe the stuff you read about disconnecting the hydraulic clutch fitting with a screwdriver...it didn't work for me, anyway. I had to make up a tool out of copper tubbing that wound up looking something like the fuel fitting disconnect tool.
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TECH Apprentice
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From: Jupiter, Florida
Well i was looking at scoggin-dickey parts at the Scat i-beam forged rods and the forged piston upgrade kit for Ls1's. Could i do just the pistons and get away with a 250 shot every 2 months when I would use it?
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Buffalo, N.Y.
It's not a question of your crank being able to handle the power....it will. But you are going to have to do some pretty serious block prep/machining to do a stroker the right way. Why not wait until you get the crank, and do the whole shot at once?
I'm kinda in the same boat as you are. When I get this monstewr back together, I KNOW the forged bottom-end, Spec Stage IV clutch & billet steel flywheel, and T56 will hold up just fine. But I ran out of money, so now I have to worry about the glass OEM 10-bolt rear-end until next winter. Unless you have the money to bullet-proof everything all at once, you're going to have to decide how you want to attack your project. I've had guys in my car club call me stupid for not starting with the 12-bolt, and then waiting to do the engine. Go figure......
I'm kinda in the same boat as you are. When I get this monstewr back together, I KNOW the forged bottom-end, Spec Stage IV clutch & billet steel flywheel, and T56 will hold up just fine. But I ran out of money, so now I have to worry about the glass OEM 10-bolt rear-end until next winter. Unless you have the money to bullet-proof everything all at once, you're going to have to decide how you want to attack your project. I've had guys in my car club call me stupid for not starting with the 12-bolt, and then waiting to do the engine. Go figure......
