changing rod bolts
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Hoover, AL
changing rod bolts I got a 2002 LS1 with almost 50k miles on it. im gonna do a h/c swap on it and since i will be gettin a ms4 cam was wantin to change the rod bolts out for added safety since i will be spinning the motor up pretty high and i know a 2002 can be spun up around 6800 with a spring change but like i said i would like the added saftey, would be very pissed if i slung a rod through the block. i know how to do it but i did a search and saw a bunch a crap about ferrels and distortion and such? nothin that really made any sense to me, i was gonna drop the pan and change one bolt at a time in the manner of takin an old bolt out, putting a new one in and torqueing it down, then doin the same thing to the other side. am i right by doing it this way? and what are the dangers of actually distorting a rod cap, and what is the deal with the ferrels explain that mainly please?
when i did mine i had the engine out. I loosened both bolts on one rod then started tighteneing them down evenly. Tighten them in a few steps to what ARP reccommends. 90 ft lbs i think.
Josh
Josh
DO NOT loosen both bolts on one rod at the same time. Swap each bolt out one at a time, that way it does not throw the cap out of whack. If you do them one at a time, the rap will stay in place because its a cracked cap. I used katechs when i swaped mine. DOnt need them yet, but i was in the pan anyway. Just take your time
Thread Starter
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From: Hoover, AL
ok so we got one that says do both at one time and one that says one at a time. the one at a time approach makes more sense to me so you dont remove the cap, but how do you go about torqueing them down when you do one at a time? i'm a little iffy about doing this cause its risky to do it yet its risky to run the motor up close to 7k rpms with the stock bolts, i have to think about this... i wanna go with arp but i guess i cant go wrong either way, katechs and arp are far superior to the stockers anyway. somebody give me a confidence booster story so i will decide to do this lol.
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Verdad Gallardo when you loosen one at a time then the cap is not torgued evenly. do you tightenen a head bolt one at a time??
Do what you decide is best but my motor held together with a 250 shot of juice tighteneing them the way i mentioned earlier.
Josh
Do what you decide is best but my motor held together with a 250 shot of juice tighteneing them the way i mentioned earlier.
Josh
The reasoning behind doing one bolt at a time is to keep the bearing in place. Since the LS1 has a cracked cap design, while you take one bolt out, the other one is still tight, allowing you to keep the bearing in place. If you take both bolts out, then there is a greater possibility for the bearing to move on you. I personally would do them one at a time. 2 of my friends that have done them did theirs one at a time also. Both cars rev above 6500. Also, once both bolts were in, I went back over them and they were torqued to specs.
how would completely removing one bolt while another is fully torqued down keep it from distorting the cap? if anything that would be the worst thing for it. you never have one bolt on anything tightend down all the way when there isnt another bolt in. thats one of the primary rules of engine building. it would be safer and the potential for less harm if you broke both loose and then backed both them off, then tighten them down slowly moving back and forth.
but for suggestions. REMOVE YOUR MOTOR!!! do it out the bottom, itll take you like 5 hours, and thats as long as it would take for you to remove the wiring harness, intake, heads etc in the car. you will be so glad that you removed it out the bottom to do h/c rodbolts. i prommise. btw, i used katech. i suggest the same.
but for suggestions. REMOVE YOUR MOTOR!!! do it out the bottom, itll take you like 5 hours, and thats as long as it would take for you to remove the wiring harness, intake, heads etc in the car. you will be so glad that you removed it out the bottom to do h/c rodbolts. i prommise. btw, i used katech. i suggest the same.
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Hoover, AL
yeah you guys are right, one at a time not the best idea. im still a little hesitant about it. just reading these horror story threads about people that changed them and blew the motor ect. ect.... maakes me not want to but i dont know.
