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Any harm in installing and torquing rods one at a time?

1K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Mr. P-Body 
#1 ·
I always have and havent had any issues... yet.

A more experianced builder was over at my house the other night and scolded me over it. He noted that i could be twisting the rod by not having it support by the other rod.
I never really gave it much thought until now.

From now on I plan on installing both rods and sticking a feeler gauge in between before torquing just for good measure.

But, have I been getting lucky all this time?

Any here guilty of this? Ever have any related problems?
 
#2 ·
Your advisor is correct. The normal practice is to install all the rod/piston assemblies before the torque procedure is began.

Not only have the rods on the crank with the rod bolts tightened to about 20 lb., but insert a .017" (or correct thickness) feeler gauge between the rods as you apply the final torque sequence to each pair of rod bolts. That will permit accurate and even torque to be applied to each of the rod bolts.
 
#5 ·
The chances of hurting anything is pretty damned remote, I'm assuming it's a small block chevy and that really doesn't matter, you're only going to 45 lbs.ft. or so anyway. In a perfect world the previous mentioned way is best but I wouldn't sweat it too much.
 
#7 · (Edited)
When you prepare rods for use, one of the things that need to be checked and corrected before further work is twist, even new rods! Stock rod bolts should be replaced with ARP bolts. ARP 3/8" rod bolts, when torqued in pairs to 45 lb. with ARP lube and a feeler gauge between the pair, will come up to torque quickly with 20 lb. initial torque then 45 lb. in one turn. Measured .005"-.007" bolt stretch.
 
#9 ·
Having both rods on the journal doesn't mean the rod being torqued will be "leaning" on the adjacent rod unless the oil clearance was huge or the rod side clearance insufficient unless there are spacers (like feeler gauges) used between the adjacent rods.

There will be no twisting force applied to the rod during torquing.
 
#10 ·
As a matter of practice, we wait until all cylinders are installed to "torque". Bringing each pair "up" for clear access, "whack" the pair back and forth a couple times with a "soft" hammer (tap the caps). We use a plastic one so no debris comes from the hammer itself. DO NOT use a brass hammer here. A rawhide hammer is okay. Insert that feeler blade (minimum .010", must be "hardened") on the side (between the rod and the crank, not between the two rods) that will get the pressure applied from the twisting of the wrench. This "centers up" the rods to each other, a critical point for bleeding oil and maintaining "straight".

Jim
 
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