when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

do you guys do anything to the big end afterwards or just swap them and check with stretch gage?

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

they need to be checked for roundness.

alot of the LS1 street car guys swap them in the car, it sometimes leads to failures. Most likely from pulling the cap out of round

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

Swapping rod bolts with out resizing the rods is a sure way to end up with spun bearings.
You can check them for roundness after you put them in, but what you will find is the caps don't align with the rod. It usually moves the caps around a few .0001's (Thats tenths of a thousand or more) because the new bolts don't hold the same center as the old bolts. In the 40 years I've done engines I've seen spun bearings many times when someone does a freshen up themselves and doesn't size the rods after changing the bolts. In some of their instructions ARP does suggest the rods be sized when changing bolts . Have your machinest cut the cap and rod side about 1 1/2 to 2 thousandths each and then put the bolts in and resize. That will give enough to work with and it will only shorten the rod 1 to 2 thousandths. It is my opinion that you might roll the dice and get by without resizing, but that is one of those pay now or pay later things.....


http://www.arp-bolts.com/catalog/Catalog.html
Look at step 4 of the ARP instructions from page 33 of their web site about How To Install OEM-Style Bolts.

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

Adger is 100% correct. We did a little experiment with rod bolts and I think it worked on 1 out of 10 rods. Not the kind of odds I would want to bet against..

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

I can't believe how many LS1 internet kids tell me they swap them out in the car. They tell me "Everybody on (fill-in-the-blank).com does it." Friggin insane.

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

Do they have a "cracked cap rod" the stock rod neon guys do it to. I'm told you can't resize "cracked cap rods"
One reason I used aluminum rods.

Re: when swapping out rod bolts from stock to ARP
 

Clevite makes a special bearing for the "cracked rod" in the LS-1, and the regular small block. It is 0.001" bigger on the OD. Made especially for rods that cannot be cut on the cap or the rod.