Mopar 383 Connecting Rods

[Tom Broome]

Originally Posted by HP HUNTER

"let's assume that you find the taper begins at the surfaces you were holding together, and progresses outward on both rods"



If your saying, and I think you might be, the first rod with the taper tight (facing the operator) would go on the mandrel first, the second rod with the taper tight up would go against the first rod. So the tight side of the housing bore would always go against each other until the taper is gone, typical flipping would start from there.

Well....what I'm actually saying is that if you have been honing a pair of rods, and the smallest points of the taper begin at the surfaces you have been holding together, and the mandrel is straight....
Let's try to get on the same page. Front rod tapered out towards you. Back rod tapered out away from you. Okay.....Right?
....the rods are tapered from operator error. The person operating the hone is twisting or torquing the rods on the mandrel.

Regarding "flipping" the rods. Sometimes you put the front rod in the rear (opposite the way they run). Sometimes you rotate the front rod 180 degrees and the back rod 180 degrees (opposite the way they run). That's what I do every half thousandths or so.

Flipping the rods not only helps keep the rod bores straight, it helps keep the mandrel wearing straight.