the hunt for rods....

[rickykline]

Chevrolet 4.3L V6 262 ci 2.250" crank pin/.927" pin/.930" b.e. width
5.700"/690 grams cat. # CRS5700S6......................................... ..$469.00
cheapest i have found them...

also is it safe to machine off .0063 from the big end??

[geoffinbc]

Yea the bottom end is already narrower than the SBC but it is also a larger diameter so it wont work. Only early small journal SBC's have the correct crank pin size of 2.1"

[bszopi]

I think he is looking into a 3500 crank, in which case the 4.3L rods would be the correct ones.

[rickykline]

i am building a forged 3500..

[wasas9]

305 pistons + 4.3 l rods....


yummy

[bszopi]

305 pistons + 4.3 l rods....


yummy

Too bad the 4.3L rod length + the 305 piston compression height doesn't equal to the right dimensions needed for the 3500. IIRC, the pistons would end up out of the block almost 0.25".

[geoffinbc]

Oh for a 3500 yes they are the right one due to the new crank pin size. But why change? The powdered rods are very strong. They are also lighter and have a more positivly located cap due to their fractured cap construction. I am not sure on the new fastener size though.

[Superdave]

Oh for a 3500 yes they are the right one due to the new crank pin size. But why change? The powdered rods are very strong. They are also lighter and have a more positivly located cap due to their fractured cap construction. I am not sure on the new fastener size though.

I was told that the powdered rods have always been a weak link in the LSx engines...

Either way, i'm still using them in my 3500 with the stock pistons. I'm not too worried, lol.

[Joseph Upson]

Someone buy a piston and rod from the 3.6L DOHC engine to see if it can be used in the 3500. The 3.6L piston has the same bore and is forged and the rod assembly floating. I speculated earlier that it probably has the same pin location since the 3.6L compression is 10.2:1 and the stroke is ~1.6 mm more than the 3.5L. The assembly is about $100 or less from GM parts direct, and if it works out we'll have an inexpensive forged piston source.

I had planned to buy one for comparison, then I hit something in the road yesterday at about 50 mph and today I have to spend $500 on a new set of rims so as I stated earlier someone buy a piston or get the specs so we can determine the possibility.

[wasas9]

I did find last night some celicas/4 runners have a 3.7" bore with a .866 wrist pin.

Too bad about the 4.3 rods and 305 pistons.

[bszopi]

I tried looking for the PNs on GMPD for the 3.6DOHC rod and piston, but never found anything. Send me the PNs and I will order one.

[rickykline]

i plan to run th 4.3l rods which are .2 inch shorter then the 3500 rods and custom made pistons from either je or wiseco...with about 8.5 to 1 seeing as im boosttting