Rod bolt removal

[Darius]

Stupid question I know, but do the rod bolts have to be pressed out and pressed back in again? Or can I get away with just hammering on them?

[gawdzilla]

pressed in/out

[Joe]

you really think its a good idea to hit something with a hammer that requires tolerences about as thick as a human hair?

[Phat_Optimo]

I hammer them out. Just need to take the cap off put the threaded bot ends down and smack the samll end of the rod. They come out pretty east with a 5lb sledge and solid worktable. Then I use a press (not hydraulic) not sure the name but its got a lever and a plunger and about a 4 ft handle to push the new bolts in. I do them all the time atleast once a week. Might as well cut the caps and have the big ends reworked on a rod machine while your at it.

[Darius]

I just dropped them off at the machine shop this morning. I was going to try to "press" them out myself because I've "pressed" everything else out with a hammer and socket. I really didn't want to have to use a hammer anywhere near the rod bearing surface.

Phat Optimo - what do you mean by cutting the caps? And I already have new bearings for the big ends so I cannot rework them at this point.

[Phat_Optimo]

After the bolts have been removed theres 2 steps to reworking the big ends of the rod. 1st step it to shave a very small amount off the sufaces where the caps meets when they are bolted together. We use a cap cutter (special machine that cuts small amount of meatal where the cap meets the rod). Then you press the bolts in put the cap on and tq the rod w/ out a bearing. Then the rod has to be honed out (to OEM spec) on a rod machine. When you cut the caps it makes the big ends circle smaller. So a honing it out gets the big end perfectly round. This has nothing to do with the bearings. I did mine not too long ago.