Rod Bushings and Full Floating Pistons

bluestang65

New member
Has anyone run bushings in the rods for full floating pistons? I've read the pros and cons. I'm running forged pistons and have the option of running them. Scat sells bushings for their rods (pn B912) that should work provided that I don't have to remove too much material from the rod itself.

Sound off if you've done this.
 
I have converted many OEM press fit rods to full floating of many different brands. The process is pretty straight forward provided the machine shop has the right equipment. The main things to watch out for is the wrist pin hole in the S/E of the rods and to make sure they are fairly well centered with the forging and not off center too much. You may have to sort through several sets of rods to find (6) that can be suitable to use for this modification. Also, as you pointed out, make sure you are not boring out too much material from the rod and get the smallest diameter OD bushings to ensure this. And finally, make sure to drill a small oil hole on the top side of the rods S/E, never on the underside pin boss.
 
I have done it in many of my race engine builds though the late 60's and 70's. Back then it was a part of the blue printing process of the engine to get all the rods to an equal length, along with indexing the crank, balancing, etc. and it was also an advantage for ease of assembly and disassembly. Many of the old Ford engines came stock with bushed rods i.e. up to and including the Y Block V8's & 215, 223, 262 sixes, after that Ford started using pressed in pins. Because of the Alum. rods I am using in my current build (drag race 300) it will be using a set of floating pins. Good luck on your build :nod:
 
Been there as well. Just wanted to point out that unless you are correcting rod length differences as bubba had suggested, there is absolutely no benefit in using floating pins EXCEPT the ease of assembly. Unless you will have the engine torn down a LOT and replacing pistons, it is really a waste of money. I would always shake my head when some stroke would give his laundry list of parts during a bench racing session and bushed rods/floating pins were included in hs build. And then he would say it is in a street car that will never have the chromed engine out of it again for a decade or two. Uggghhh. His money right? 8)

Also, I have NEVER seen a failure with a press fit wrist pin, but I have seen spiral locks installed improperly on floating pins come loose, and the damage that ensues is pretty severe.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am mostly interested in protecting my ridiculously expensive forged piston investment. I certainly realize that building an inline Ford 6 isn't about complaining about expensive pistons, but if I can spend a little more on the rods and have the ability to remove the pistons as necessary without damaging them, I'm game. Who knows why I'd need to remove them, but if I ever did, I'd be bummed when they get smashed on the piston press. If there isn't enough meat on the small end of the rods, I'll forget I worried about it at all, I guess. Just running some stuff by the been-there-done-that crowd on here who's built some cool inline 6 motors.

Forgive me for the elementary questions and complaints about sticker shock. I'm looking down the barrel of some custom $700 pistons while simultaneously building a 411W stroker. Those off-the-shelf forged pistons cost me less than half that from a forum member over on the Mustang site who didn't need them.

I know I'm preaching to the choir so I'll just say thanks for the info and quit complaining.
 
You might check out Autotech forged pistons they are quite a bit more budget friendly then $700.00 for a custom set, they are what I plan on using. Still hoping to find a good deal on a 300 forged crank and roller cam to be able to complete my short block build. Good luck :nod:
 
I ordered a set of very short custom forged pistons from RaceTek (another division of the same company that owns AutoTek; owned by Wayne Brooks, who formerly owned JE Pistons). The set of six was about $600, and my machinist had no issues with the pistons. They are now running in my 250 with the aluminum head.

Thanks
Bob the Builder
 
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http://www.fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=195427

xctasy":3hycvg9k said:
Buy the H section rods, and buy them 'bushed'. (Not political, Addo :LOL:) You may have to get someone to re-bush the diameter to 0.9112", as opposed to the 0.927" pin used in Chevies. The basic rod comes with a 0.984" hole, and you'll have to get the bushes custom made. Normal Chev or Ford Bushes are about 16 bucks each, but it allows you to run Ford pistons. The stroker Windsor 5.6 bushes are too big, so get some 289 or 302 bushes. Nope, I don't have a part number buddy, but they are out there!
 
These are my Racetecs.
938d5cb0-a7a2-45d6-91b3-d7b4eb0c77d9_zps3ee3e637.jpg


These are my bushed stock rods
37095620-2653-41d2-b662-9240b7550095_zpsd7747f93.jpg


That is my filthy hand holding my stock, bushed rod. (that will only run in a street driven car.)

I put them in because there's a turbo forcing my hand, I bushed the rods only because it made it easier to balance. ( well no easier really,...just meant I didn't have to take the rotating assy back to the machine shop to have the pistons pressed after picking it up from the balancer)

I paid 690.00 for piston and pins. You can get a cheaper set from them (Autotec) but they will have a higher silicon content in them as opposed to the 2618 forgings that you get when you buy a Racetec set.

The higher silicon content makes the piston more brittle, less tolerant of detonation,meant more as a upgrade over stock. While on the plus side expands less than a true forged piston, and as a direct result runs quieter (less skirt noise,..especially when cold), and typically is more than adequate as a better grade of piston when compared to a cast stocker.
 
I favor floating pins and double spiro locs, never a problem.

For those building 250s, rods with C9DE on them are forged.
 
I prefer floating pins myself also. One advantage that is often overlooked is that in a press fit rod, the wrist pin wears in the same spot all the time because it cannot move. I have seen many dozens of apps where only in a short time of running, the wrist pin has already worn enough that it cannot be reused after a freshen up. In a floating setup, the pin is always rotating and never wearing constantly in one spot, and eliminates that problem, especially if you just spend over $150 bucks for some lightweight pins.
 
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