Connecting rod replacement cost

[musclemustangcb]

What have some of you guys paid for having a shop do connecting rod upgrades in your 07-14 gt500s?? By this I mean having the car complete. Now just dropping an engine off. Did that shop reuse the piston rings?


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[rotor_powerd]

Reusing rings is a no go. Once they come out of the bore they are trash. Bores should be honed as well. If you're going to pay someone to pull the motor and do rods, do a full build on it with pistons, rings, bearings, seals, etc. You'll probably pay 30-40 hours of labor minimum to R&R the motor, and the teardown/build in between.

 

[Weather Man]

Reusing rings is a no go. Once they come out of the bore they are trash.

Never heard of properly removed pistons having an issue reusing rings if still correct for bore. You do have to be careful to check for a ridge as that could damage the rings on removal.

I do agree that if the motor is being pulled apart for rods, it makes sense to do all new rods/pistons and rings. I would definitely wait to order pistons until machinist is sure it only needs a hone and not more.

 

[Snoopy49]

Don't forget upgraded oil pump, timing chains and cam sprockets.

 

[rotor_powerd]

Never heard of properly removed pistons having an issue reusing rings if still correct for bore. You do have to be careful to check for a ridge as that could damage the rings on removal.

I do agree that if the motor is being pulled apart for rods, it makes sense to do all new rods/pistons and rings. I would definitely wait to order pistons until machinist is sure it only needs a hone and not more.

You can stick the same rings back in, but I don't know why you would. Assuming we are building this engine to make some power, I can't see cheaping out by reusing the rings. Seems silly.

 

[musclemustangcb]

What rings are preferred in an alloy block application, that will see up to 23psi, AP STEEL? What gaps are recommended?


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[JimIII@jdm]

Your not going to just replace the rods.

The engine gets removed, torn down to the shortblock and then stock rods,pistons, crank,etc come out.

To rebuild your shortblock you're diamond honing the block .001"-.002" (AL block) depending on the bores. Pistons will have to be ordered to size. As well new rings. The crank gets polished, then the rotating assembly with new rods and pistons gets balanced and assembled with new rod bearings, main bearings, and main hardware. Upgrade your oil pump to one with billet gears. New head gaskets and timing components, then the heads go back on, drop in some JDM Super Stock cams while your at it, time and assemble the long block. Put the covers back on and put the motor back in the car......That is a full build and the right way to approach "replacing your rods"

Depending on the parts you use, and labor rates you could spend a few thousand to tens of thousands....it's a slipper slope! We do this sort of thing here often so if you need help or break down for what you want to do let us know. We also offer full rotating kits with Rods, pistons, etc... so you can do this at home.

http://www.teamjdm.com/5-4l-aluminum-gt500-shortblock-1200-hp-rebuild-kit/


JimIII

 

[musclemustangcb]

Your not going to just replace the rods.

The engine gets removed, torn down to the shortblock and then stock rods,pistons, crank,etc come out.

To rebuild your shortblock you're diamond honing the block .001"-.002" (AL block) depending on the bores. Pistons will have to be ordered to size. As well new rings. The crank gets polished, then the rotating assembly with new rods and pistons gets balanced and assembled with new rod bearings, main bearings, and main hardware. Upgrade your oil pump to one with billet gears. New head gaskets and timing components, then the heads go back on, drop in some JDM Super Stock cams while your at it, time and assemble the long block. Put the covers back on and put the motor back in the car......That is a full build and the right way to approach "replacing your rods"

Depending on the parts you use, and labor rates you could spend a few thousand to tens of thousands....it's a slipper slope! We do this sort of thing here often so if you need help or break down for what you want to do let us know. We also offer full rotating kits with Rods, pistons, etc... so you can do this at home.

http://www.teamjdm.com/5-4l-aluminum-gt500-shortblock-1200-hp-rebuild-kit/


JimIII

Thank you Jim! Do you offer this a kit for the 5.8 identical to that link you just provided?


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[JimIII@jdm]

Thank you Jim! Do you offer this a kit for the 5.8 identical to that link you just provided?


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We do! But I don't list them online because some of the parts are difficult to get. The 5.4L has been around for quiet some time so more piston and rod options are available. At the moment I have one set on the shelf in stock. After that it could be a few weeks before we get more Rods.

JimIII

 

[Snoopy49]

Jim,
How thick is the plasma spray cylinder coating on a 5.8 and is it safe to hone?

 

[RedVenom48]

I remember reading that the spray on bore is extremely thin, but by virtue of its application process EXTREMELY hard and robust. Assuming no damage has been done via blown rods and pistons, there should be no need for honing. The spray on liner, if found to be without the crosshatch, would require the block to be sleeved. There is simply not enough material to even do a quick hone pass to check for washboarding, but lack of crosshatch would indicate this.

Now, it should be checked for crosshatch on the cylinder walls. If ok reassembly is good to go. If not, for whatever reason, youll need to either replace the block or sleeve it.

*edit* Nissan licensed the technology from Ford for use on the GT-R engines. I personally havent heard of performance shops needing sleeve the blocks during an upgrade though i admit, ive not gone looking for this specific information.

 

[Corbic]

Don't forget upgraded oil pump, timing chains and cam sprockets.

And down the "well since it's apart" rabbit hole we go!!

 

[JimIII@jdm]

Jim,
How thick is the plasma spray cylinder coating on a 5.8 and is it safe to hone?

.006"-.007" we usually diamond hone .0015-.002" when fitting pistons. After that we wouldn't hone it again, we would $leeve the block

 

[musclemustangcb]

.006"-.007" we usually diamond hone .0015-.002" when fitting pistons. After that we wouldn't hone it again, we would $leeve the block

That's great info Jim, thank you!


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[musclemustangcb]

This is a little off topic, but not bad....the 11/12 5.4 crankshaft can clearly hold big power, but what about the cranks in the previous years iron block 5.4s? What can a 2010 gt500 crank take? Say a person want to do a similar 1200hp upgrade kit....will the crank hold like the 11-12?


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[rotor_powerd]

This is a little off topic, but not bad....the 11/12 5.4 crankshaft can clearly hold big power, but what about the cranks in the previous years iron block 5.4s? What can a 2010 gt500 crank take? Say a person want to do a similar 1200hp upgrade kit....will the crank hold like the 11-12?


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They're the same cranks

 

[musclemustangcb]

They're the same cranks

Thank you


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[JimIII@jdm]

This is a little off topic, but not bad....the 11/12 5.4 crankshaft can clearly hold big power, but what about the cranks in the previous years iron block 5.4s? What can a 2010 gt500 crank take? Say a person want to do a similar 1200hp upgrade kit....will the crank hold like the 11-12?


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07-14 GT500 are all the same crank. The CJ crank is a stock GT500 crank that's gone through one more "finishing" process...probably just to make it look pretty but no strengthen or performance benefit. The stock crank or CJ crank I would rate for 1200 HP. After that due to crank flex, we switch to a billet steel version.

 

[musclemustangcb]

07-14 GT500 are all the same crank. The CJ crank is a stock GT500 crank that's gone through one more "finishing" process...probably just to make it look pretty but no strengthen or performance benefit. The stock crank or CJ crank I would rate for 1200 HP. After that due to crank flex, we switch to a billet steel version.

Thank you again Jim! Do you offer a 1200hp upgrade option for the 5.4 iron block applications aswell?


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[JimIII@jdm]

Thank you again Jim! Do you offer a 1200hp upgrade option for the 5.4 iron block applications aswell?


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Yes! We offer it with similar components...also more range for bore size with the Iron block. We don't like going past 1100-1200 HP on the iron block however because the factory cylinder walls will crack or distort.