I have done a search and got alot of different answers. I want to put a set of pistons with floating wrist pins on my stock rods. In order to do this i need to take my rods with the stock pistons and pressed pins to a machine shop to have them pushed out. Now what needs to be done, so the rods will accept floating pins? Some say i need to install bronze quides, others say to ream and others say nothing needs to be done at all. After you fit the pins to the rods all that is left is to install the locks or is there any things else that needs to be done. Please be detailed.
Thanks,
Dane

 

take them to a shop, have bronze bushings installed in the small end and you'll be all set, shop should also drill a couple of oil holes to feed the bushing oil.

 

how much is that going to cost

 

as much as buying the right rods in the first place

except that if you work up the stock rods you'll have a bunch of stock rods with too much money tied up in them; and if you buy better rods to begin with, you'll have ...... better rods to begin with

 

why do the rods have to have bronze bushings put in them`

 

so you can run floating pins. steel to steel doesn't work real good.

 

do these bronze bushing have to be put in by a shop or is it something that can be done by an average person.

 

not hard to do but need specalized equipment

 

You could "press fit" the new "floating pins" into the rods.

NOTE: Pins are not pressed in. The small end is heated up for expansion, then placed in the piston/pin assembly and put together.

 

well i just got a quote from a local machine shop and they want 220 to take out the old pressed pins, bore a larger hole and install bronze bushings on my stock rods. So that option is out the door. i can get a set of 4130 scat rods for 185 bucks. Would that be better? Also can any one elaborate on what a73camaro is saying

 

The difference between floating pins and "pressed" pins isn't the pin so much as the rod and the piston. The rod will have a bushing made of some sort of soft bearing-type metal (usually bronze), and the piston will have retainer grooves for the Spirolox or whatever to hold the pin in. There's basically no difference in the pin itself, between floaters and pressed. The only thing is that a floater has to be more carefully made to the exact right length, have the ends finished properly, etc.

So, you can take a pin designed to be fully floating, and "press" (actually, "shrink") it into a rod that's not prepped for floating pins, and even use pistons made for floating pins.

It doesn't take long to figure out that it isn't cost-effective to work up stock rods very much, since no matter how much work you do to them, they're still just stock rods.

 

so if i understand this right i can use a floating pin as a pressed pin and the corresponding pistons with no problems.

 

yes!

 

awesome

 

last set of pistons i bought were made for floating pins but i didn't need or want that so i just had them pressed on. cost along with resizing 8 rods was around 80 dollars.

 

do i have to get my rods resized also when i have the pins pressed in or is that some thing you did extra

 

you have to do it if they're out of round. they should check them and do it as part of the process. you need to do it if you change rod bolts.

 

I bought a set of those Scat rods last summer. They appear to be a better rod than the stock ones. In size, they were all less than .002" from one end to the other, maybe even .001", which is a good thing. And in weight, they were within a couple grams. Those are the only two things that I'm able to measure. But the guy I bought them from told me they're stronger than stock, and I'll take his word for that.
You can buy reconditioned, bushed factory rods, exchange, from some places and they'll be a little cheaper than the Scat ones, if that's what you're looking for.
The PM rods have a nicer finish than Scat or the stockers.
Scat rods seem to be very plentiful on Ebay at $185 or so ...a good deal.

All the SBC wristpins are the same diameter, floating or pressed. Basically, whether a pin is to be pressed or floating depends upon the rod, and whether it's bushed at the top or not. Although a floating pin can't be used in some pistons because there is no groove for a retaining clip to fit into.
What it boils down to is that something has to hold the wristpin in place. If it isn't pressed in, it will slide out without clips in the piston.
Any explanation beyond this would require visual aid. If you're still unclear, maybe someone will post a pic or you can get a book.

 

a while ago ede said maybe i didnt fully unstand wrist pins but with his help and everyone else i fully understand the different types and how they work.
Thanks,
Dane