From what I've read, rod bolts seem to be a weak spot in the motor. I understand that I'll need to take apart the whole bottom end but what I am wondering is; is it necessary to balance everything again or can you just screw and reassemble? What is the PROPER way to reassemble everything?

Before anyone asks, I will not be doing this on my own, and if it is too much work I would take it to a engine building shop. So please no 'take it to a shop", I'm merely curious to know what is all involved.

 

In my opinion, changing the rod bolts is a complete waste of time ! here is why ..

(1) rod bolt failures are the result of exssesive rpm .. not high H.P
(2) the proper way to do the bolts is also to "re-size" the big end of the connecting rod (i.e when you hammer the old bolts out & "pull" the new ones in you can and usually distort the big end leading to variations in rod bearing clearance) .. this also requires complete dissasembly of the engine & a trip to the machine shop ..
(3) are you increasing your rpm threshold ? if your going to run "safe rpm levels" i.e .. under 7800 ? ? then dont bother.
(4) are you going to use this engine in a road race set-up ? ? drag race or street application ? ? whats the application ? ?
(5) as far as I remember ... I have not heard of anybody "breaking the rod bolts" !
more like catastrophic engine failure due to poor tuning, maintance, detonation etc etc.
(6) do the head studs ! ! the factory head bolts are a KNOWN weak link ! !
...hope this helps ! !

 

Thanks for the info! I also planned on doing the head studs.

 

It is a big job to do them right. A mechanic I talked to last night said he wouldn't even do the job unless the caps and rods were re-machined to ensure "roundness" (my wording, not his). He also said that it is very easy to screw up cylinder wall, rods, crank, etc. when tapping the old bolts out and putting the new ones in.

 

Where is a good place to source aftermarket head studs?

 

but I got mine from summit racing.