[grivera]

I know it stinks that the small end is tight on most of the less expensive rods, and curious what a machine shop charges to run a hone through them? And/or how much time involved since shop rates may vary.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by grivera

I know it stinks that the small end is tight on most of the less expensive rods, and curious what a machine shop charges to run a hone through them? And/or how much time involved since shop rates may vary.

I can best answer your question this way. Small ends that are tight can be easily fixed if they are simply tight. (not greatly tapered or out of round). this process takes 1/2 hour maximum to open them up to specs for a set of 8. If you are having additional work done at the machine shop or know the folks and have a working relationship with them, it may be a no charge deal. As a walk-in don't know anyone, they may charge you an hour. The big ends are much more of an issue. Again, if the big ends are just small, it's the same as the small ends. 1./2 hour of labor will fix the set. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that the big ends can be really messed up. If already too big, you are screwed. First, you have to remove the hollow dowels from the rods. They can be difficult to pull and usually can't be re-used. Then the rods and caps have to be cut, new dowels installed, and honed to size. This entire process can take 2, 2 1/2 hours. So essentially, your rebuilding the new rods. The last 2 sets of rods we had through the shop from Ohio Crankshaft, all 16 rods had to be completely rebuilt before they could be used. They had taper as much as .0015" and out of round as much as .002". No way they would have lived in service. One set was SBC, the other BBC.

So in this case, buying a set of cheap rods, for $450.00 and having to pay $300.00 to get them fixed so they can be used puts you right in Molnar range. I have never had to service a Molnar rod new out of the box and I check every one.