360
Thanks for the reply krazykuda... i know before i start moving up the redline with cam, heads, etc. I want to sonic check the block as it was already bored .060" when i got it and if the cylinders check out ok i will go ahead and install aftermarket rods with new bolts. I've put probably 10,000 somewhat hard miles on it including two passes down the strip and it has held up great so far. I just hope if a bolt fails it happens slowly so i can catch it before my engine nukes itself
Btw i might have missed but what's the main advantage of floating pins?
As far as the engine is concerned, there is no difference.
I guess that you can install the floating pistons at home in your garage with a set of snap ring pliers. To buy a heater to install press fit rods at home is too expensive, so you have to bring them to a machine shop to have assembled. That is how it would impact the home builder.
It makes a difference in manufacturing the engines.
floating pins require snap rings (clips) on each side of the piston to keep the pin from coming out. It sometimes becomes difficult in a high volume production process to install the clips and make sure that they are installed correctly, or one not getting installed. If a clip is not installed, the wrist pin will eventually "walk" out of the piston and score the cylinder wall. They put an automated machine in to check for the presence of the wrist pin clips on each side, but it can have problems and miss one once in a while.
Press fit pistons require that the connecting rod be heated and then install the wrist pin. this requires good process control to make sure that the rods are not overheated, but heated enough to install the wrist pin. Overheating the rod will weaken the strength of the rod (it turns blue). Underheating will make the wrist pin hang up when installing. The proper heat will turn the rod a yellow/brown (straw) color.
It's more of a manufacturing issue and how well they maintain their equipment at the factory. The engine itself "doesn't care" how you connect the piston and rod, as long as it's done correctly.
It's easy building one engine at a time in your garage. You have all the time in the world. In an engine factory, there are production targets to reach and maintain (or the CEO bitches out the plant manager and the **** rolls down hill from there).
The line that I was involved with we built approximately 1200 v-6 engines per shift on two shifts. Each assembly line operator had 23 seconds to complete their jobs. So there were 12 line operators "shooting" (installing) 6 pistons every 23 seconds. We had to have a section next to the assembly line that could build up enough pistons and rods with rings installed to keep them supplied (minus any that didn't pin all the way - scrap). We had to set up enough stations with operators to pin approximately 7500 pistons per shift (working 7 hours after the breaks were taken). A bit more of a challenge than building in your garage....
The piston 'ringers' were amazing. One operator would install the center oil ring by hand. Then they had automatic "ringers" - machines that would install both skinny oil rings, and both compression rings at the same time! The operators who ran the "ringers" would take the piston and rod with the center oil ring "scraper ring" on them and put them in a "hole" then hit a foot pedal, and all of the rings were installed at the same time in one cycle. Just put the piston all the way to the bottom of "the hole", hit the foot pedal, and then hang them on an overhead conveyor to bring them to the piston shooters on the assembly line. It took only 5 seconds to install the 4 rings. Awesome!
