440 crankshaft rods orientation question

I recently purchased a re-built 440 short block whom someone had speedpro flat top pistons hung on LY rods. The crankshaft, pistons and rods were obviously balanced.
Unfortunately, #2 main bearing went out on the crankshaft. (this is how I bought the block)
I am getting ready to install an replacement (standard steel) crankshaft in this block and noticed that the piston order is NOT as factory (ie. # 1 rod in #1 block hole.)
Rather, they are all over the place. #1 in #7 hole, #3 in #4 hole and so on.
I'd like to put the piston assemblies back as they were when I disassembled the block as the rings are already broke into the bores they were removed.
Can I safely do this? Why weren't they in the correct bores ?
Otherwise, I'll have to re-ring to put pistons and rods in the order they were assembled from the factory.
Not a super big deal, but would like to hear what you guys think. Thanks in advance

It doesn't matter what hole the piston and rod are in as long as they are oriented correctly....

The piston may have a mark/notch on one side which is supposed to be towards the front of the engine when the piston is in the bore... If the piston has only two 'eyebrows', they should be on the top of the cylinder when the piston and rod are installed....

The oil squirt hole on the rod is supposed to be towards the center of the engine and the anchor slot goes toward the outside of the engine... The squirt hole oils the cylinder on the opposite bank, that's why it points toward the center/other side of the engine... Make sure the pistons are properly oriented on the rods...

Sometimes one bank of pistons and rods are backward oriented so the piston and rod are properly oriented in the engine... You can mix and match the pistons and rods on the same bank and not be a problem...


However if you want to switch pistons and rods, it's easier to do with floating rods, than press fit ones... If they are press fit rods, then I would just leave them as is and put them in the cylinders that they came out of... It's difficult to control the rod temperature in a home environment and not worth messing with... The rods can only be heated up to 517° max, because at 520° they will start to turn a blue color which will affect the microstructure of the metal in the rod and weaken it....

Plus you pointed out that the engine is balanced... Mixing up the piston and rod combination may mess up the balance, depending on how it was done...

I would just leave it as it was assembled last....

IF the rods were resized, it does not matter where they go, AS LONG AS as Karl described, the bearing locks point to the outside of the block and the piston notches all point forward. Be careful though, if the rod big ends don't have fresh cross hatch in their inside bores, chances are they've not been resized. IMO, the only way to circumvent that issue is to have them resized. Then you can safely install them.

When I balance an engine with all new parts on a fresh machined crank with resized rods I never pay any attention to the factory number stamps, they just don’t matter any more.

jas0162 said:

When I balance an engine with all new parts on a fresh machined crank with resized rods I never pay any attention to the factory number stamps, they just don’t matter any more.

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Dint see anyone mention the chamfered side of the rod needs to go to the fillit if the crank has them .

U will still need to balance the replacement crank. Kim