rod cap oil slot?

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screeminDemon

screeminDemon

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I'm building my first 360, getting ready to drop in the slugs, but I'm confused about these slots cut into some of the rod caps that are supposedly for oiling. The book "How to rebuild your small block mopar" says they need to be installed facing the opposite cylinder (to oil the opposite cylinder). I'm scratching my head thinking... no oil is going to quirt out of those slots, it makes more sense they are made for oil to get in to the rod bearings.

Besides, only three of them have these grooves in the cap, the other 5 dont. Do I need to worry about the direction they are facing as the book suggests?
Also, if they are for oiling the rod bearings as I would suspect, wouldn't they need a hole in the bearing as well? Otherwise only the backside/journal side of the bearings will get lubed...

Anybody know what I am talking about? Thanks
 
Welcome to the board!

The rod bearing is oiled through passages drilled in the crankshaft. Those holes in the rod caps your referring too are to oil the opposite cyl. wall by the pressurized oil flowing through the crank and they do need to be installed in the correct fashion, like the book said. Why you only have 3 rods with holes is probably cause someone else was in the engine before and changed some rods out with rods that didn't have the holes. I think if it were me I'd have the rotating assy. balanced since there is apparently 2 different types of rods but then again I always balance my engines as the factory balance job was mediocre at best.

BTW: a lot of perf. bearings don't have the oil hole in them so in reality the oil hole in the rod doesn't get used.
 
Fishy is right. But don't just think that if there are no oil slots / holes that you can put the rods in either way. There will be a wide chamfer on one side of the rod's big hole and a small chamfer on the other side. The large chamfer faces the shoulder of the crank, small chamfers face each other. Sounds confusing, and I probably didn't describe it well, but look carefully at the rods and you will see what I mean.
 
You guys Rock! I'm so glad I discovered this site. Thanks a bunch Fishy and Swinger!
PS - I'll check with my machine shop about balancing, I've heard this recommendation before, but someone told me it was about $400 which would probably be over my budget right now
 
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