Ok so this maybe a stupid question. I'm replacing the rod bearings on my 235 and one of the nuts to hold the cap on has bad threads. Can I just use a regular grad 5 or 8 nut? I've noticed alot of the old nuts and bolts on this car seem to be pretty soft and strip before they torque or break. thanks for the help
Be careful, they may have over torqued things. You may want to invest in a new set of rod bolts to be safe.
Probably not for that engine, but you could try. Interesting rock auto sells reconditioned rods for $20 each http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1326013,parttype,5276
Seriously consider replacing ALL the nuts and bolts, and have the rods- resized and then install your new bearings. BDM
Just to make it clear the rod bolt is fine. I need the actual nut for the cap. theres nothing wrong with the rods.
The rod bolt might look fine, but if it has been over tighten it might break some time when you are driving the car. The nuts have to all weigh the same or it will cause your engine to be out of balance. How do you know your rods are fine, did you check to see if they were the right size and not out of round.
What ever you do, be sure and do it right. Kicking a rod through the side of the block will create alot more work. First time I ever heard the term stupid piston nut question.
You said the nut was bad then asked if you could use a grade 5 or 8 bolt. That's why you got a bunch of answers relating to new rods and/or rod bolts. If that's a 3/8-24 thread, you should be able to find the nut at a hardware store,
The bolt may look fine, but if the nut is bad so is the bolt. I would spend the money and by new bolts and nuts, Then have the rods checked for size and being out of round. Plus have them checked to see if the are bent. No grade 5 is not good for rod nuts. I would wonder if grade 8 from China is really grade 8.
my 1st question would be , why are you replacing the bearings ? spun , worn , just for shits and grins ? i agree with the othe folks , get new bolts and have rods checked for size and straightness . im sure ARP sells rod bolts for a 235 , also its a lot easier to do this now rather than pull the motor again and do it later . also has the 235 been apart before ? bearings replaced before ? rod bolts do stretch , i have never done a bottom end without replacing the rod bolts at the very least .
I could be wrong but the rod bolts on a 235 are pressed into the rod its not like a 350. The bearings are being replaced because I decided to take a look at them and they were worn. All the the main caps look brand new. There are some things that make me think someone did some work on this motor before but it could just be from the factory. For instance one of the screws on the oil pump looks like the wrong screw driver was used.
Always a good idea to replace the rod bolts when doing an overhaul. They get stretched and become weak. If the rod bolts were pressed in (I'm not a 235 expert) then I would definately be replacing them. The fact that it appears that someone has used the wrong screw driver on the oil pump would make me suspect any work that may have been done on the motor previously. IE not trust that the rod bolts have ever been replaced or the rods sized. granted I am suspicious by nature so maybe I am being overly suspect in this case. That said you should be able to find the proper nut at NAPA. You may have to tell the dud to step away from the computer and look in the catalogs.
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