Rebuilding Rods . . .

This process sounds easy - but, it's more difficult than it looks.  One problem is that aftermarket rod races are not consistent anymore.  ODs too big, IDs too small - varying hardness and varying widths.  On the female rod, you want the races flush, but they are all too wide, so we have to surface-grind the outside or it will wear into the flywheel thrust washers.  Wrist pin bushings are way undersize . .  don't they have any quality control in Taiwan ?  You can take a NOS Harley part and it fits with little or no modifications.  Say what you want about Harley-Davidson . . . but, they had pretty damn good QC at the factory in the 1920s thru 1960s . . . then people got greedy and looked at the bottom line all the time. 

3 comments:

B.C. said...

No there isn't any quality control, and if the average user factored in cost of said imported item and cost to make it usable, a quality made item isn't that much more expensive. Burn's my ass.

WhitelinePsycho said...

Buy good stuff once and the money is never a consideration again, the fact so many old hogglies are still out and about is testament to the QC issue . . . does the same law of inconsistency apply to stuff like Carillo rods and S+S stuff Noot ?

Noot said...

No qualms with Carillo or S&S or Jims. Good stuff !