Boom Baby!!!

[longassname]

well...i posted the weight of the eagle rod assemblies...how much do your rods weigh?

[TomsSVX]

Ok good news... I just got the confirmation that the Eagle 2.2l rods LAN had recomended have the same dimensions as Sti rods and most of the performance SUby engines like the 2.0, 2.2 and 2.5... This means I will go ahead and order the Eagles with LAN so we can split one set

Harvey, I did remove the rods... they are fine and the bearings nor journals show any abnormal wear. These motors were built for more than what they have ever seen before

Tom

[cdigerlando]

I have also tossed this question around. It seems that deck closing would help not only to better seal the head gasket, but also to prevent the top of the sleave from moving around. I think o-ringing might also acheive this though, but would not have the added benifit of better sealing the gasket. Disadvantages I have heard include pinching down of the piston sleave top when the engine is warm. This is common when the decking is mearly "hammered" into place. Too much internal stress on the sleaves.

I have been corresponding with Howard of AR Fabrication. He has sleeving experience with all of the 4 cylinder subaru engines. Unfortunately he has none with the 6 cylinder engines. He is willing to do a build, but would want to source his own pistons. I was hoping to source LAN's pistons and head and valve train work, and just have Howard do the bottom end. But he does not want to do that. He would want to source everything in the bottom end. Now I am asking if he would do the heads too.

I'm a bit frustrated. I imagine I could pull the heads myself, send them to LAN, send the bottom end to Paeco (I have not heard too much good about them), and have them sleave and/or deck the bottom end. Then install the pistons myself and assemble the top end.

Tom:

Thanks for sacrificing your engine for the cause. I guess the pistons are not as strong as everyone thought. Thankfully you did not damage any other components in your motor. I'll let you know what I see when mine comes appart too. I did not have audible knock, but have extensive blowby. I'll let you know why. I think you are smart to change out the rods and bearings too. A thrown rod can really screw up a motor. Too much of a big gamble IMHO to do all of that work and have a rod fail.

Lets keep in touch. We are both looking at doing a build. Perhaps we can pool our efforts, and make it a bit more cost effective to have a shop work on two unusual motor builds instead of just one. Let me know if you are interested and I will let AR Fab know. Perhaps we can talk them into just sleaving and decking. Then do the rest of the assembly work ourselves or with a local machine shop.