drop in rods

[hgtuner08]

What are some things that should be replaced when doing drop in rods? Im assuming pistons rings? Anything else? All other routine maintenance is up to date. Car has 105k miles. Want to trade up to 2871r elim w meth soon

[KHARDa4]

Oem rod and main bearings, thrust washers, rings, oil pump ( you don't have to but I did ), top end gasket kit, timing belt and waterpump. You can also do coolant hoses, thermostat housing, whatever you choose at that point since the engine is out. I did everything listed and then some. Good luck!

[KHARDa4]

Oh you're from Rockville cool, I used to work out there.

[redline380]

Oem rod and main bearings, thrust washers, rings, oil pump ( you don't have to but I did ), top end gasket kit, timing belt and waterpump. You can also do coolant hoses, thermostat housing, whatever you choose at that point since the engine is out. I did everything listed and then some. Good luck!

Pretty much what this guy said!

I would pull the engine and replace the clutch two. And you might as well send the head off to get checked. Guides could be out of spec soon depending on mileage.

The problem with doing something like rods is it can be a rabbit hole. You will think, "While I am in there, I might as well...." Then your $500 rods turn into $3000 worth of work and mods.

[MetalMan]

I just did rods a month ago. 119k miles, 170-185psi compression on every cylinder, timing belt/etc. all done 12k miles prior.

Went with I.E.'s 144x19mm drop-in rods. The only part I replaced was rod bearings. So that means I re-used piston rings, wrist pins, wrist pin circlips, all timing components.... But I did also put in a new (upgraded) clutch setup to replace the 12k mile-old Valeo clutch setup.

My goal was to avoid what redline is talking about; the "while you're in there" principle. Only other thing I did was replace valve stem seals, even though the exhaust valve guides felt like they could use replacing.

[PreciseD]

That "While you're in there" part is a bitch. Get ready to spend way more then you think if you want to do it right. Not sure about MetalMan but I've not heard of many having good luck reusing rings. You will diffidently need to replace all the TTY Bolting.

[customa4]

That "While you're in there" part is a bitch. Get ready to spend way more then you think if you want to do it right. Not sure about MetalMan but I've not heard of many having good luck reusing rings. You will diffidently need to replace all the TTY Bolting.

That's for sure. The saying works for just about every repair on our cars! "Gotta change the clutch. OK. Lets do the pilot bearing, clutch fork, rear main seal, pivot parts. All done. Oh yea, an axle too!" I'm with Precise and Redline though, do it right the first time, no sense of pulling it apart later on even if you have to spend a few extra bucks now.

[MetalMan]

Not sure about MetalMan but I've not heard of many having good luck reusing rings.

Still yet to be determined for me, haha. I was hoping to maintain their prior positioning but that went out the window pretty quickly. On the bright side it's not [noticeably] burning oil, MPG doesn't seemed to have changed (still getting a crappy ~high 15-low 16 MPG on E85). Soon I want to run another compression test but I'm a little apprehensive to see the results.

Installing new rings is the right way to go no doubt. But to do it "right" you'll also need to hone the cylinders, clean out everything to make sure no honing grit ended up where it shouldn't have, gap all 12 new rings, then break in the engine. The cost difference isn't necessarily large but the time difference (especially when it's your DD) is kinda high.

[PreciseD]

Still yet to be determined for me, haha. I was hoping to maintain their prior positioning but that went out the window pretty quickly. On the bright side it's not [noticeably] burning oil, MPG doesn't seemed to have changed (still getting a crappy ~high 15-low 16 MPG on E85). Soon I want to run another compression test but I'm a little afraid to see the results.

Installing new rings is the right way to go no doubt. But to do it "right" you'll also need to hone the cylinders, clean out everything to make sure no honing grit ended up where it shouldn't have, gap all 12 new rings, then break in the engine. The cost difference isn't necessarily large but the time difference (especially when it's your DD) is kinda high.

100% understand that

[KHARDa4]

Pretty much what this guy said!

I would pull the engine and replace the clutch two. And you might as well send the head off to get checked. Guides could be out of spec soon depending on mileage.

The problem with doing something like rods is it can be a rabbit hole. You will think, "While I am in there, I might as well...." Then your $500 rods turn into $3000 worth of work and mods.

Haha my situation now. I've been throwing money in a bottomless hole :(

[crazyquik22023]

I have re-used rings many times on the 1.8t and have always had good compression numbers a no problems of excessive oil consumption or smoke or anything of that nature.

[B6a418t]

i have done multiple "drop In" rods in 1.8t's for myself and for others. IF you have good compression before and want to save a few bucks, just do the rods and rod bearings. Just make sure you follow ARP's specs for torquing the bolts and use Plastigauge to ensure your clearances are correct before the final torque of your rods.

Then enjoy.

[hgtuner08]

thanks for all the replies. I had a few other questions on hand and I suppose this is as good a place as any to ask. What type of aftermarket parts manufacturers do you trust or does everybody just go OEM because that seems...excessive. When are ARP head studs a must? Going with an eliminator, do people usually keep exhaust manifolds or go to the high flow aftermarket options? I had heard there was an excessive cracking issue with them? The ecs cart is growing...

[hgtuner08]

also looking at the main bearing on ecs they seem to be color coded. Whats the difference?

[customa4]

For the head gasket itself I chose OEM. For all other gaskets like intake manifold and exhaust manifold, I got a Fel-Pro kit. ARP head bolts are a good option if you plan on taking the motor back apart. They are not stretch bolts so you can reuse them unlike the OEM bolts. I opted for the OEM head bolts but I'm sure others have had success with aftermarket. Going with an eliminator kit you would retain the stock exhaust manifold but there might be options out there for an aftermarket manifold.