I'm currently assembling my engine, and I'm trying to figure out which way my connecting rods should be oriented before I put the second wrist pin retainer in since they are such a PITA (and I launched one into orbit and need to order a replacement ). It looks like the wider side of the rod (from centerline) should be facing the crank surface while the narrow side should face the other rod. Do I have that right? I'm using forged Eagle I-beams and a stock crank. The reason I ask is because I mocked up #1 and #2 with only one retainer in, and it seems like the rod is slightly biased toward one side of the piston. If I turned the rods around the other way, it would be biased even more. I'll post some pics showing what I'm talking about once I get home tonight if my description isn't clear enough.

Thanks, guys!

 

Put the pics up.

 

the tangs on the rod go on the same side as the dome or dish... (opposite side of the valve notches)... valve notches towards the top when pistons go in ... make sure you don't mix up the rod caps
sbc rods are offset to one side to center them with the cyl bores if you put em in backwards it'll lock up ... if you're still having problems shoot me a pm i'll help

 

This is what I mean. It turns freely, so I guess I have it right. Here's the pics:

 

That's the dryest looking install I have ever seen. Where is the oil?

 

I'm just mocking it up to make sure I got it right. There's assembly lube on the bearing surfaces and on the wrist pin. I don't want to get it dirty. I'll lube it up better when it's final installed.

 

The rods will have one side of the big end bore with a bigger chamfer - this goes towards the crank radius or away from the companion rod. This will work for almost any V8 as the tangs are not always in-board or out-board across all engine families.

What I have described may be what you are referring to as the "wider side".

 

So in the 1st pic, they are installed correctly, yes? The only thing that bothers me is that in pic 3, you can see the small end is biased toward the front of the block and is almost touching the piston.

 

I can't tell by looking at a picture of them installed - with the cap off the bearing tangs need to be towards the outboard side, the bigger chamfer or radius on the cheek(where the two side by side rods touch).

All odd numbered rods/pistons are assembled with the rod bearing tang pointing down and the front arrow or dot on the piston pointing left. All even numbered rods/pistons are assembled with the rod bearing tang pointing down and the front arrow or dot pointing to the right.

So if you are standing beside the engine block looking down the #1 cylinder, you should be holding that piston in your hand with the notch or arrow pointed towards the front of the motor, or the valve reliefs towards the intake manifold side. Now the rod should hang from that piston with the bearing notches towards your body and the large chamfer towards the front of the motor/radius of the crank.

 

Cool. Good description, thanks. I think I have it right, but I'll have to check where the tangs are. I know the pistons are in right because of the valve reliefs. If you look at the near bolt (in the foreground) on the #2 rod in the 1st picture, you can see there is more material off to the right than there is to the left.