Stroker rods

[cacasal]

I have an S&S 96" Super Stock motor with 35,XXX miles on it. Right now it sits on my bench with a wasted cam, lifter ( I assume ),Nose cone bushing....loose pistons and very loose rods. Besides the disappointment of what I figure to be a premature wear condition, ....... I broke the motor in following S&S procedures to the letter.
Now comes the rebuild. I have been told that S&S rods are weak on the big end......Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm....Jim's rods are oh so pricey.
Does anyone have any input on this?
The cam is the factory installed 585. No compression releases.
I really aim for longevity ( I should have thought of that when I bought the motor... )
Any ideas?
Thanks
Carlos

[Hillside]

The S&S rods are a very good product.
Scott

[A-one]

Originally Posted by Hillside

The S&S rods are a very good product.
Scott

Agreed. I'd be looking into a lower end oiling issue, rod bearings not being sized correctly, or some type of initial bearing/part failure that caused contamination and then started takin everything else out.

Check your oil tank/ pan for silver dust.

[Hillside]

Agree with A-one. Good advice.
Scott

[cacasal]

Thanks for the advice. This was a "crate" S&S motor. I guess every week has a Friday....lol.

[DBChoppers]

S&S has a very reasonable rebuild program give them a call .

[rosascycle]

In the past 30plus years I never saw a single S&S conn rod break in a road motor ( not race motor) Jim's are the only rods that are used in my 9.20 shovel powered 1/4 mile FX bike I broke 1 set of S&S and 1 set of Carillo rod over the years. The crank pin, and rod bearings, and cages, can make a big difference in the life span of the conn rods 3 hole 2 hole or 1 hole crank pins are available, cages can be steel or aluminum and hold a different number of bearings IMO I like to rebuild rods using HD crank pins

[blackjackcustms]

I broke a stock rod in half on my 94" big bore motor, and it was dramatic. Big window right behind the rear cyl. Now I only use H-beams. The S&S rods are excellent and should'nt be a problem. I will say that S&S sets up their rods on the wiggly side. I like mine tighter.

[cacasal]

The wiggle didn't get to me too much....well not compared to the up and down!
Thanks everyone for the input. Stock stroke seems to be the way to reliability.

[dog155]

S&S rods are by no means weak.Been using them for years.My 02 S&S 124" is still going strong and likes to rev.A quality rebuild, paying attention to clearances is in order for longevity.

[Hillside]

H-beam rods will chain-saw an engine in half if they break, at speed.
Looks mighty ugly.
Scott

[blackjackcustms]

Originally Posted by Hillside

H-beam rods will chain-saw an engine in half if they break, at speed.
Looks mighty ugly.
Scott

Never seen a broken one, but the stock rods windowed my s&s cases, trenched my big bore cylinders, and bent the valves by pushing the piston up into them. It also locked up the rear wheel and flat spotted the tire, before I could get it into nuetral. I cant imagine any more damage than that.

[cacasal]

Originally Posted by dog155

S&S rods are by no means weak.Been using them for years.My 02 S&S 124" is still going strong and likes to rev.A quality rebuild, paying attention to clearances is in order for longevity.

Well, I'm glad to hear your assessment of your 124" S&S....I had 34820 miles on my 96" S&S ( factory built Super Stock ). As far as I can determine, the cam was the first to go, hard-facing gone on a spot on the rear intake valve. At this point I heard the noise...checked it out and saw the cam damage. Continued my inspection and found the rods were really loose, pistons loose in bore, wrist pin bushings wore out..of course the thrust washer and bushing for the cam were also damaged, as well as the pinion shaft. The oil pump looks serviceable. I too could say that it was still going strong for years...5 years to be exact, but that was then.
Now, I read in the NEW S&S Shop Manual...that it's recommended that the lifters be changed after 20 to 30 thousand miles. Nothing was mentioned about that in the pile of papers I got with the new motor.
Now here's a motor that was broke in "by the book" (S&S's book)
Never did a burnout and pulled one wheel stand in the 5 years.
Oil changed regularly, and most of the miles were on highways.
I haven't yet split the lower ends, so I really don't know if it's the bearings....crank pin...rods out of round or what that has caused so much play. For now, my solution is to put another motor in it, and fix this one as time and $$$ allow.
I thank everybody for the input.
Carlos