Has anybody had any issues in the last year with MGP aluminum rods?
I bought a set from a mail order source and had the bolts pull out of the rod on the 3rd run. Made quite a mess of brand new engine.
MGP says the rods set on the shelf torqued up for too long of a time.
Any thoughts?
540 CI Chevy 1471 HH 30psi boost 32* timing 6.40-218 on alcohol.

Bruce, I have bought 3 sets since RWB moved all the equipment from Colorado springs to the the NJ location and Manley took over production of MGP rods. Believe me I was very nervous when I got the 1st set, I checked every spec possible comparing them to what I was getting from Anthony and they were dead on identical.
That being said I have had no issues at all on 3 different sets that were bought directly from Manley.

And yes it is true for any aluminum rod to not leave them torqued for any longer that 3 months without head cycles. Hard to say if that caused your breakage or not

Bill Miller of BME, recommends that you back off on the rod bolts if you are not going to be running for any extended period.

We follow his recommendations!

quote:

Originally posted by Big Steve:
Bruce, I have bought 3 sets since RWB moved all the equipment from Colorado springs to the the NJ location and Manley took over production of MGP rods. Believe me I was very nervous when I got the 1st set, I checked every spec possible comparing them to what I was getting from Anthony and they were dead on identical.
That being said I have had no issues at all on 3 different sets that were bought directly from Manley.

And yes it is true for any aluminum rod to not leave them torqued for any longer that 3 months without head cycles. Hard to say if that caused your breakage or not

Good to hear.
I suppose in my haste to get parts together quickly I may have jumped the gun in buying from a source where the possibility of the product be a bit "dusty" from sitting on the shelf for too long.

I know this is an older thread but I wonder why they would ship them at peak torque if they might sit on the shelf and they know it causes issues? Seems they wouldn't be doing their potential customer any good doing that.

I would make it policy to ship at a minimum torque value to just keep everything together.

quote:

Originally posted by CURTIS REED:
I know this is an older thread but I wonder why they would ship them at peak torque if they might sit on the shelf and they know it causes issues? Seems they wouldn't be doing their potential customer any good doing that.

I would make it policy to ship at a minimum torque value to just keep everything together.

Curtis I agree 100%
Apparently they never asked my opinion at MGP LOL

quote:

Originally posted by CURTIS REED:
I know this is an older thread but I wonder why they would ship them at peak torque if they might sit on the shelf and they know it causes issues? Seems they wouldn't be doing their potential customer any good doing that.

I would make it policy to ship at a minimum torque value to just keep everything together.

Technically, as long as they aren't yielding I suppose there is no issue for the bolts. I have to bone up on the deformation terms. You can stretch some without permanent deformation.

On a side note. Holy crap on Bruce's dragster picture in his signature!

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

quote:

Originally posted by CURTIS REED:
I know this is an older thread but I wonder why they would ship them at peak torque if they might sit on the shelf and they know it causes issues? Seems they wouldn't be doing their potential customer any good doing that.

I would make it policy to ship at a minimum torque value to just keep everything together.

Technically, as long as they aren't yielding I suppose there is no issue for the bolts. I have to bone up on the deformation terms. You can stretch some without permanent deformation.

On a side note. Holy crap on Bruce's dragster picture in his signature!

While I would tend to agree with you it seems Bill Miller disagrees.

Not a TD for me but I'm running my first ever set of aluminum rods in my engine now. They freak me out a little but I try to preheat my oil before starting just so speed up getting things to operating clearances. I always hear that they should be changed every 100 to 150 runs or so. I'm going to test out that theory. LOL I saw where Bill C. said they had a SB engine that had 500 passes on a set once. Maybe I will get there with these.

Only rod I ever had issue with was BME. Never heard any say do not leave torqued up if not going to run. From post hear sounds like firing the engine up every month would take care of the issue. Hell of a lot easier than backing rods off and then retorquing before a race.

My last build I ran aluminum because I was told "you have to" due to the combo....last year over fourth of july weekend, last pass of the weekend, a rod broke....pulled apart right below the wrist pin. NO, it wasn't a spun bearing....piece of the rod wedged in the cam tunnel after breaking some of the block and stopped the cam, broke the belt, and bent all 16 valves, pulled four rocker stands out of the heads, and split one pushrod. Granted, having an aluminum rod prevented much worse damage, and having a belt did to a point, but NONE of that would have happened with a steel rod. I was under 100 passes on them, always heated up engine before making passes, and followed all the other "rules" with aluminum rods...I WILL NEVER AGAIN PUT AN ALUMINUM ROD IN AN ENGINE, PEROID....I also know of a couple of pro builders that have stopped using them as well....and the combos they build actually went faster with steel rods....

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

On a side note. Holy crap on Bruce's dragster picture in his signature!

I didn't win, but made the the high lite reel!