Hello gerbear,
Thank you for your question.
A rod, or connecting rod is the "arm" that connects the piston with
the crankshaft in an engine. Blowing a rod is also known as "throwing"
a rod.
A good description of this problem can be found here:
Theory of Rod Bolts and Other Prestressed Bolts
Vance Jaqua - Originally published May 1997
http://www.eaa1000.av.org/technicl/rodbolts/rodbolts.htm
"...The connecting rod is one of the first areas of concern when ever
one feels that he has overstressed his engine. "It threw a rod" is a
common cry after a disastrous engine failure, or as our British
cousins would say in their often more descriptive way "I ran a big end
and retired with expensive noises". We seldom truly "throw" a rod, the
usual failure is that the rod to crank bearing material (the "big
end") breaks down from over stress or more commonly lack of
lubrication. Accelerated wear then makes a large clearance, and the
remaining soft bearing material is pounded out with large clanking
noises..."
The article continues with very technical descriptions of rod failure
- well worth a read.
Epinions.com has an article here:
http://www.epinions.com/auto-review-3388-1887077-3895269F-prod4
You just have to MAINTAIN!
"Knock Knock Knock Knock CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG, and then puffs of
white smoke is NOT a good thing to see or hear coming from your
engine. This will be followed by a sudden drop in any power at all to
your car. You will be very very lucky if you get home. Especially if
you are over 10 miles from home.
Trust me on that one, I've heard it three times.
It's the classic sound and feeling of what spells the end of your
engine- the thrown rod. The thrown rod is a very very bad thing. One
cannot just get a new rod and throw it back in. The thrown rod means
that a rod in your engine has shoved its way through another internal
part. Breaking it. Not good. Expensive. Better have some money saved
up because at this point, you have three options, #1- buy a new car
and expect almost nothing on a trade in. #2- buy another engine, used
or new and have that installed. #3- rebuild your engine. ONLY
recommended for an auto mechanic..."
And last, Everything2.com has a good page on connecting rods with many
descriptive links at:
http://www.everything2.org/index.pl?lastnode_id=1219982&node_id=789208
Search strategy:
"throw a rod"
I trust my research will help you learn about rods and preventative
maintenance. If a link above should fail to work or anything require
further explanation, please do post a Request for Clarification and I
will be pleased to assist further.
Regards,
-=clouseau=- |
