Ok guys, what exactly happens when you "throw a rod"...I've seen the aftermath, but what goes on inside your engine to throw a rod???

 

Well, ether the rod breaks, the wrist pin breaks, or the rod cap or cap bolts break. It can happen in compression (although usually the rod just bends in that failure mode) or tension, which in my experience is more common.

 

cool...thanks, yea, you see the oddly bent rods and big holes in the block and you go ...how the hell did that happen???

 

yea, i saw the after math of one breaking and i kinda figurd it out from that, when i saw the rod sticking out of the oil pan. too bad there were no big holes lol.

 

Interestingly enough, most of the time that a rod breaks it's in tension on the intake stroke, not compression. If you think about it, 3/4 of the time the rod doesn't even need a cap on the big end because there's always pressure on it. But once the exhaust stroke ends and the crank has to drag the piston back down the bore, there's more force than you'd think. Spin an engine too fast and get the piston speed up high enough, and the inertial load can pull the cap right off.

 

^^^thanks, i got a much better sense of the situation now
haha...light bulb