conrod orientation - T3

hello members

Im in the process of stripping a T3 engine, I removing the front conrod, and failed to note which way round it came off the crank, I did note the rear one, my question is which way round should the machined side face, the workshop manual says they should both face the right hand side, but others say the opposite, any ideas

According to the manual the machined sides should face the same way, I’m pretty sure that they should face to the right.

The Spada engine I just stripped they were on the right
BUT
on the Spada one I bought they had the con rod machined side on the left and the cap machined side on the right
basically a bodged job

or I was going to say the big hole goes towards the bottom of the engine

The oil hole on left hand S side faces upwards engine in normal position whearas the right hand side D facesdownwards.

The milled edges ON THE RODS and CAPS MUST be on the same side facing one another.

I double checked this when doing mine with Haynes AND Guzziology.

Hope this helps. It is also well worth weighing the rods and bolts complete and making sure they are balanced while you are at it Makes a big difference.

thanks for the info I also saw that in haynes and guzziology but seemed to show different in roy smiths blog on rebuild pics re gregory bender, also in mick walker restoration p62 claims if fitted wrong will result in cylinder barrel damage

Correct, ask Ray Ex smokin biker, You end up having to fit the pistons on backwards, valves then touch pistons, valve head falls off and the engine gets severe damage. Ray bought one that had been rebuilt wrongly by the previous owner. I am sure he will show you a nice picture or 2

i would love to meet the bodger that manages to get the little holes towards the bottom…

tread carefully can just about see the remains of the sparkplug hole shill not got the spark plug remains out the head

Quote from the Guzzi bibleSome, but not all, Guzzi connecting rods have holes pointing up from the big end, designed to squirt a little oil onto the cylinder walls. The factory manuals show that the holes face upward and toward the right side of the engine during assembly. Some find the description confusing. I find it easiest to remember by ignoring any reference to up and down and just making sure the holes as well as the flats along one rod bolt hole are on the side closest to the right-hand cylinder.

Holy crap, Ray - that really is spectacular! I hope you’ve got that little lot in a glass cabinet somewhere!!!

Don
that’s how mine get done
Looking down on top of the engine as if you were sitting on the bike the machined side of the conrod goes to the right of the bike
Always fit new big-end bolts and nuts

My engine had the pistons in backwards that resulted in the large inlet valve having no cut out to fit into resulting in the piston hitting the valve until fatigue finally caught up with it and the valve head dropped into the engine.

Basically my view is check it twice and fit it once.
And more important
If you fit a nut or bolt into a hole never leave it until the next day to fully tighten it (as you tend to have forgot it next day)and engines don’t last long with loose bolts / nuts in it

[QUOTE=Don-Spada] Quote from the Guzzi bibleSome, but not all, Guzzi connecting rods have holes pointing up from the big end, designed to squirt a little oil onto the cylinder walls. The factory manuals show that the holes face upward and toward the right side of the engine during assembly. Some find the description confusing. I find it easiest to remember by ignoring any reference to up and down and just making sure the holes as well as the flats along one rod bolt hole are on the side closest to the right-hand cylinder.

[/QUOTE]

If you fit a nut or bolt into a hole never leave it until the next day to fully tighten it (as you tend to have forgot it next day)and engines don’t last long with loose bolts / nuts in it Probably the best bit of advice I have ever read.

having seen Rays pictured piston in the flesh is definably good advice to re check things the next day

Brian i learn t that lesson very early on (NOT my cock up) a big diesel engine rebuild at Loughbourgh brush for a generator the chap fitted all 6 con-rods loose complete with bolts etc and just nipped them up hand tight , the big ends were 150mm dia so bloody big engine, on his way home he got knocked off his pushbike and broke a leg, next day they put someone else on the rebuild and he did not know they were not torqued up tight the whole engine was built tested off load fine and then had the generator fitted, when all done they ran it up and loaded the generator up to test it and needless to say a con rod big-end cap came off it totally wrecked the engine as it come through the side of the engine casing, Always stuck with me and as you say a very important piece of mechanical information

I just don’t trust my own memory, so I prefer to finish each task before stopping for the day. All too easy to overlook the fact that you didn’t put that last screw in last night when you were tired.

That was 3 weeks into my Guzzi ownership and it went at 80MPH on the M1 having just passed 4 artic lorries and was just pulling back in to nearside lane to say scary was a understatement. I heard it go a bit noisy put hand on clutch and the engine stopped dead managed to get to hard shoulder the lorries were a bit shocked And i was on my way to my first Leicester branch meet as well

I remember it well …I saw the carnage a few days afterwards it was a shocker, who ever put the engine back together sure did not look at a workshop manual they ALL show the piston WITH arrow TO THE FRONT.

Mind you it took a few days before ESB could actually …fart ! Talk about a “clencher”