Posted by Matt Wilson [172.69.71.138] on Saturday, January 01, 2022 at 03:58:04 :
I just learned today that new pistons for our flatheads are being made with pins that are pressed into the pistons, and don't use pin retainers (clips). Or at least that's according to the Summit Racing website, and when I spoke to a Sealed Power rep, he said the old retainer p/n was obsolete, and he couldn't readily tell me how the pins are retained. Based on all that, it sounds like they are indeed pressed into the pistons.
I'm interested in people's opinions/knowledge on this. It seems questionable to me, as it focuses all the wear on the connecting rod bushing. I know a lot of engines have the pins pressed into the rods, while floating in the piston, but not the other way around. The two contact areas between the pin and the piston are a lot larger than the area between the pin and the rod, and I figure Chrysler had a reason for using the fully floating setup with retainers. Makes me wonder if Sealed Power is trying to cut costs or if they had problems with retainers coming loose on operation.
Follow Ups: