I had already ordered my 400.00 direct from manley rods when sal posted on f 150 that they may be substandard. Well i brought my motor into my engine builder yesterday and the first thing i asked about was the difference in weight on these rods. Sure enough he also thought they were substandard one of which was almost 3 grams off. He said they were the worst manley h beams he had yet run into as far as balance goes. So a word of warning to those who are thinking of ordering these,get them from a tuner or engine builder and they will be a lot better balanced than these.
400.00 manley rods and the reason there cheap
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Daryl, I t was a head gasket which eventually turned into a new drivers side head.. I t got to the point dealing with the dealer that i figured i would just have new rods,pistons,bearings and arp studs installed and to he** with the warranty lol. I didn't like having to diagnose my own problems.. More power inc,is doing the internals.
Need4Speed
Member
I find that interesting and I have a set of the rods. I planned on blueprinting mine anyway which would include bringing them to the same weight.
Out of curiosity, I wonder what the variance is on a good set and on a set of factory rods?
Out of curiosity, I wonder what the variance is on a good set and on a set of factory rods?
Lightning Tim
Member
I wondered why they were so cheap. Thanks for the warning though.
I paid over $760 for a set on forged Manley rods for my mustang.
I paid over $760 for a set on forged Manley rods for my mustang.
Manley told me this morning that 1.5 grams either way was the industry standard but the builder said all the manley rods he has seen were within a gram from the lightest to the heaviest. He also showed me were he would be shaving metal off on the rods to balance them out and that this set would require a lot more shaving of the metal and be harder to balance[more work more money] than all the other manley rods he has seen. These rods are not designed to be shaved in the first place so if it has to be done,it should be kept to a minimum imho.Need4Speed said:
JERRY HART
Member
Wow
That's really interesting.I had my manley rods,pistons and crank balanced and the truck roars.The engine runs smooth,and there putting manley rods in the 03 s/c Mustang,somethings wrong with this picture....At 140 my truck is stout sound, and has plenty left.I think when your putting any rods in it's just smart to get everything balanced, that way you know where you stand...And I know of a guy who built a drag truck for the NHRA season who specfically used Manley rods?????
Just my experience and .02
Jerry
That's really interesting.I had my manley rods,pistons and crank balanced and the truck roars.The engine runs smooth,and there putting manley rods in the 03 s/c Mustang,somethings wrong with this picture....At 140 my truck is stout sound, and has plenty left.I think when your putting any rods in it's just smart to get everything balanced, that way you know where you stand...And I know of a guy who built a drag truck for the NHRA season who specfically used Manley rods?????
Just my experience and .02
Jerry
Jerry,don't let it scare you.You have to take a little metal off to balance any rod. You balance only the big end the little end is figured in with piston weight. If Manley says its a good rod then I wouldn't worry about it. Lots of engine builders out there will scare you to death then laugh later as they collect the cash. I wouldn't be afraid to use them on a engine.
The subject here is not whether manly rods are any good. These are the 400.00 direct from manley rods only, and there sub par..what is not to get,if you bought them from an engine builder tuner or anywhere else they would be off less than a gram and of course cost more than 400.00 In essence these are there b rods. Other rod brands come with specific areas that are to be shaved,manleys do not,therefore the less shaved[balanced] the better. I think my engine builder knows what he is talking about,seeing how he built the fastest n/a 4.6 in the country. He said these rods would still be way stronger than stock but that is not the point. If the weight ratio is not up to par who is to say that there aren't other defects in these b rods. 140
Not wanting to start a war here so If were comparing engine builders I have built engines for NHRA,IHRA,ARCA and most any other sanctioning body out there,but your right we are talking about the quality of this rod and as such I haven't talked to Manley as of yet. If they say they are good enough for are trucks then ok but if theres one wimper in there voice I would run for the hills! I only ment that its your call,if I were racing on a regular basis and overdriving the blower I wouldn't run a Manley anyway. 
The subject here is not whether manly rods are any good. These are the 400.00 direct from manley rods only, and there sub par..what is not to get,if you bought them from an engine builder tuner or anywhere else they would be off less than a gram and of course cost more than 400.00 In essence these are there b rods. Other rod brands come with specific areas that are to be shaved for balancing, manleys do not,therefore the less shaved[balanced] the better. I think my engine builder knows what he is talking about,seeing how he built the fastest n/a 4.6 in the country. He said these rods would still be way stronger than stock but that is not the point. If the weight ratio is not up to par who is to say that there aren't other defects in these b rods. As far as 140 mph any stock L can run that fast or faster with the speed limiter removed so what in gods name does that prove?My engine is getting balanced,have you ever heard of anyone having a motor built that is not balanced? I did not tear my own engine out to have substandard parts of any kind in it and i asked the builder his opinion on the weight specs that are clearly written on each box and you know the rest. Manley rods are good rods,this is just the 400.00 internet special 5.4 rods that are suspect.As far as the 03 cobra if you beleive the motor will be balanced anywhere near what any engine builder would do just because it has manley rods,iv'e got some ocean front property to sell you on lake michigan.
Your right there,I have pulled engines apart that were factory that I don't see how they ran.They do not balance them anywhere near what a performance engine builder would. I'm sure your builder knows what hes talking about and besides you have to believe in him. I worked in the engine room of a pro drag shop for 5 years and must have run a hundred engines on our dyno,theres noway you should ever put a performance engine in anything without balancing. If these rods are that bad how come they are selling them though,boy things have changed. I got out of full time building 10 years ago. I build a few for the local roundy round guys and a couple of the local straight liners are running my engines but I haven't delt with Manley in a long time except for there forged steel rods that are about as good as you can get.
Catman, these particular h beams are made off shore and not in the good old u.s.a. like the good old days. I am sure there pricey rods are made in the u.s. As far as overdriving the blower,this was my plan 8-8.5 xtra #s of boost via pulleys with the option of a little shot of go go juice when i feel like getting banned from one of the area run down tracks for running without a cage and mid 11's at two local and first rate ihra tracks.The blowers ,unlike the motors are dirt cheap to rebuild and no one has managed to damage one yet.Tomorrow if the engine builder is at his shop,and he usually is,i will get the exact questionable weight specs and post them and you can decide for yourself if these rods are subpar.
JERRY HART
Member
Lets put it this way,
I'll take my chances,my engine builder has been in business 28 years,if he says it's good, It's good!
Jerry
I'll take my chances,my engine builder has been in business 28 years,if he says it's good, It's good!
Jerry
JERRY HART
Member
By the way
These are the 800hp rated rods not an internet special,and were purchased from a performance dealer, and cost just about double waht your speaking of.
The stock rods in a Lightning motor are truly junk,we all know that ,or most of us do. I'll just have to see how my $2000 investment turns out,BUT thanks for the input,
Jerry
Lawson,
you better be at Byron,I'll start making the trophy!!!!
These are the 800hp rated rods not an internet special,and were purchased from a performance dealer, and cost just about double waht your speaking of.
The stock rods in a Lightning motor are truly junk,we all know that ,or most of us do. I'll just have to see how my $2000 investment turns out,BUT thanks for the input,
Jerry
Lawson,
you better be at Byron,I'll start making the trophy!!!!
JERRY HART
Member
Lawson
Byron????????I vaguely remember,but the old L did have a bad day!!!!......stock,yes!!!!
Jer
Byron????????I vaguely remember,but the old L did have a bad day!!!!......stock,yes!!!!
Jer
Need4Speed
Member
Where do you grind the material on these rods? The rods I/ve seen have pbvious "tabs" (for lack of better terms).
