cap separation

[herbiehind]

if i place a pipe 2" round , in a vise , and place rod on pipe and hit bolt threads with brass hammer, will this separate the caps without damaging the roundness of the big end? these caps are tight!!! i got the rods out with similar method ,but these have been all worked and balanced now . machine shop is quite a ways away . should i bite the bullet on a separator?

[herbiehind]

nobody?

[SilverXJ]

I usually just run the nuts to the end of the bolt to protect the threads then tap the nut to start it. If you don't have to hammer too much your method should be ok.

[IH 392]

I usually just tap the ends of the bolts to get them to separate, a little finesse goes a long way!

[herbiehind]

yeah that's how i got them off the crank . came off easy. but now they tight!! gonna try the pipe and brass hammer . thanks guys

[gonridnu]

You can put the cap end in a vice and wiggle the cap off. It takes a small amount of work. Shops use aluminum jaws to protect the sides of the cap but you can usually get away with a rag. Most shops that do production rods don't use a one and I can't imagine buying a cap separator for one engine, but then again I can't imagine beating on the machined inside of a rod either, with or with out brass.