318 Bottom End Strength

What kind of compression can a stock (rebuilt) 318 bottom end take before you start bending rods/hurting the crank? Sadly, the crank and rods are already balanced and installed, but the engine is still out. I ran across a set of pistons that would put my motor at ~11.2:1 compression, and im concerned about breaking stock castings.

Any Help is Appriciated,
Thanks,
Bill

Compression ratio does not matter in regards to parts breakage. What does matter is running too much compression and having detonation that will break parts. Unless this is a race gas/aluminum head motor, you need to rethink your piston choice for no more than 9.5-1 with iron heads. Look at Keith Black pistons site for a good choice and Summit sells them for under $275 a set for Hyperutectic cast pistons.

Quote:

---

Sadly, the crank and rods are already balanced and installed, but the engine is still out.

---

You say the crank and rods are balanced and installed, I assume you have pistons already on those rods? If thats the case, changing your pistons will likely throw the balance out, and youll need to do it again.