digging into the motor - rods and pistons

[crazyfast]

On an 04 can you just take the factory rods and pistons out and replace them with upgraded components? Mine is running great right now...just thinking about taking some proactive measures.

 

[Viper Specialty]

I would never do it without balancing. Other than that, yes, of course it can be done in a million configurations.

 

[plumcrazy]

ditto, get the whole thing balanced or you're asking for trouble

 

[crazyfast]

Can the parts can be balanced outside of the engine? Does any block work need to be done or can we just replace the factory components with an upgraded and balanced rotating assembly?

I've put a few engines together but I've yet to build a modern high performance engine.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Can the parts can be balanced outside of the engine? Does any block work need to be done or can we just replace the factory components with an upgraded and balanced rotating assembly?

I've put a few engines together but I've yet to build a modern high performance engine.

Crank needs to come out for balancing. You are also much better off having the block honed outside of the car than in, and if it needs to be bored, then it obviously must come out. Yes, there are drop-in components available.