400ex stock or hotrod crank?

[schambergerst]

I am in the process of rebuilding the 400. I am buying a new crank. I can't make up my mind to buy a stock crank from service honda for like $260 or a hotrod crank from ebay for roughly the same price. I know some of you this would probably be a no brainer, but I am looking to build a reliable motor. I will never run any compression higher than pump gas will allow, nor will I run anything larger than a 426. The current rebuild is actually going to be a 406 JE piston 10.6:1 compression. Is the hotrod crank alot stronger than stock, will it last as long? What would some of you do.

[ride_red666]

i would stick to the honda crank if they both cost the same or price is not an issue. unless your building a stoker i wouldnt use a hotrod. i would think that the honda one is more reliable

[F-16Guy]

Is there something wrong with the crank itself? If not, I would buy a Carrillo rod for $175 and have it installed. You can run just about any size piston and any compression ratio you want without worrying about the rod breaking; Carrillos are the best. The stock rod has been known to bend and break, so if you're looking for reliability (like I was), that's the best way to go, and it's cheaper than a whole new assembly.

[schambergerst]

The carillo rod sounds like another option. My current crank is fine, the rod wrist pin bore is pretty wore, and the lower rod bearing/bore is wore also. So replacing just the rod might be the way to go. Can anyone recomend a good shop I could ship my crank to, to have them rebuild it with this new carillo rod? F-16guy do you remember roughly what labor was for the crank rebuild?

[F-16Guy]

Mine was done at Powroll, but there should be local shops that can do it. You'll need to get a new lower bearing and thrust washers. When I was looking locally in Phoenix, labor was about $75 to install the new rod (assuming the crank is already removed from the case). You'll want to get the rod directly from Carrillo Industries; it was $175 when I ordered it. It comes out to roughly the same price as a HotRods crank, but the Carrillo rod is much stronger. Good luck with the build.