Replace or recondition the rods- - - -not the bearings. The Babbit metal is a soft, solder-like material about 1/8" thick that's bonded directly to the big end of the connecting rod where it rides on the crankshaft. THERE ARE NO ROD BEARINGS TO REPLACE! The rod is bored to the right size to match the diameter of the crankshaft, and as the bearing material wears, shims between the rod and the cap are removed to get the oil clearance right. If the bearing material starts co come out in chunks, or there are no more shims to remove, the rods must be replaced with reconditioned ones with new Babbit metal. Rods on a 216 engine can be replaced from the bottom side by pulling the pistons down far enough to slide the wrist pins out below the bottom of the cylinder. I believe the pistons on a 235 are too large to clear some of the webbing in the crankcase, so the piston/rod assemblies must be removed from the top side after pulling the cylinder head.
Jerry
