I may be way off here but I believe the bent rods have been attributed to chunks of carbon built up in the intake from EGR valve operation breaking off and getting sucked into the engine. Connecting rods don't just bend unless something gets in the way. If a connecting rod is going to fail it usually fails in tension (stretch) not compression. That being said there are a few things you can do. 1. Clean out your intake manifold. Remove it and have it hot tanked. Check intake ports for carbon buildup too. 2. Switch to synthetic oil. Some here have remarked that there is much less carbon buildup with synthetic use. 3. After you are sure there is no carbon present remove/render inoperative the EGR system. This will require a little work. A member here that goes by "OldSouth" did this, I believe, on a 94model with great success. You might want to ask him about the specifics on this modification. RT

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