Side clearance of rods-crank counterweights

[bigblockbanshee]

I bought a crank a couple of years ago that was supposed to be ready to use except I had to put outer bearings on it. No big deal as I'd already bought new ones anyway for my old crank. Started blueprinting my engine the other night and the left rod side clearance is .035" and the right side is .027" both of which are above maximum spec. What do you seasoned, experienced guys do for this? I want to make sure everything is kosher before I put it together and already I've ran into a problem with the very first piece of the puzzle. Talk to me...

[Profilact]

Its your call...I can tell you that when i replaced mine this year I had about .065 on the left and .043 on the right. It still ran fine, but for how much longer?

[bansheesandrider]

Since it is not in spec, it tells me that either the builder did not know what he was doing or it is actually a used crank. Either way I would not use it as is. I would at a minimum take it apart and inspect it and the have ut trued and welded if everything is OK. If it is not OK, get it rebuilt or buy a new one from a reputable dealer.

[bigblockbanshee]

Its your call...I can tell you that when i replaced mine this year I had about .065 on the left and .043 on the right. It still ran fine, but for how much longer?

 

Exactly, that's why I don't wanna put it in like it is. The one side is just barely over but the other is .010" over. Either way you look at it and no matter how you bend the truth they're both out of spec though. I'm not really looking for that much performance out of this thing. I just wanna make sure it's gonna be reliable no matter what I do with it.

 

 

Since it is not in spec, it tells me that either the builder did not know what he was doing or it is actually a used crank. Either way I would not use it as is. I would at a minimum take it apart and inspect it and the have ut trued and welded if everything is OK. If it is not OK, get it rebuilt or buy a new one from a reputable dealer.

 

I guess I should've elaborated. It was a stock crank that I got from a part out and was supposed to be good to go except for outer bearings which as I stated I already had purchased. I'm just weighing the checks and balances right now whether it would be more cost effective to get another crank or have this one fixed. What does a rebuild run for something like that?

[AKheathen]

well, the real answer comes by checking the center tolerances and rod deflection. alsi center seal clearance.....once you do that, it will tell you which way to go. having it trued/welded, while sucking the clearance up, will by far be the cheapest, reliable rout, but if it needs to be torn down for repair, there will ba allot more $$$ in labour. given the outter bearings are both bad, i would guess that the webbing has strained, and it will at the minimum need a true/weld to last at all, and brings question to the rest of it.