here are a couple pics, my thoughts are this is the thrust end of the crank? I won't sell anything i wouldn't use myself, so let me know if this is terminal or not. the reason i ask is its a 4" crank currently uncut. eventhough it has rust on the journals, there is plenty of meat to clean them up. hate to throw away something getting more rare everyday.
No I don't think it is terminal but it will cost to have repaired.... I had a crankshaft repaired in the thrust area... I used a place called Marine Crankshaft in Los Angles area... This was for my supercharged hemi....
That broken piece appears to be a third or so of the entire circle. I would think that with some careful fitting and beveling it could be welded successfully by a skilled craftsman. years ago guys welded stuff like that with stick rods, ground and filed to final shape and carried on. In the modern world a tig weld would do just fine to achieve such a repair. Just an opinion. I am not a metallurgy expert.
Smartass answer (unfortunatelt with a bit too much truth in it!!) :"If I'm buying, it's scrap, but if I'm selling, it's gold..."
That crank is pretty rough. The first thing I would do is get it soaking in some vinegar or citric acid to get the rust off to get a better look at any pitting that may be underneath. It's probably fixable, but it may not be worth the cost if you wind up with a repaired thrust surface and the journals cut 0.030" or 0.040" undersize.
Forgot to say, it's a 4" Merc crank. Since those are getting harder to find, I wanted to know if it's salvageable before I scrapped it.
Ohio Crankshaft is a well known source. Several in California as well. Consider if there's local options in WI. I'd guess there's industrial / agricultural / marine machine shops that could handle that repair with ease compared to large stuff they do. Please post up if you find somewhere, I also have a crank with a cracked thrust surface.
I just took it over to one of our local machinists. They still do crank grinding, same guy the last 40 years. He said it would be ok as is if there weren't any burrs along the crack that might eat a bearing. He also said it repairable for $100-150. So I can either sell it at a reduced price or get it repaired/turned and ask full price. I didn't know he would muck with a FH crank.... Now I know. So there's another opinion for us to consider.
I feel like that crank is definitely repairable. That flange can be welded and machined. I wouldn't run it without repairing it.
I couldn’t get my machine shop to sneeze on me for a $150 bucks let alone do any actual work !! Sounds like a steal !
Auto Machine Specialties in the Dirty 'No has prices like those quoted. My bro's 393Windsor we built together had the wrong flexplate on it and it ate the thrust surface. AMS welded it and reground it. All good now with the correct end play and flexplate.
The guys in Pakistan on You Tube would fix it for sure. Weld it with a stick welder wearing sandals and holding a helmet dark glass in one hand..
I have seen cranks worse than that brought back from the dead. Get it fixed and ask the good and fair money for it. It should sell quick.
Ok you have me wondering, who do you have do you crank work in the area. I live in strum and not sure who to use in EC.
I was a crank grinder in a former life. (30 plus years ago). We used to fix stuff like that all the time using submerged arc. Essentially submerged arc is a wire fed deal that welds while the crank rotates, and a spigot flows powdered flux over the weld (hence "submerged). The flux peels off as it cools. Looks like stick weld flux, but the welds are perfect. Any rebuilder that has that type of equipment can fix it.
The reason for my post is I like to swap at TorqueFest, great traditional car show. I wanted to bring this to sell, but I don't want to sell junk to a brother. I clearly see it's fixable, I'll price it accordingly. If it doesn't sell next week, I'll fix it and turn it and price it higher. Thanks for the advice, I can't get the picture of that Pakistani crank grinder out of my mind...funny.
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