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Crankshaft Turning Questions

M

Mnethercutt

Member
In the process of my first engine rebuild, sortof learning as I go. I have the crank out and am in the process of finding the best place to get it turned as its scored up pretty bad. When I have them do it, should they grind the front and real seal surfaces, just polish them, or do nothing? Will I need to specify to the shop what to do with those surfaces? Thanks
 
Find a shop where they know what they're doing, and they should be able to help you make those decisions.
 
There are usually only one or(maybe) two crank grinders in an area.your choices will be somewhat limited.A good shop will know what to grind;polish,etc.They can also supply the bearings.You don't need to tell them how to do their job.
 

Boy were you right, finally got around to start calling places. I found 3 out of the city I'm in and the 2 other cities around me. One place was so busy they couldn't get to it for 3 months, one charged me way higher than the first, so looks like Napa wins this one.
 

You didn't say what tractor or engine your working on.
Diesel engines and some gas engines have larger filet radius on the journals than your average gas car crank, the machine shops have to dress the machines grinding wheel to allow for the larger radius.
Although the machine shops should know want their doing mistakes can happen as did in my case.
I sent the crank for my Ford 4000 diesel to be ground, although they are a reputable shop someone made a mistake and ground the crank wrong cutting the large radius down to a standard car crank radius.
I missed this when assembling the engine and a short time later the crank broke in half at the radius of #1 rod journal.

Ask the machine shop if they are familiar with grinding large radius cranks such as on diesel engines.
 
Turning cranks is a fun routine. One day is set up for Chevy, next day is Ford, Each day the machine is set up for something
else. Finally a day rolls around and all the oddball stuff comes in to get done. That is on the economy side of crank grinding.
A higher price should get you done faster because of the set up involved.
 
The seal surface is not ground under, typically it is just polished.

Have you measured the crank journals?

You say it is scored badly, as in a failed bearing hammered away at the surface?

If so, it may not be feasible to repair. If it is a common and available crank, might be more cost effective to find a good used one. A damaged crank can be welded up, but they are never the same, and it gets expensive.

There may also be other damage. If a rod or main bearing spun, that will need to be repaired also. Again, may want to find a more rebuildable engine if this one is in need of extensive machine work.

If this is a working tractor or a diesel, take no short cuts!

If it's a gas parade/show/trailer queen, you can get by with "some" questionable repairs, but be careful.

As for finding a reputable crank grinder, ask around some of the repair shops. They know who is good and who isn't. Trust me, there are some real butchers out there!

If you don't already have a shop manual, it will be a very valuable investment. It will walk you through all your questions for the particular model you have.
 
You may want to reconsider. The fellow who is backed up for three months more than likely is the one you want to do your work. He's has three months worth of work for a reason.
 

Ok so since I failed to give the details here they are:

1961 4 Cylinder Gas John Deere 1010
Had low oil pressure when hot/needle would vibrate at higher RPM so replacing bearings. I have the shop manual. Plasti-gaged all bearings and all were under spec. Removed crank, no spun bearings, just worn. Neighbor who rebuilds chevies said it would need to be turned not just polished. Tractor isn't really a parade or work tractor. I'm a college student so it only gets 1-2 hours of use every few weeks when I get home.

Note that I posted my oil pressure symptoms on the John Deere forum before doing any of this and bearings was the consensus. Plasti-gage confirmed.

I attached pictures that I took during disassembly.
23288.jpg
23289.jpg
23290.jpg
23291.jpg
23292.jpg
 
I'll also add that a new/used crankshaft is going to run me $400 MINIMUM, and that's from ebay, used. "New" ones look to be around $600...
 
(quoted from post at 11:13:28 09/12/18) DO NOT PUT MONEY INTO THAT THING. Cut your loss and find something else
Click to expand...

My uncle had a 2010 that shelled out the transmission. While parts could be obtained, it was going to cost way more than the tractor was worth to fix.

If I'm not mistaken the 1010 and 2010 use the same drivetrain. That's why you're going to receive this recommendation.
 
A (good shop) will give you back a crankshaft with matched bearings with all details repaired so you will have a long running crankshaft. A (good shop) wants you happy with their work so they continually receive work and keep a good reputation. A (good shop) will warn you if the grind goes below what they think lasting grind even though they can match the grind to bearings.


The shop I used to use before the grinder man died would say I'll grind it but I do not recommend grinding it because ????
 

I'd mic it for wear, if it's a few thousands under I'd polish it and throw in a new set of bearings.
Post a pic of the old bearings.
If it's worn more than a few thousands I'd probably have it reground.
 
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