>From: Paul Amaranth <amaranth@Vela.ACS.Oakland.Edu>
>Subject: Crank treatments
>
>Teri's post about nitriding cranks brought up this thought. I have a
>Stag engine going through a rebuild. It looks like I'll have to have
>the crank ground, but these have a reputation for being weak. What
>kind of surface or hardening treatments are available? What's involved
>in the process and what does it do for you? Shot peening I understand,
>but what is nitriding? Any others?
Triumph crankshafts are notoriously difficult to treat by Nitriding or
Tuftriding, beacause they haven't enough carbon in the steel (I think
that's the reason, anyway!). Kas Kastner (who I reckon knows more about
Triumph engines that most of us have forgotten) says "The standard
crankshaft is very reliable even in the pure stock form and does not
require any special modification..." Maybe he was just talking about racing
engines, but I guess if it was worthwhile to Nitride the crank he'd have
done it. We *always* used to do it with Mini cranks...
Cheers,
Richard Smith
RG Smith Automobile Engineering
Alvis & Triumph Specialist
Lucas Injection Centre
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