> Can a crack crankshaft be welded?? I know a crank can be welded to build
up a worn bearing journal. I just wonder if the welded crack crankshaft
will hold up after time, and the strength of the crankshaft.. What machine
shop does that kind of welding?? A person told me it can be done and it
will pass the magna-flux test.
Ha! I don't mean to be short, but I wouldn't trust a welded crank.
Surface welded to rebuild the journals, maybe, but not a welded crack. I
just got a call from my crank grinder today. My high mileage MGA 1500
crankshaft has a crack, and the grinder guru only recommends the trash bin.
Lucky it was only a spare part, came out of the retired 1/4 million mile
engine.
For sure the only way to weld a crack in the crankshaft (if you even dare
try it) is to grind out the entire crack, all the way to the bottom, until
it will pass a magnaflux test and a dye penetrant test BEFORE the welding
is done. Then the ground out spot has to be completely filled with weld
with NO porosity, cracks or inclusions, probably need to be preheated
first, and it would have to be annealed afterwards. Then it would need a
complete re-grinding job, and would have to pass the magnaflux test again
after all is finished. That all sounds expensive and rather risky to me.
Probably better to start from scratch with a good used core and get that
reground.
$.02,
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
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