[25stevem]

Looks like the factory set up was wrong and oil passage drilling was started in the wrong place.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by 25stevem

Also please note that shops that do not have a crank grinding machine can NOT properly polish a Nodular iron crank.

This also rules out a often done home polishing job!

Out of this box is printed what’s in the next photo.

Crank polishers don’t care if you have a crank grinder or not. What matters is if the crank polisher can turn in the direction of engine rotation and you have the proper abrasive belts, cork belts and polishing compound to do the job.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by Drag Star Le Mans

The crank J-T wanted had a weird anomaly so it was a no go. Not sure what to make of it so please chime in.

Interesting dent. From what I see a GOOD crank grinder can widen the “barely there” GM OE radius. Is it currently standard? If so, it would be a great time to correct the stroke on each throw. I’ve never seen an OE crank that was “on” stroke.

[tjs72lemans]

I find this thread interesting. Back in 1980, I was rebuilding my factory stock 350 Chevy out of my 75 Camaro. The crank had a pit in the middle of the journal about 3/16" diameter and about .060 deep. I was hesitant to use, but was talked into using it. It was a upgrade build to about 350 hp. Over 40 years and 35k miles of some tough high rpm runs and we're still good. But, I understand the side journal issue of the poster's engine is not good. I worried more about junk breaking loose and causing bearing problems.

[lust4speed]

You have two really big holes going to the center of the crank that don't cause concern, why worry about a little divot? Just a nice spot to store spare oil.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Yea, i asked for 2 cranks to be polished after cutting. They looked "as-cut", so i asked "did these get polished" they answered yeap, will shine up after being used. I uhm realized there was no arguing to win there.

Reminds me of a fella that was sitting in his open garage polishing crank journals with a belt and polishing goop, and the journals were mirror-like. He insisted it was good for HP and high-rpm bearing like. That is probably how we-folk would get the desired result.


How is it that every original healthy PMD crank coming out of a block appeared to have impressively polished Journals?

[lust4speed]

Even the better machine shops in my area that have crank grinding machines don't bother and send things out to Castillo Crankshaft Service in SoCal. Excellent work but expensive.

We have a big local engine rebuilding company that is one of the few shops that still do cranks - and they do a lot of them. A small one-man machine shop in my town uses them with good results and said the guy doing the cranks at the big company is a perfectionist and the cranks are always on the mark. When he gets the cranks back my local guy checks them and then does his own polishing by turning the cranks on the lathe and uses a crankshaft polishing machine. The before product looks like an aftermarket crank out of the box but the final product after he is done has a perfect mirror finish. The below photo is generic but the same setup the local shop uses.

Also, the OP's crankshaft is so wrong and terrible on so many areas.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Originally Posted by lust4speed

Even the better machine shops in my area that have crank grinding machines don't bother and send things out to Castillo Crankshaft Service in SoCal. Excellent work but expensive.

We have a big local engine rebuilding company that is one of the few shops that still do cranks - and they do a lot of them. A small one-man machine shop in my town uses them with good results and said the guy doing the cranks at the big company is a perfectionist and the cranks are always on the mark. When he gets the cranks back my local guy checks them and then does his own polishing by turning the cranks on the lathe and uses a crankshaft polishing machine. The before product looks like an aftermarket crank out of the box but the final product after he is done has a perfect mirror finish. The below photo is generic but the same setup the local shop uses.

Also, the OP's crankshaft is so wrong and terrible on so many areas.

I’ve used one of those, Mick. Crank polishing teaches you patience. It is far too easy to cause taper in a journal if you attempt to polish a crank too fast. Unless you have the volume to amortize the investment, crankshaft grinding is a losing proposition for nearly all small machine shops. A good( heads and chucks not worn out) used Berco grinder( IMO the best)will set you back around $50,000 by the time you acquire all the stones, hubs, Arnold gauge, stroke gauge and other necessary equipment and accessories to operate a single crank grinder.