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The crank is not machined correctly. I plasti-gauged it but I should have inspected it closer. Burrs big enough to catch a fingernail on. What should I do?
I should back up, the new pistons are heavier than the old ones by a lot. Like 80 grams. So I decided I needed to have the whole thing balanced.
I tore into it tonight and found the bearings like that. It's been together for how long now? Like a month? I've turned the crank maybe 5 times. Just enough to put in the timing set and a few pistons. Something is really wrong for them to get that torn up. Upon closer inspection there are raised ridges different enough to catch a fingernail on. Roughly 1 thou wide and maybe 4 tall. It looks like the lathe skipped or the operater was in a hurry and missed a few spots on the finish pass.
Whatever the case may be I am BEYOND pissed. At Western for letting that out the door. At myself for not catching it. At myself for building this GD engine!
I also found out today that I will be going to school after all. So I have a hard deadline to meet. I need to call Western tomorrow and see what's what but at this point I think I'm going to have to throw these parts on the Cherokee and drive it into the ground some more.
Nikkormat wrote:Talked to Western. They said bring down the crank and bearings they'll take a look. They'll take care of it assuming there is a defect in there work.
I'd bring them the entire bottom end. Block, crank, bearings. Let them check and see what's up. Maybe they can line bore it and if you bring your rods/pistons, they can balance it.??
Nikkormat wrote:Already line bored by them, they said all they need to see is the bearings. If the defect was under the bearing they'll be able to tell.
Wishing you luck! Hopefully it is their fault and they fix it and make it right. New bearings etc...
Took everything down to Western and we laid it out for examination. The determination was made that the issue stemmed from contaminated assembly lube. There appears to be sand in my assembly lube.
It was new for this project. Like lubriplate it is a light pretroleum based grease. Only difference is this is in a tub instead of a tube.
I didn't want to bring it up, as I assumed it was my fault, but several of the main bearing bolts we're not as tight as they should have been. The tarp I'm covering my work area with and the bag around the engine we're both different than I had left them. Someone is working to ensure this thing doesn't run.
We smeared some of the lube out on a sheet of printer paper and the sand/dust whatever you want to call it was clearly visible. I think someone put sand in my lube. Of course I have no evidence but this is all real fishy. I've worked hard to be surgically clean putting this thing together.
I am done fighting it. I'll put this thing together next summer. I ordered the parts for the Cherokee's transfer case and I'm going to drive it for a year.
sand in your lube!?!