LS1 Crank -worth it to have Rod Journals Turned?
03-18-2009, 02:32 PM
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LS1 Crank -worth it to have Rod Journals Turned? I have an LS1 crank that spun a rod bearing. I talked to a couple machine shops and they don't weld the cranks to bring them back up to standard. Will you or how far would you be willing to turn down the rod journals? .010, .020 .030?
Would it be cheaper to locate another LS1 crank?
S
Would it be cheaper to locate another LS1 crank?
S
03-18-2009, 06:43 PM
#2
It's perfectly acceptable to have the rods and mains Turned undersized. some motors like the the stupid ford Mod motors can only go .020 under sized. On the LS1, I know the rod journal can go .030 under sized since it uses a standard chevy rod bearing... as far as the mains go I would have to see if they have .030 under main bearings available.
They usually only weld higher end cranks as a repair when the crank won't service or looks to close to tell if it will fall within the service limit. They usually never try to return it to standard size. The cost of welding Vs. finding a good core Only makes welding a necessity on a crank that has a high replacement cost value.
Always go the least amount possible and use a reputable Crank grinder. You get what you pay for. I have a hard to find crank for am old Pontiac 455 that I pulled out of a junk motor. If you look at the finish work of the crank Its easy to see why the motor came apart so soon. It's basically ruined for a 455 application but I can have the mains turned down and use it for a stoker in the smaller 400 Pontiac block.
I don't mind paying more for an engine that's going to see some abuse as apposed to paying less from another local grinder for stock rebuild application. The finish on the Journals Is much nicer from the Higher guy in my area and he usually holds a more even tolerance from one end to the other...
They usually only weld higher end cranks as a repair when the crank won't service or looks to close to tell if it will fall within the service limit. They usually never try to return it to standard size. The cost of welding Vs. finding a good core Only makes welding a necessity on a crank that has a high replacement cost value.
Always go the least amount possible and use a reputable Crank grinder. You get what you pay for. I have a hard to find crank for am old Pontiac 455 that I pulled out of a junk motor. If you look at the finish work of the crank Its easy to see why the motor came apart so soon. It's basically ruined for a 455 application but I can have the mains turned down and use it for a stoker in the smaller 400 Pontiac block.
I don't mind paying more for an engine that's going to see some abuse as apposed to paying less from another local grinder for stock rebuild application. The finish on the Journals Is much nicer from the Higher guy in my area and he usually holds a more even tolerance from one end to the other...
03-18-2009, 06:47 PM
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Thanks for the reply. Another question. I don't like the look of the two rods that came off of that journal. The engine has 12k miles. Rods are $105 ea from the dealer or would sourcing a couple used rods do the trick? I am going with ARP rod bolts.
03-18-2009, 11:25 PM
#5
Last time I talked to him about getting a set of some LS1 rods He said he only has around 300 or so of the LS1 rods just laying around... He actually had to tell his core guys to stop bringing them cause there just pilling up. He has LS2 rods but he was a little more proud of them... still cheap in comparison to Just 1 for roughly the same price through the dealer....
