slow93z

so im building a 383 and im not sure if i sure spend the extra money and go forged or just get the cast steel crank. im doing forged rods and pistons for sure. anyone ever used one of the cast steel cranks before? wanna know how much they can take.

henry172

iTrader: (2)

Aftermarket cast cranks are not even as strong as the stock crank; many have broken the cast eagle stuff in two.

jester1614

iTrader: (13)

he beat me to it, stay stock crank or go forged

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Ignore the cheap price point. Using a cast Eagle crank is a sure way to ruin a perfectly good engine. Avoid ANYTHING cast at all costs. Makes no sense to have only 2/3rds of the rotating assembly forged.

ZGOBYBY

iTrader: (14)

+1. I have the same philosophy. Either use the stock crank or just go forged.

mguidry629

iTrader: (6)

I have the cast Eagle crank but I'm not putting a ton of power down either. They say they're good to 500hp/flywheel. I also went with cheap pistons too. So far no problems on the bottom end (that I know of, we just got it in the machine shop for top end problems and we're about to pull the oil pan to check everything).

Having said that, if I could do it all over, I would get the quality stuff. I just didn't have the patience to save up for forged bottom end. Plus I needed the car running ASAP at the time.

defaultexistence

iTrader: (11)

I think everyone jumps on the philosophy band wagon of what Evers a popular opinion to quickly ... Sure there have been some eagle cast cranks go south .. But out of the thousands or more sold if they were truly junk don't you think it would be in your face constantly and the company would close? Or don't you think there would be more solid information from thousands of pissed broke crank owners? I would tend to think so .. So with it being a fact that thousands+ eagle cast cranks being out there and you guys saying " I got a friend who has a buddy that knew a guy who heard eagle cast cranks are ****" is really just kind like a dumb parrot repeating things with out a clue.. I Do know eagle has standards and eagle parts have limitations .. So if you buy a 500hp crank and your set up is good for 650hpand you break an eagle cast .. Well it's just your dumb *** fault... I also don't deny there are bad parts out there from time to time , but don't be so close minded about a whole brand!

defaultexistence

iTrader: (11)

Fwiw I have a scat cast crank going back in my 383, forged eagle h-beams,SRP forged pistons...

RamAir95TA

iTrader: (2)

Crank HP rating doesn't mean **** when it breaks behind the front main while idling through a parking lot. I will agree that most people just repeat what others have said regarding the Eagle cast stuff, but take it from someone with actual experience regarding the matter - myself. I can post pictures if you like. Even Google it, you'll see tons of failures. The thing is though, you don't see people making threads like "My Eagle cast crank hasn't failed yet!" so of course there are satisfied people out there and some people do get away with it. But the point is, why risk it? And we're not bad-mouthing Eagle as a whole, just their line of cast cranks. And not just Eagle - Scat has also had their issues.

Well that's your problem then. What kind of RPM/HP/valvetrain/heads are you planning on running? Isn't the peace of mind worth the extra couple hundred bucks? Or the fact that you'd never have to worry about upping your RPM/HP limits without an increased risk of crank failure?

Maybe I'm being close minded here...hm.

jaycenk

iTrader: (1)

I have the cast eagle stroker crank and I had to go way conservitive on the cam just because my builder F'd up and didn't listen to me when I asked for forged. Go forged and have it ballanced and put together by a GOOD builder. Cast cranks are tempermental with the tolerance on the align hone/bore of the main caps and bearing sizing. if it's not dead nutz on you run the risk of breakage more so then with forged. If you find a good builder you wont have a problem. Just find a good builder and do it once and never have to worry about it again. Mine is apart after 2k miles and I never thought I would be one of those guys that is having endless problems like I ran into on the forums when I was looking at building. Choosing the right builder is more important then anything else.

BALLSS

FWIW I went with the cast Eagle but with forged rods & pistons on my 383...and experienced the 2 piece crank mod as a result. Driving 30 mph nose broke off and took out the block

fortunately the builder replaced everything and this time I spent the extra $ on a forged Eagle. The builder just charged me the difference (his cost) on the cast which he got Eagle to warrenty against the price of the forged. It was about $150 difference.

This was a NA motor with a mild cam

09jyounger

iTrader: (3)

FWIW, I've seen a 383 cast eagle crank break, but I've also seen them hold together. I kind of think they're hit or miss in the cast department. I'm running a forged eagle crank in my 383 and it's holding strong. If you're looking for a pretty good amount of power, I'd say spend the change, and go forged.

fex77k

iTrader: (2)

Why would you risk a short block on a aftermarket cast crank?

jaycenk

iTrader: (1)

Most people don't know and then on top of that if you get someone like I had do mine he did exactly what I told him not to do. So what can you really do? I didn't even know he had done it untill it was paid for and I went throught the part numbers and found out it was cast.

grn95t/a

iTrader: (10)

deff go forged, i help build a lt1 383 with a friend, machine shop assembled the short block. eagle cast crank lasted all about 4-5 months before it broke in half right in front of the #1 rod. destroyed the block. all for saving $300.00 over a forged unit.

slow93z

well with all in favor....i guess i will fork out the extra 300 and go forged. thanks for everyones quick response to this!

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

Worth every penny.
The cost of a forged crank is nothing compared to having to rebuild your entire engine because you took a shortcut.
Built it right the first time, enjoy it for many years

Wicked94Z

iTrader: (26)

I'm a firm believer in buying AMERICAN forged and machined parts. I'd possibly step down to "american finished" parts on a mild setup, I just don't see the point of cutting costs on some of the most important components of your motor.

WS Sick

I built a cast eagle 383 and the thing ran great and performed well until I started having thrust clearance issues, the cranks thrust surface was basicly milled away by the bearing, my machinist thinks the converter balooned or something to that effect, but the converter looks fine.

I now am running the forged eagle crank, its a nice peice.

slow93z

is the eagle forged stuff made in america? if not, then what is?