APPLY PRESSURE HERE
I found myself without a welder to use to remove a check ball staked into the end of an oil passage of a crankshaft. So, I applied a different technique to remove it to clean the crank. I clamped some piece of steel together to form some “Caps”. I had to place some spacers between them to leave me enough material at the tops of the radius. I drilled them on end and then bolted them together like you might 2 rod caps, still with spacers in the middle. Then I bored the centers on my mill. One machined to the diameter of the rod journal and the other the main journal. The one for the main was drilled and tapped for a Zerk-fitting, which you can see in the photo. Before clamping the caps to the crank, I ground away the staking around the ball. Then I clamped the small diameter caps to the rod journal around the oil hole. From the main journal side, I dripped some oil in the hole to displace some air. Then I clamped the main journal diameter caps around the oil hole in the main lining the Zerk up with the hole. Using pressure from a grease gun the ball came out of the end of the journal throw with ease. I believe these caps will work again as well if the crank has smaller journals.

Steve Morton
R & R Machine Company
Warwick, RI
DEC, 2022