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…
Steve Morton R & R Machine Company Warwick, RI
The goal when servicing diesel connecting rods is to ensure the full set of rods are straight, on size and of the correct length. They should be machined back to the original OEM specification. Honeable bushings are acceptable if no other connecting rod big end machining…
Engine Pro Technical Committee with special thanks to MaxiForce Diesel Engine Parts
The 5.3l and 6.0l LS engines use the same stroke crankshaft with the same casting number. But the balance is different on the cranks for the different bore size pistons. There is a quick way to determine which crank you have. If you look at the front…
Nick Jones Automotive Machine Fraser, MI
To make it quick and easy to mount cranks in the grinder and especially the lathe for polishing, I made inserts for various engine families. Delron or that type of material works great and I give them about .001” clearance so they are reasonably stable. Randy Torvinen…
Randy Torvinen Torvinen’s Machine Menahga, MN
I line up the oil stream on my rod machine to where I want to stop the stroke. I try to over stroke approximately 1/2 of the rod width to keep the shoes from wearing unevenly. Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Shop Menahga, MN August, 2022
Randy Torvinen Torvinen's Machine Shop Menahga, MN
When honing some parts on the rod machine, I use an O-ring on the mandrel as a visual end stop for proper overstroke. This really helps on things like motorcycle cases and multi rod assemblies to ensure proper mandrel over stroke coverage. It also helps with pistons…
Ron Flood Cedar Machine North Branch, MN
When installing a reluctor wheel on an LS crankshaft, using the brand name alignment tool, use a piece of 4.5" pipe, notched and with a bar welded on the back to take the hammer blows. I can avoid banging on the tool and this provides a better…
Joe Jill Superior Automotive Engineering Placentia, CA
On some crankshafts, the pilot bushing bore is undersize or irregular. Driving in a bushing with too much interference would lead to the I.D. of the pilot bushing being too small for the transmission input shaft. Simply mic the bore and adjust the bearing you are replacing it…
Ron Flood Cedar Machine North Branch, MN
You can make a GM-LS engine priming tool using just about any oil pump. I used a new big block Chevy M77 pump that I already had. I tapped the inlet and outlet to NPT threads and installed fittings to adapt to rubber hoses. The pressure side needs…
Dave Sarno SCH Racing Heads Arvada, CO
When balancing a crankshaft for heavier parts, often you must add metal in an existing hole. If the hole was drilled with a regular drill bit, versus a spade drill, the hole can be irregular and oversized. It can be time consuming to try to make a slug that…
Ron Flood Cedar Machine North Branch, MN