I've got quite a few cranks sitting waiting for future projects. A friend of mine came over the other day and said they are probably junk from standing on end. Among them is my new 4340 454 crank :( He said the only way to properly store the cranks are to hang them from the snout? Should I hang them? I bought a used forged large journal 327 crank awhile back and the flywheel mounting flange was bent .007 and was junk according to my machinist---this got me thinking, maybe it was dropped at one time or was it stored on end for awhile? Sure hate to see my collection get ruined. Any thoughts on this? How should they be stored? Bob

Yes, they ARE ALL JUNK NOW, you've done ruined the lot!!!

Sorry!! You will know better next time you start hoarding them up..

Please send them all to me and I will be glad to recycle them for you to save you the hassle of finding a salvage yard and transporting all that ruined heavy metal to it to get rid of properly!!

pdq67

PS., I will even pay the freight to ship them to me!! He, He!!!!!

BOY, what are friends for???

I had always heard that storing them on end was THE way to do it. The best way would be to leave it in the block but if you can't do that, standing them up is the way I do it. Just do it somewhere where it's not going to get knocked over.

Jeff

oops double post

Heres how to do it correctly
(1)buy PVC PIPE 8-10 diameter about 30" long and 2-PVC Pipe Caps
(2)Use PVC Pipe Cement on the bottom cap (LABLE CONTENTS ON SIDE WITH MAJIC MARKER) drop
crankshaft in the PVC Pipe and fill the PVC Pipe with NEW oil.
Add the top PVC Cap and use Large radiator style clamp and tighten the clamp in place.
STAND it vertically ON PVC CAP END, USE SEVERAL BUNGEE CORDs TO FASTEN TO END OF WORK BENCH
TOTAL COST LESS THAN $20 CRANKSHAFT STORAGE CONTAINER. graemlins/hurray.gif

does it make any difference whether the crank is cast steel or forged? how long does it have to sit before it ruins?

I leave mine bolted to the flywheel sitting on end so it wont get knocked over and cover it in a plastic bag works fine imo

Originally posted by baddbob71:
I've got quite a few cranks sitting waiting for future projects. A friend of mine came over the other day and said they are probably junk from standing on end. Among them is my new 4340 454 crank :( He said the only way to properly store the cranks are to hang them from the snout? Should I hang them? I bought a used forged large journal 327 crank awhile back and the flywheel mounting flange was bent .007 and was junk according to my machinist---this got me thinking, maybe it was dropped at one time or was it stored on end for awhile? Sure hate to see my collection get ruined. Any thoughts on this? How should they be stored? Bob =
I don't know where this stuff comes from???
Most crank shops store their cranks in a hanging racks because it is efficient.
Think about it,,, if the crank is laying on a shelf supported by the counterweights how much span do you figure there is between each part sitting on the shelf??

Years ago, a well known performance crank grinder I know took a crank & set it in "V" blocks at each end journal & left it sitting on the table with a 30# bob weight bolted in the center just to dispel this "old wives tale" about storing cranks.
This crank was as straight a year later as the day he put it on the table.

I have said this before but it is another of those things that if it gets up written enough in magazines it becomes gospel :D

Store it just about any safe well lubed way you want, you ain't gonna hurt it ;)

AMEN Mike!!!!! graemlins/thumbsup.gif

cool, thanks for putting my mind at rest

besides all that, think about how much abuse a crank takes in a running engine. i seriously doubt a little gravity is gonna hurt it!

years ago,a cylinder head "expert" friend of mine told me to be sure and store my crank standing up.as i get older i learn more every day to take things people say with a grain of salt. ;)