Crank Welding
 

Has anyone had one of their K-series crank journals built up and reground to size? Bonus points if you had it done in CA :biggrin2: I have a crank for a K241 that needs it.

Thank you!

Rusty, If it helps you out, takes some of your concern away, us motor heads, and circle track racers, that couldn't afford a new crank, had the cranks
welded and turned down all the time. :TwoCents:
If the machine shop has been in business for any length of time, and has a good reputation, really no worries at all on a 3600RPM max engine, :beerchug:

Fair enough! I have a bid in on a NOS crank on eBay at the moment. If that falls through I’ll have a local look around and see what I can have done. :beerchug:

Is $265 a dumb price to pay for a NOS crank? I’ve seen them elsewhere for like $400 but I just can’t imagine anyone is actually paying that.

Edit: I should add that the shipping is free.

Edit 2: Aw heck, I snagged it.

How much out of round is the old crank?

At least 5 thousandths. Measured at 1.481 minimum 1.486 maximum.

I thought there was a .010" undersize bearing available?

Back when repairing was common, a good engine shop knew their bearings and could often take one from another application and machine it or the rod (or both) to save an undersize crank.

I know you can get .010 under Kohler connecting rods which would match a 1.490” crank journal. You can get .020 under aftermarket (imported) rods as well but I would rather stick with OEM parts if possible. Engine shop guy said it wouldn’t clean up at 1.480” so I would need to find a .030 under rod (or a rod machined to accept bearing inserts sized to fit a 1.470” crank journal).

I think you did fine on that. Most I've seen are $300.00 and a few higher as you said . :beerchug:

For welding/grounding Kohler cranks, it has been suggested in the past on this forum that the welding be done by specialists who does submerge welding. The reason being is kohler cranks have the potential to crack if welded traditionally because the crank is hollow.

So buying a new cranks seems like a good choice.