Hey guys, I just pulled the oil pan off the L98 I have in my garage and saw a small chip in part of the crank to the far end by the timing chain. If you guys would take a look at this picture of it and tell me if this is something I need to worry about I would appreciate it, thanks.

The picture won't load right on here, so here's a link to my page with a big picture of it, look to the far right side of the picture to see the chip.

Crank

 

as long as its not on a bearing surface your good to go, but if its a huge chip it could affect the balance

 

i would be more worried about what caused it...

 

Yeah I was also concerned about the cause of that chip in that location. What could possibly cause that, I mean I'm not too familiar with the internals of an engine but it doesn't look like anything would ever come in contact with that surface. Any ideas what could've cause that? I'm thinking now if I should move on with the refresh on this engine or if I should just buy a different one, any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

Looks like it happened while the crank was being milled/machined or whatever. If that happened while it was in your engine there would have to be a big chunk of something somewhere to make it right...

 

This is a stock '89 L98 longblock out of a firebird, I bought it from a guy on here after he pulled it from his car, it's the stock crank and hasn't been machined. The block is all stock.

 

well i wouldn't worry about it... these things happen. when i rebuilt an engine for a guy out of a datsun this engine had bolts and washers in it, the speed of the crank hitting those little parts can do alot of damage. don't worry about that chip it won't affect anything

 

but if you don't want to take a risk, just show the pic to one of the tech guys at your local machine shop

 

If it's been like that for a while (which it looks like it has) it'll be fine as long as you're not looking to build a 500 ft.lb torque monster.

If it makes you feel better, dress it. By that I mean take a grinding stone, sanding drum, carbide bit, etc. and just finish it smooth. It's the same as dressing connecting rods. All you're doing is removing any sharp changes in direction where cracks could easily start.

Just don't start hogging it out. Keep it simple and smooth and it will help. Knock down that **** sticking out, and smooth the sharp edges (if there are any). A smooth transition will help deter starting points of stress.

 

All right, great information guys thanks a lot for the replies, I was hoping it was nothing serious and yeah this motor isn't going to be a built up beast so I'm sure it will be fine. Thanks again.

 

I wouldn't do anything. It looks fine as is. It isn't in a stress area. If it makes you feel any better, the process for straightening a crank is to use a big hammer

 

Oh NO... it's garbage,, throw it away and start over.

Odds are the crank was installed that way from the factory...

fogetaboutit!!!

 

Haha thanks guys I thought it might've been a flaw from the factory, but I don't know what the hell I'm doing when it comes to crank and internals like that which is why I realized I need to take it to a shop to get the new bearings a rings and what not.