Well in previous threads about " crankshaft company" while others have bashed them I defended them...but now I am not so sure...I had my motor out this week to swap heads and decided to pull the pan and look at the bearings..VERY GLAD I DID. didn't look so good.I only made a few passes on it and it ALWAYS had good oil preasure..even while braking(I made it a point to look while braking,and I have a large line to gauge not the tiny one) The rod bearings looked ok but 2 of the mains( number 2 and number 4) looked like doo doo. Shiney on only one side and appeared to be flaking. Crank not hurt at all. Also the piston skirts were a little scratched up...not sure if it because the clearance is tight (I have no way to check that...no dial bores) or if it is just because the long stroke brings the piston so far down past the bottom...that's what I think it is.I put this turd together and I did take a sand roll to the sharp edges at the bottom of the bore..maybe not good enough. When I put it together the crank mic'ed right at the low end of standard which is what they told me it would check at when I bought it...again, I have micrometers but no dial bore so the only thing I can do is mic crank and check clearance with plastigauge( I know I know)
ops: but that's all I have. Anyway it had about .0025 on the rods and .003 on mains best I could tell with plastigauge anyhow...When I ordered this short block it was suposed to be ready to assemble. Told me I would only need to file fit rings, wash it and put it together that all clearances would be checked...I still checked everything I am capable of.
SO I called Schmidt Automotive in Indianapolis as they have always done very good work and talked to them...I asked about just getting the crank checked every which way cause I have no clue why this thing chewed up the bearings so fast with good oil psi...and to me if it was an oil problem the rods would take a crap before the mains as they are oiled last..but anyway before I even told him which mains it was he said "Was it number 2 and number 4?" :shock: I said yeah..how did you know? He said if it is a balance problem that is where it would show up normally. so right now the crank and one rod,piston bearing etc is there being checked and rebalanced if needed. My luck is the worst ever.... I am not blaming crankshaft company just yet just have to wonder what could have caused this...I REALLY hope the thing isn't balanced correctly cause then I would know...if it turns out ok then I will be stumped. Any thoughts on what would kill the mains in only a few passes. No evidence of detonation on plugs or pistons. I will post pics tomorrow my camera is dead at the moment. Also gona tyake the whole darn thing to Schmidt Auto next week and have everything measured and checked to be safe..he saisd he would check bore size vs pistobn size for me to see why the piston skirts arev scuffed. And I cleaned the crap out of this thing before assembly...took out plugs and ran briushes throgh ouil galleys and hand washed three times after pre assembly.
OH yeah new Merlin III block, canton power pan and melling HV oil pump.( Tried a stock pump first but didn't have too good of oil preasure when hot so I switched it. Never ran it with the stock pump except in garage. Balancer was a brand new ATI super damper 7 " or whatever they are...actually a little bigger than 7" but not an 8". They told me they normally use an 8" balancer but since it is internally balanced I didn't think it mattered.