Oil Gallery Blocked, Damaged Case and Main Bearings (pictures)

[vedgar]

measuring bearing thickness ?

This is new to me. Measure with plastigage, when the crank is installed in the block and the caps installed.

[3Phase]

.

Vedgar: This is just a repost to replace the pictures from 2008.
The crankshaft from this engine went in my '80G, and ran for 70-some thousand miles after I got it put back together. The bearings and crank journals were still perfect when I tore it down to replace the jugs and pistons.

Even still, an interesting way to 'attack' the issue Scott.

Brant, I was more than a little torqued having to go through that with a Midnight Special engine, those were supposed to have been Yamaha's finest with owner nameplates and everything; wound up more like Jurassic Park: "Spared no expense...."


I never did take the case to a machine shop. I used some blue and checked the fit of the new bearing shells to see the contact surface on the back and it wasn't correct so the case went out in the shed to give the bugs something to play in and keep the spiders happy.


I didn't take any pictures at the time back in 2008 but here are some new pictures I took today of Columbo's crankshaft that came out of that '81LH case. As you can see, some of the balance holes in the crankshaft counterweights were drilled off center. There was a web of razor sharp metal where the drill bit started to come out the side that I discovered after noticing a trail of blood on the garage floor. I knocked out the web, then smoothed the edges with a round diamond chainsaw file. There wasn't enough material removed to worry about changing the balance.

Crankshaft wrapped up for storage


The balance holes with the edges smoothed

[motoman]

Well, if it weren't for the trail of vital fluid on man-cave floor.....who woulda' ever thunked' it. Good thing for the two dogs to sanitize that floor again for ya'.

[3Phase]

I almost didn't have a crankshaft. I was -->.<-- close to dropping it on the concrete when it started to feel slippery and I saw what happened to my hand.

And the dogs stayed out of it, they're pit bulls, not bloodhounds.