The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 Engine Crankshaft Storage

I’ve found that many well versed engine techs recommend to store crankshafts vertically . Why?
My opinion is that it’s probably reasonable to think that if it’s tipped the shaft may crack or severely be damaged. Ok
I see no issue with storing it horizontally if the shaft is supported at the 4 primary journals.
So?

Mostly its space need to store it laying down. If laying one down can bend it, how would it ever hold up in an engine? I tried to break a camshaft once, took it out in the street and me my buddy kept throwing as high as we could, it might have bent it slightly, but it wouldn't break, we had to set it on a couple 2x4's and hit it with a sled hammer to break it in half. I am willing to bet a crankshaft would take a fair amount of work to bend or break one.

Thanks. I was pretty sure that responses would basically say what you’ve pointed out. It makes a lot of sense to me. Shortly I’ll be removing the crankshaft and I’ll store it horizontally, I just feel better storing it like this.

When I ran the connecting rod reconditioning department at a big machine shop in Nashville, we stored crankshafts in a steel rack, hanging by the flywheel flange, but it was mostly for space saving- - - - -50 or more crankshafts in stock at a time, including Cummins Diesel shafts about 5 feet long. I think the old myth about a shaft bending if stored flat is a bunch of hogwash!
Jerry

Jerry I was pretty sure that those crankshafts must be able to withstand properly horizontally stored because they are quite sturdy. Now if someone was to drop it from a 20 foot high that’s another conversation.
Thanks

You can find lots of pictures on the internet of crated crankshafts stored horizontally. They usually are resting on saddles positioned at some or all of their journals. No way the military would store thousands of spare crankshafts vertically.

Other than hanging cranks from the flywheel flange like Jerry mentioned, vertically crated crankshafts would be unstable (more easily knocked over) versus a horizontal crate. NOBODY would store or transport them in a vertical crate. I doubt that even a 20 ft drop would do more than some cosmetic damage to a 235 crankshaft.

True points

For my 292 I paid $8500 for a billet crank from Crower. It came in a very nice felt lined wooden box designed to be horizontal.

The machine shops I've been to, all store the cranks vertically, bolted to their flywheel so they don't tip over. I was also told that storing them laid on their side could cause warpage over time, but I didn't really believe it. (Just laying there on the balance weights, not actually stored in a fitting).

A friend of mine owned Cylinder Head Sales Co until a heart attack ended his life too soon. Actually I think the company sold as many crankshafts and camshafts as heads and hundreds of them were stored in heavy cardboard boxes flat on their side. All kinds of engines including industrial equipment, heavy trucks and large generators. One day I asked him if he was concerned they might bend sitting there like that (since that was the tale I had heard all my life). He smiled, rubbed his head and said "Jon it is more likely they'd grow wings and fly out of here."