The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop CrankShaft Storage?

Someone told me recently that you need to store a crank shaft hanging vertically, so that it does not warp. Has anyone else heard of this before and know whether this is true or not? I would not think that such a stout piece of metal like a crank shaft would become warped just lying flat on its side. To be honest, I would not feel all that secure having crankshafts hanging from my garage rafters.

Jim

That's true for cranks that aren't as rigid as the old Chevy sixes.

Biggest issue with them is rust. Fingerprints leave salts on the steel. I wear latex gloves when handling cranks. FOr storage clean thouroughly, then coat with new motor oil. I follow that with a thin coat of grease and wrap in saran wrap.

It's an old wives tale that's been around for years. Most places do store them vertically, but sitting on the floor, not hanging from the rafters like bats.

I guess it doesn't hurt to be cautious, but I have a hard time believing that something that can stand thousands of pounds of force while running in an engine could be warped by a few pounds of gravity.

The crusty old engineer that worked for our company once said to me " when a fly lands on a railroad track, their is deflection, you just can't measure it".

I'm with CanyonAg77...even if they warped if stored incorrectly, wouldn't they "un-warp" when reinstalled in the engine and torqued to heck with all the mains! :rolleyes:

Stuart

cujo8,Ihave been inthe automotive machine shop business for around 15 years and I can tell you that there must be be something to it. Several machine shop supply companies make special roll-around racks just for this purpose. I cannot tell you from personal experiance because I have always stood my cranks up on the floor for fear that this would happen. If the supply places are selling these racks to crank shops there must be something in it.
Are there any crank gurus out there that has ever warped one. Hope this solves the delema.

Perhaps its to help keep dust from forming on the bearing surfaces, or perhaps you can just store more in a smaller area this way.

Hi performance crank manufacturers like Scat store the crankshafts in cardboard boxes laying on their sides on shelves.Don't know how long they are stored like that,probably a few months maybe longer.
Machine shops store cranks on end cause they take up less room and are easier to move around for the short term.
How are camshafts stored? In boxes layin on their sides like the cranks.
Does a battery discharge more quickly laying on the concrete?

Concrete sets up a weird reaction with batteries. I don't know exactly why. The "How Stuff Works" page probably has an explanation.