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Pull your Balls to properly clean your Crank

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BogusSVO

10+ Year Contributor
5,891
318
Jul 1, 2009
Pensacola, Florida
Pull your balls to properly clean your crank


I know this topic has been talked about some.
Some say it not needed, but I disagree.
The crank for a 4g63 is of the cross drilled design.
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This means that there is an oil galley through both the main and the rod journal with an intersecting oil galley that joins the main to the rod. Due to the way the oil galleys are drilled, from the side of the rod throw to the main journal oil galley, the factory installs a press fit ball.

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Now a segment of the intersecting galley is “dead space” this segment is from the cross drilled oil galley in the rod journal to the outside of the rod throw.
The common way to remove the ball is to heat it with a tig welder to loosen it, then weld a pull point on the ball and fight it out.

Once the ball is out, you will see the hard packed crud that builds up in the dead space.
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Once you have the crud exposed, use a drill bit slightly smaller than the oil galley and drill the crud out, then a small copper brush and compressed air to get the rest out.
You will have 4 piles of crud.
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A closer look of the crud from one galley.
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So you can have an idea just how much crud is built up in the crank.
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I believe that the solvent tanks and spray cabinets that a machine shop uses, also the cans of brake clean the DIY use, breaks down the bond that holds this crud in place and softens it so in a rebuild it gets washed when the engine is primed with oil on the stand, then the new break in oil picks up a small amount of the loosened crud and washes it into the new rod bearings.



How to tap and plug the oil galleys after cleaning
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/how-to-plug-crank-oil-galleys-after-ball-removal.473543/
 
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You tap and put a set screw in afterwards. With people who do not have access to a TIG use a small ball burr and cut half the ball out and use a punch on one side to knock it out of place like a freeze plug.

Of course afterwards with either method you will need to get the crank rebalanced, which was not mentioned.
 
After removing those press fit in balls, would you put them back in or could you tap it and put a setscrew in?

Some will just weld the hole close, I tap and use a set screw, and add green lock-tite, and a few peen points.


You tap and put a set screw in afterwards. With people who do not have access to a TIG use a small ball burr and cut half the ball out and use a punch on one side to knock it out of place like a freeze plug.

Of course afterwards with either method you will need to get the crank rebalanced, which was not mentioned.

The factory crank balance will not be messed with to any great extent with the tig method and set screws, at most .2g weight difference between balls and set screws.

Now with the burr, and hitting the casting, you may get as high as 1g.

But if you are building anything more than a stock rod engine, the rotating assembly will be getting balanced anyway.
 
Bringing this old thread from Dale back up. This is something you just can't skip. I had 2 blocks with the cranks installed, getting ready to put the rods in and I remembered his thread. I pulled the first crank out and did a thorough flush with brake parts cleaner and got some black residue out of every journal. Took 3 cans of cleaner to get it invisible. Pulled the second crank out. It was a very good spare that I have had for a few years and was sold to me fresh and ready to go......HERE ARE THE RESULTS FROM IT, 7 CANS AND 3 HOURS LATER BEFORE IT WAS COMING OUT CLEAN so all you DIY'ers, please take the time to clean your crank to SAVE YOUR MOTOR!!!
My machinist didn't have the capability to tig out the balls in the ends so we did the best we could and so VERY GLAD we did. We even got a few metal particles out of one journal after the crud came out.
Marty

Thanks to Dale @BogusSVO and @killercolt for the articles on their different ways to get the job done!
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/how-to-clean-you-4g63t-crank.458366/
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That crud just KEPT COMING OUT Pat. Amazing to think of it. Those pieces are kinda hard like carbon but the more we cleaned, the softer it got and was almost rubbery. Just wanted it to get pointed out again since we do have quite a few do-it-yourselfers, like me, and Dales article was from back in 2013. :thumb:
 
I am just about to a do an engine rebuild and came across this. Glad I did, never knew/thought about it. So I went out today and did the brake clean method and sure enough a lot of that same looking stuff came out of my crank. It wasn't as bad as yours but there was definitely a bunch trapped in there. I only had 2 full cans on hand and I feel I got it pretty clean. I will buy some more tom and just double check it. I found by filling the hole and letting it sit for a while and then switching between the inside and out side holes it would soften the stuff up and blow out easier. I also noticed more in the 2-3 holes vs the 1 and 4 holes.

I also bent a large paper clip and did my best to wiggle it around and dig what I could out, just be super careful because if you break it off in there you will be pulling the balls which I determined would be a lot of extra work and PITA. Don't forget to bend the red nozzle of the brake cleaner at the tip so it can fit in the galley and spay in it and not just through the cross hole. Oh and be prepared to get dirty, this is a nasty job, you are basically taking a mist shower in brake cleaner, carbon, and oil.

Thumbs up, this is exactly why I still read the forums.
 
Cant freaking believe how much I pulled out. This is after 6 cans of break clean. I used the tig weld method with silicone bronze and pull them out
 

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Cant freaking believe how much I pulled out. This is after 6 cans of break clean. I used the tig weld method with silicone bronze and pull them out
Are you going to get it re-balanced after?

I had no idea this was an issue. Very good info. :D
 
Are you going to get it re-balanced after?

I had no idea this was an issue. Very good info. :D
From what ive read its not needed as the weight being remove is The same as being added. Meaning your adding an equal amount of weight to both ends of the crank 2 set screws on one side and two on the other. Youd think all that packed in shit would throw off the balance ....this needs to be a mandatory step
 
From what ive read its not needed as the weight being remove is The same as being added. Meaning your adding an equal amount of weight to both ends of the crank 2 set screws on one side and two on the other. Youd think all that packed in sh** would throw off the balance ....this needs to be a mandatory step
I agree, this should always be a mandatory step, but one that has not been mentioned for a while. Glad I could bring light back to Dales original post!
 
So, building a 7 bolt for my son, @black97spyder. Had to have the virgin crank cut .25 to clean the rust up but turned out great.
Like all of my 4g builds, first thing up is cleaning, what looks like a perfect crank straight from the machine shop but just look at the crud that was hanging out in the rod dead end journals.
DIYers, make this a mandatory step to save your bearings!!!
Marty

Just a video of the nastiness in a fresh crank. The white blanket was clean before I started the cleaning OMG so CLEAN YOUR CRANK JOURNALS BEFORE ASSEMBLING!
You will be glad you did!
Marty

I cleaned this crank up from rust to a really nice crank with Permatex Navel Jelly rust remover. See the attachments.

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