Crank Keyway is TWEAKED!

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A

alaubhan

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Jun 3, 2005
Threads
46
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149
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
Hey guys, the PO changed out the front main seal and obviously did not get the nut tight enough. As a result the keyway was rolled over. There is enough keyway to get the key set, but the pully twists slightly when going to tighten it down. My dad was thinking that I should put the key in and throw a little bit of bonding agent to hold it in place until the pully goes on. I was thinking about getting the key in there then having a buddy put a light tack on it with the old wire welder.

Also, I notice a crank pulley installer in the FSM, whats the point of this tool if the nut presses the thing on when tightened?

Feedback please!
P1000141.webp
 
I'm thinking that is not good. not a great pic, but I don't see how the key is going to stay there.
Is the crank is out of the engine?

have a machine shop look at it, they may have an idea to repair.
 
i had the same scenario with a 5mge i rebuilt last year. after getting scolded from my favorite machine shop about tacking the key to the crank I ended up sourcing a new crank out of my parts 5mge. :(
 
I agree with Paul here; no quick fix,this is not going to hold with filler,maybe looking for a new crank.But see what a good machiine shop says. MIke
 
To do the job right, the keyway should be welded up and reground. It is possible to this at home (though I wouldn't want to do it w/ the crank in the engine).

Procedure:
Clean & pre-heat the snout of the crank w/ a propane torch.
MIG up the damaged side of the keyway.
Cut the welding back to the stock width w/ a Dremel wheel.
Grind off any protruding weld OD w/ angle grinder and flap wheel
Leave the keyway small enough that the key has to be knocked down into the slot w/ a hammer.
 
Either what Jim says, or replace the crank. I thought I could cheat it once, and lost bad. Really, really bad. When the harmonic balancer blows off at freeway speeds (this was on a freeway-speed-capable Tacoma), it has the potential to break a ton of stuff.
 
60,000 Miles ago this happened to my 60. I was looking for a new crank when the local Old Guy Chevy Mechanic suggested that he could fix it and that It would be OK. He used the method that Jim C has described above and we also had to refile (by hand) the threads on the end of the crank. I put a new seal behind the newsed pulley and this this has stood up very well for about 5 years and 60K miles.

Jim has an excellent point about fitting the key tight. use the new key and fit it snug. We also used a loc-tite product designed to hold the pulley on the crank shaft. It was called seal retainer or something.

The crank was in the engine, we did take the radiator out and I think we moved the AC condenser out of the way also.

Good Luck
John
 
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