mortymower

I spun a rod bearing on a 1990 kawasaki mule. It is one of the early ones and it uses the top half of the 2cyl motorcycle engine from the EN450. I was told that they make bearings in 10 and 20 thousandths so I had it ground down 20/1000 and it turned out fine. Now I learn that they dont make anything bigger than standard. A place in memphis says they can weld and grind and it will be good as new. He mentioned a chroming process, didnt really know what he was saying though. He has good recomendations, but how reliable is this method (take into account this is for a farm vehicle not a racecar). thanks

V2Rocket

i seriously would never trust a welded crank...

honestly there are so many of those motors out there why not just replace the whole thing?

Rip It

Had it done in 1976 to a 1973 350 LT1 vette and it's still going. The welding procedure has probably improved in 33 years. May be cheaper to buy a good used crank.

Relaxed90

Why?

So you're going to replace the entire motor because of a spun bearing when it could be welded? Have you ever had it done? Do you know the process?

Name your reasons why you would not use a welded crank on a KAWASAKI MULE.

mortymower

well the problem is the top half of the motor was the same but since the the trans is seperate in the mule, the crank is not identicle. The two sprockets for starter and oil/ water pump are on the opposite side. Also, there are practically no mules with this motor around any more since they made it from 85 to 91. So my only option is new or welded.

V2Rocket

if the weld is anything less than perfect even with a low-power engine like in the mule the stress could destroy it.

alex

It sounds like the are going to weld it to add material, then grind it down to the right size, not actually weld it together, is this correct?

V2Rocket

ohhhh that changes things entirely..

i was under the impression for some odd reason that he wanted to weld like two halves of a crank together.

wow, way out of context...my bad.

Lorax

Go for it. If if fails, you really won't be worse off...

mortymower

Correct I am just welding one of the crankpins to add some material and then grind it down to factory spec

alex

Seems like it should be fine. I guess it might be more brittle, but with a round part that doesn't take impacts I don't think it would even matter.

Marcquito

I had the crank welded on my GS-T after the engine blew 2 years ago. Still runs strong. It was also welded properly, of course.

blown 944

Welded cranks are fine if the shop can do it.

We used to offset grind,weld, stroke by welding...

A capable crank machining facility should have no problems.

Mike C.

I would have guessed this would cause high residual stress issues which could lead to fatigue cracks getting started. Did they do any kind of stress relief?

MrTom

Blown is right. Offset grinding has been going on for decades. Do it up man. Add some stroke to it lol.