My entire life, I've always been told that if a crank is laid on its side for extended periods of time (out of the engine...duh), that it will warp. The proper way to store them is either standing up on end, or hanging from the front bolt.

Now, talking to some respected RLers, they say I'm crazy, and storing them laying down is fine.

I've got a 3.0L crank that I probably won't be able to use for quite some time, so I want to make sure that its in working order when I am able to use it.

What say you?

 

Well, my dad always told me that you should never lay a crank down... why? I don't know...

 

Assuming the constant force of gravity is the culprit, you are saying that standing (or hanging) won't allow gravity to warp it, but laying it down will?

This is just like the "if you leave your bare block on an engine stand, it will warp" thread...

 

Whether or not any of this is true, or ever was, it's just one of those things I was told when I was a kid and just do out of habit... It's like the old story about never setting a battery on concrete. I know that's a bunch of BS, but, I still hesitate to set my battery on the garage floor...

 

Well then look at the bright side, cranks stood on end take up less space!

I am no metalurgist, but I doubt that steel will creep enough under earths gravity to ruin a crank laid on it's side, considering the crank would be supported along it's length by the counter weights.

 

No, I agree with you... I see no logical reason why the crank would be damaged by being laid flat...

 

I had to look uP the battery thing...wow...

 

Yeah.. I suppose that's a pretty good example of the power of subliminal messaging... Someone told me, when I was a kid, that setting a battery on concrete would ruin it... Since being a kid, I've earned a BSEE, and can tell you, without question, that there is no possible way for a battery to be discharged by concrete. And yet, every time I take a battery out of a car, I look for a piece of wood to set it on...

 

I have lay plenty of batteries on concrete and never seen them discharge, I also lay my cranks on the girdles, laying cranks standing up is an disaster waiting to happen if someone bumps on it or a So Cal quake decides to hit

 

I honestly see no reason not to lay it down....even being a fabricator, and knowing what I know about steel. However, like a few of you above, its something I've always been told. I'm hesitant to lay it down.

As for it falling over...I'm smart enough to tie it up so it can't fall lol

 

I would like to see an SAE paper about crank storage...

By the same logic: hanging a crank will stretch it; standing a crank on end will squash it. Additionally, if you set an engine on its end, then the cylinders will go out of round, ect.

 

Not to be a dick, but I will call you on that "fact" any day.

 

I asked this question to a machine shop. One of the last 2 that I have been to, where I noticed cranks being stored on their side. They said (I do not know how true this is) On its side, or standing up is fine. Leaning it against something is the worst. My logic suggests that storing the crank on its side would be fine because there are more points of contact to hold the weight. I also never put a battery on concrete, just out of habit.

 

What do people think will really happen? The crank in my current race engine sat on its side on the garage floor for two years before it got installed with nothing more than a clean up. After a full race season revving constantly to 7500+ it hasn't popped out of the side of the block yet...but maybe it will explode or something soon?

 

is this for a crank only? it really dosn't make any sence. its not made of playdoh lol. if it could "warp" from gravity by laying down.. but putting 90+ ft/lb of torque(plus the force of gravity) each rpm on different spots of the crank wont warp it in anyway?