Eagle 4.250 Cast Crank Broken

[Eljaro]

Well,the damper is a standard Ford FE Damper, no fluid there.
The block is beyond repair. The main front main bearing support is gone, and the counterweight has hammered the block wall into the sleeves on cylinder 1 and 5 so bad that I can not even get the pistons out.I guess I will leave them just there. The part which feeds the oil to the filter and back and into the oil gallery is partly gone too.
It is absolutely not possible to get the block repaired, it would need a reconstruction of many parts and that would just cost too much.

It is a meal of aluminum crumbles all over, wherever you touch something falls off.
I am considering an iron block this time after I have seen what the aluminum cast looks like inside.
And the culprit , the eagle crank (I didn't choose it, Keith offered it with the short block package) looks to me very fragile between the con rod journal and the counterweight. Only very little meat in place there.
I think that this 482Kc engine with the Webers and the aluminum flywheel must have had an incredible torque and that puts a lot of stress on the crank. Maybe cast steel is just not good enough.
I remember when I had the Holley on the engine the reaction was much more more gradual, not as brutal as with the webers.

[dallas_]

That is just a damned shame. I followed your posts on getting the webers tuned up and it sounds like you really had it dialed in before the carnage. Really sorry to hear it.

[RICK LAKE]

ACademic I have been involves with racing since the 70's. Back then we didn't have alot of money to spare on new parts all the time. Mr. Mulvey was a true blacksmith. He could weld, gas weld, stick weld, and bond almost anything to any thing. We cracked a 455 pont motor down the camshaft tunnel into the mains. He repaired the block and we had it remachined. We got 3 years out of it before another crack in the block started and coolant got into the motor. Aluminum blocks are alot easier to repair. We windowed a few in funny car and rail car, about 15. We patched them up all the time with rods holeing out the sides. If you have some of the best welders and machinist with all the broken parts, any thing is repairable.
Here one small note, The crank shaft broke here, would guess from a problem in the cast when made. I do know the hammer trick and have used it for better than 30 years. Cast cranks will run forever if you remember to limit the rpm range. 482 with 4.25 stroke is a good size. I have been running one for 6 years with a Barry R. kit Limit rpms to 6,000 rpms and not bang the limiter and the motor should last for years. Hot dogging and abuse will shorten any motors life. This is not a cheap hobby. I feel for our friend in Spain and his pain. Rick L.

[fordracing65]

Originally Posted by RICK LAKE

ACademic I have been involves with racing since the 70's. Back then we didn't have alot of money to spare on new parts all the time. Mr. Mulvey was a true blacksmith. He could weld, gas weld, stick weld, and bond almost anything to any thing. We cracked a 455 pont motor down the camshaft tunnel into the mains. He repaired the block and we had it remachined. We got 3 years out of it before another crack in the block started and coolant got into the motor. Aluminum blocks are alot easier to repair. We windowed a few in funny car and rail car, about 15. We patched them up all the time with rods holeing out the sides. If you have some of the best welders and machinist with all the broken parts, any thing is repairable.
Here one small note, The crank shaft broke here, would guess from a problem in the cast when made. I do know the hammer trick and have used it for better than 30 years. Cast cranks will run forever if you remember to limit the rpm range. 482 with 4.25 stroke is a good size. I have been running one for 6 years with a Barry R. kit Limit rpms to 6,000 rpms and not bang the limiter and the motor should last for years. Hot dogging and abuse will shorten any motors life. This is not a cheap hobby. I feel for our friend in Spain and his pain. Rick L.

You have to go forged if you want to rev the mighty FE