Everything About Your Car's Crankshaft

A crankshaft is associated with a crank. This mechanical part could perform a conversion between reciprocating motion and rotational motion. For a reciprocating engine, it would translate a reciprocating motion of the piston into rotational motion, but when we are talking about a reciprocating compressor, it would convert the rotational motion into reciprocating motion. In order to do the conversion between two motions, there would be "crank throws" or "crankpins" in the crankshaft and additional bearing surfaces whose axis would be offset from that of the crank, to which the "big end" of the connecting rods from each cylinder would be attached.

A crankshaft is at the bottom of the car engine. Now when you would look at the side of the car engine, you should definitely look for the pulley which is the largest. The crankshaft would be connected to it, which is inside the engine.

Are you searching for the different types of crankshaft? Then don’t worry! All you have to do is to have a look below:

1. Cast Cranks - This type of crank is around for a long period, and they are generally found in a lot of diesel and petrol engines. They are made up of Malleable Iron through a casting process.
2. Forged Cranks - This type of crankshaft is more robust than a cast crank. It is generally found in higher stressed engines and is available with some 16v engines.
3. Billet Cranks - If you want to get the most from your car engine, then you should definitely go with this type of crankshaft. It is manufactured by using 4340 steel. It would contain nickel, chromium, aluminium, and molybdenum amongst other elements.

It is generally made up of carbon steel, nickel chrome, and another alloy steel.

Manganese, chromium, molybdenum, silicon, cobalt, vanadium are the alloying elements in carbon steel. There can be times when aluminium and titanium can also be utilized.

Are you searching how the crankshaft actually works? All you have to do is to have a look below:

• The power which comes from the burnt gases in the combustion chamber would be delivered to the crankshaft through the piston, piston pin and connecting rod. The reciprocating motion of the piston in cylinder is changed by the crankshaft to the rotary motion of the flywheel. The conversion of the motion is executed by utilization of the offset in the crankshaft. There is a bearing surface of each offset part of the crankshaft, which is known as the crank pin. The connection rod is attached to it. The crank through is the offset from the crankshaft centre line. The throw controls the stroke of the piston of the crankshaft. The combustion force is transferred to the crank-throw once the crankshaft moves past top dead centre to produce turning effort or torque, which then rotates the crankshaft. The crankshaft rotates the camshaft through gears utilizing chain driven or belt driven sprockets. The drive of the camshaft is timed for opening of the valves in relation to the piston position. The main bearings are rotated by the crankshaft, which split in half for the assembly around the crankshaft main bearing journals.
• The camshaft should be capable of withstanding the intermittent variable loads impressed on them. When there is a transfer of torque to the output shaft, there is a force which deflects the crankshaft. This type of deflection occurs because of bending and twisting of the crankshaft. The crankshaft deflections are directly associated with the roughness of the car engine. Now when the deflections of the crankshaft occur at same vibrational or resonant frequency as another engine part, then the parts start vibrating together. A “thumping” sound is produced by these types of vibrations. If this type of vibration continues, then the part would start failing. There are a lot of harmful resonant frequencies of the crankshaft which would be damped using a torsional vibration damper. One of the most essential crankshaft design requirements is the torsional stiffness. It can be achieved by utilizing the material with the right physical properties and by minimizing stress concentration. The crankshaft is in the crankcase and is supported by the main bearings.

Do you want to know some frequent problems which might start occurring in the crankshaft? Look below to know some frequent problems with the crankshaft: 

Are you thinking of repairing your car crankshaft on your own? Then there is one thing which you must have, that is the right tools needed for repairing your car crankshaft. It is essential to make sure that you are outfitted with the right tools to get the work done properly. Have a look at some tools which you might need to get started with your repair work:

For vehicle owners choice, the brands really matter a lot. You might pay for a specific car part brand, over time, as it has created a perception of quality, stability and trust. There are some leading car parts brands which are more than just products or services as they give rise to memories and emotions related with the quality. So have a look at some top brands for car crankshaft.

It is very important to arm yourself with information before you shop any auto part. We are here to help you dive deep into the names of the car crankshaft related parts.

Do you want to change your crankshaft on your own? Then have a look at the steps of changing the crankshaft below:

Step 1

Firstly you should take the car engine block and the crankshaft to a machine shop to get it cleaned as well as inspected and if there would be any requirement, then you can always go for reconditioning.

Step 2

The engine block should be mounted on the engine stand or it should be set on a workbench.

Step 3

The new bearings should be installed on the engine block with the small bearing tab, which would be seated properly on the recess provided on the block saddle.

Step 4

It should then be coated with a thin layer of moly-base grease.

Step 5

After that it is essential to carefully lay the crankshaft on the engine block by taking help from the assistant.

Step 6

The other half of the new bearings should be installed on the main bearing caps. Then the bearing tabs should be aligned with the recess provided on the cap saddle and then the bearing faces should be coated with a thin layer of moly-base grease.

Step 7

The bearing caps should be installed in their correct places on the engine block.

Step 8

The bearing-caps mounting bolts finger-tight should be installed properly. The bolts should be tightened by utilizing the breaker bar and short socket.

Step 9

The crankshaft ends should be tapped forward and backward 10 times with a brass hammer and re-torque the main bearing caps by using the torque wrench and short socket.

Step 10

The crankshaft pulley bolt should be installed at the front of the crankshaft finger-tight, and then the crankshaft should be rotated several times to inspect the binding. A breaker bar and a socket should be utilized.