Amazing repairs

[SteveSRT8]

Just finished an amazing repair on a 2013 Chevy Express 3500 which has PTO driven equipment like my trucks do.

It looked like some ham fisted idjit had failed to properly tighten the crank pulley on the 6.0 gas engine. Sounds bad but was actually much worse!

The pto drive looks like a supercharger pulley and bolts to an adapter that is through-bolted by the crank pulley. The idjits actually STRIPPED THE CRANK BOLT! OMG!

Well, my incredible BIL who is a third gen machinist and quite the wizard found a drill bit, tap, and heli coil for it. We actually did this in truck! Some tricky measurements placed the heli coil properly and bingo, we had a fully tightened (37 ft/lbs then 140 degrees) TTY crank bolt.

Then comes the critical part. That drive pulley secures with 4 bolts to the adapter and must be trued up with a dial indicator to less than .003 out. We actually got it to .002 but my BIL said that is within the movement of the crank snout due to bearing clearances. This makes it imperceptible when driving the rig.


The owner owes me a NICE dinner!

 

[JTK]

Super fix indeed! Sure beats the (gulp..) alternative.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: JTK

Super fix indeed! Sure beats the (gulp..) alternative.



Yes, he owes me and the BIL his you-know-what! His truck is smooth and now saleable, no one would buy it vibrating like a cheap motel bed.

 

[JHZR2]

Pics!!!

 

[Ethan1]

 

[maverickfhs]

pic please?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Sorry, no pics. Too dirty, it was done early Sunday at daybreak, woman was sleeping! Took two guys in many places, drilling out the crank snout with a HUGE drill bit required 4 hands!

 

[nthach]

That's a job well done, in the heat of the moment.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: nthach
That's a job well done, in the heat of the moment.


It was either this or remove the crankshaft! The poor guy was so distraught, practically crying because his HUGE investment was not useable.

 

[KGMtech]

I trust that the truck owner will be re-training some people on proper PTO usage very very soon!

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: KGMtech
I trust that the truck owner will be re-training some people on proper PTO usage very very soon!


Actually it was a botched top end rebuild. The funny part is it is emblazoned right on the drive pulley "do not remove or service without calling 1-800..."

His mechanic couldn't even install the adapter plate correctly.

The fortunate part is the holes in the crank were relatively undamaged and the crank snout face was also pretty smooth. I just rode to dinner with him and it is perfect!

 

[bbhero]

That's the story of the week

Great save and job by you bil and you. Kicking rear end and taking names.

 

[JC1]

Nice to hear that you guys got the better of the repair. If you gave that to 100 mechanics, maybe 10 would be able to do the same thing. The other 90 pct would would cost you a small fortune.

 

[buster]

Awesome, good to hear.

 

[Kawiguy454]

Glad to hear someone else out the understands Heli-Coil as a great solution... Nice job

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Kawiguy454
Glad to hear someone else out the understands Heli-Coil as a great solution... Nice job


All that goes to my awesome Brother-in-law who is a 3rd generation machinist in a very professional family operation. Tons of experience can't be beat!

 

[StevieC]

Before my dad sold his last service station he had a mechanic working for him that forgot to tighten bolts on a cam sprocket after a timing belt was changed. They eventually worked loose, fell out and the cam sprocket worked its way off. The vehicle snapped the belt as a result. It came back and my dad replaced the engine free of charge (Interference Engine) and fired the mechanic after he tried to lie and say it wasn't him that caused it and tried to charge the customer for an engine rebuild. You could clearly see what happened because the bolts spent quit a bit of time at the bottom of the timing belt cover accumulating dust/dirt while the cam sprocket worked its way off.

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Kawiguy454
Glad to hear someone else out the understands Heli-Coil as a great solution... Nice job


All that goes to my awesome Brother-in-law who is a 3rd generation machinist in a very professional family operation. Tons of experience can't be beat!



Good guy to know with that skill set. Sounds like the kind of guy that can find a way to repair anything properly.

Sounds like a really tough repair that turned out well.

 

[Trav]

Nice fix, more mechanics should have some machinist skills, unfortunately they don't teach it in most US mechanic programs.
Luckily I learned to operate a lot of heavy machinery at a young age. As a mechanic the skills and having the equipment have been invaluable over the years.

 

[irv]

Great job!

I'm glad my Father taught me quite a bit, plus taking automotive in high school for 4 years didn't hurt either.
Like the reasons listed by Steve, I prefer to do most of the work myself.