First and foremost, we have been dedicating countless hours and resources toward our cleaning, polishing, and storage processes since the day we opened the doors. Having been in many shops as well as “parts businesses” over the years, I knew from day one that I wouldn’t be willing to settle for the way things have always been done. So, while most parts businesses list it dirty and throw it on a shelf to rust, we spend hours every day preparing each and every part , then carefully oiling and often wrapping the parts one at a time so you can be sure that what you see in the picture is what you receive.
Every crankshaft is disassembled. The bearings are removed and we will usually discard them because they should be replaced during a rebuild. The crankshaft is briefly inspected at this time for wear on the journals and bearing surfaces. Until it’s fully cleaned, there is no way a proper inspection can be performed. After this, each crankshaft is polished in a vibratory polisher. Depending on surface condition of the part, they will spend between 30 minutes and 2 hours in a ceramic media with soap and water. This process turns the crank over while vibrating it within the media in order to clean and deburr it. Any roughness will be removed and the vibratory process smooths over high points on the metal to produce a satin finish. This process also removes any rust, grease, or inconsequential markings on the crankshaft. After ceramic media, the crankshaft is then polished in the same machine using a treated corncob media for the purpose of polishing, or burnishing the surface. This secondary process takes between 2 and 8 hours of time. What this leaves is a brilliant surface that’s free of oil, grease, rust, etc…This is an extremely valuable process for us as well as for the end user. On our end, the finished product allows for a proper inspection of rod journals and bearing surfaces prior to the listing of the part. For you, this part is in like new condition, if not better. Rather than just cleaning up the journals, every surface on the crankshaft is cleaned and polished. A properly polished crankshaft allows better flow of oil across the surface, reduces stress and fatigue on the part, and inhibits future corrosion. This is a very high end process that is being utilized primarily in the racing industry. Without a doubt, no one selling used parts in any market today comes within a country mile of what we’re producing with the equipment we utilize here.