crank chewed out

[K1W1]

Just make sure when welding it that the weld area is well prepared to give it the best chance of good full penetration first time and most important the earth lead must be on the balancer/pulley or the flywheel and NOT the block.

This will prevent the current passing through the engine bearings which will shorten their life considerably.

[DilboBaggins]

Ive been talking to a mate of mine and he said it wouldnt be worth welding because of the type of metal the crank is and suggested to use liquid metal stuff and building the keyway up then fill in the gaps ect. Ive also read (to my understanding) that people have used a strong loctite to hold it in place? All I want is a quick fix to last a couple of months (with babying it of course) so I can still drive it while I save for another engine. I am really keen to get this done because the vn commodore's big end bearing has gone so im expecting that to go anytime soon. I know its not going to be reliable but id just like it moving for the mean time

[K1W1]

I looked at your photo earlier in the thread . If you get a larger key and file/grind/mill it till it fits snug in the crank and if your damper keyway is rooted get another one and use a Loctite product that has good gap filling properties you should be ok for a while. If going down this route try and dry fit all the parts before applying the Loctite as there seems to be some gremlins lurking under everyone's bonnet that just love to cause problems when you least need them.

[cos]

Welding is very posible , using a proper welding rod ( in this case must be a high nikel content , is more another options ) .

In any case , is a very last way to repair this problem .Better than weld , you can fit another key ( put the new key , fill the worn keyway with some soft steel by a very careful hamering , use Loctite or similar and drill a two pins in the balancer to fit the existing holes from the timing pinion ( or 3 , or 4 pins ... ) . This mean you must pull the timing pinion , align with balancer helped by a short shaft and drill in the balancer using timing pinion holes as a pilot holes . Holes in the timing pinion is only 5 mm diameter , but can be enlarged to 6 mm without problem . Pins can be from a drill end , a valve stem ...

So , in the end you get a full reusable parts , not a spooky ( also innocent ) engine .

[Dales300exc]

A mate kept breaking his balancer keyway in a high horsepower 4.8 turbo. After welding it broke again. He refitted, drill two holes (half through crank and half through balancer) and installed two dowels. Never had a problem again.

[DilboBaggins]

Would loctite or liquid meral holf it for awhile? I wouldnt be doing any 4x4ing or hard driving ect. Thanks for all the responses and ideas

[cos]

Nobody can be sure for this to answer .