I'm building up a new motor for the car. I got a crankshaft that needs some repair. I'm just wondering how much it'll cost. The crank is in relatively good condition except for one rod bearing journal. It may need to be undercut to fix it. Also, I would consider lightening it (if it's possible). I've never had any work done to any crank. For all of the rebuilds I've done, I suppose I've been fortunate enough that the crank was either not involved or just good to go. But now I have this crank and it needs fixing. It looks like it can be fixed up. So I guess I have a few questions.
1) How much should it cost to have the rod/main journals polished? 2) How much should it cost to have the mains polished and the rods undersized and polished? 3) If I undersize the main journals, do I HAVE to undersize the rod journals? 4) Should I bother with having it balanced? If so, how much should it cost? 5) Is it possible to lighten these crankshafts? If so, how much should it cost - and approximately how much lighter can we make it? If anyone could shed some light on specifications for lightening process that would be great too. Like - how much should be machined from the counterbalances? Also, how it should be done - machine layers from the counterbalances or just drill the tops?. 6) Should I be looking for a shop that has any particular processes that are specific to crankshaft repair? I really don't know if this question is phrased quite right - Really I'm interested in knowing wheather I should I give this job to a "general" machine shop or should I give the job to a more "specific" shop - like an engine builder shop or something like that. Please tell me if you don't understand this question - I can't think of how to be more specific with it at this moment.
I know that if I do get the crank lightened that I definately want to have it balanced as well - I would make sure that the shop could do all of that in one shot. I'd rather know what you guys do about machining costs as well as the lightening possibilities for our crankshaft before commiting the work to a shop.
I guess one last thing is...I suppose I could get an answer like "Give this job to shop X - They'll get you revving like a bike!". It only cost $12 to have it shipped here, so that's not too bad. I don't think shipping costs would prevent me from considering a shop thats out of state(I live in West Chester, PA). Just, if you do have a shop that you think could hook me up - please explain why(cost, precision, expertise).
