Crankshaft manufacturer marks, What tells you what you have?

Is there any indication on the crankshaft of what it is? I see video of them being produced and see a rough Lunati in the casting. I don't see it on the crank in my box, or any other marking.

Lets assume a dude buys a $900 crank and his buddy down the road buys a $300 crank. They trade boxes and the $900 unit goes back to the distributor as an unneeded return. How could you tell what it is?

All cranks have their own unique appearance. Most have some sort of numbering or laser etching on them, but even aside from that, they have different coloring and machining characteristics.

A manufacturer or distributor would know if somebody returned a brand X crank in a brand Y box. On the used market, to inexperienced eyes, buyer beware.

between a 300 $ crank an $900 yes because the 300 one is cast and the 900 is forged.............

IDT-572 wrote:between a 300 $ crank an $900 yes because the 300 one is cast and the 900 is forged.............

I would agree, you would think you could tell the difference and in a stock form that may be true. The one I have here (my first forged aftermarket) looks so pretty that you cant tell what it is. Every surface that I can see has been machined, ground or peened to the point it hard to be for sure what it is. If you walked up to it out of the box how would you know what it was and who it was produced by. Ill get some pics today, nice piece.

They typicaly have some part numbers or manufacture logo or name on them

dfree383 wrote:They typicaly have some part numbers or manufacture logo or name on them

Lunati 4340 4.5 stroke.  Fresh out of the box.  Only marking I can find anywhere is the flange as pictured.  The Lunai rep says it should have their name cast into a throw and a part number.  

Does anybody else think that the through hole on the last throw looks to be way off center, or is it just an illusion? If it is way off center, it's going to make that throw very prone to breakage. You know what they say "see something - say something".

Wayne (SAWDOFF) Pearce

It is my thought is its for oil hole room.

Just got a note back from Lunati tech support and they do not think its one of theirs. Time to get on the phone.

Wayne Pearce wrote:Does anybody else think that the through hole on the last throw looks to be way off center, or is it just an illusion?  If it is way off center, it's going to make that throw very prone to breakage.   You know what they say "see something - say something".

  Wayne (SAWDOFF) Pearce

I agree, it looks like both of the pictured throws look to be off center

That crank in the photos sure looks just like the one I used from Lunati-c a couple of months ago.  I believe that it is one of the cranks that they sell.  The hole in the throw is off center on purpose so that it clears the oil feed holes.

Dave, I realize that they're offset to clear the oil holes, but it just looks like the throw would be "paper thin" on the side opposite of the oil hole - just an illusion I suppose. I seem to remember somebody on this, or the other forum having a crank failure due to an extreme offset of said hole, a couple years back.

Wayne

Is there a forged line on there ? Looks like everything has been machined.

I've had "several" Lunati cranks pass through my hands, and can say without question, that IS one of their cranks.


.

Wayne Pearce wrote:Dave, I realize that they're offset to clear the oil holes, but it just looks like the throw would be "paper thin" on the side opposite of the oil hole - just an illusion I suppose.  I seem to remember somebody on this, or the other forum having a crank failure due to an extreme offset of said hole, a couple years back.

  Wayne

I think its mostly an illusion in the picture because the hole is pretty small relative to the size of the journal. But it certainly is possible for the hole to weaken the throw if it is too close to the surface of the journal.

paperman wrote:

dfree383 wrote:They typicaly have some part numbers or manufacture logo or name on them

Lunati 4340 4.5 stroke.  Fresh out of the box.  Only marking I can find anywhere is the flange as pictured.  The Lunai rep says it should have their name cast into a throw and a part number.  

NOTHING is CAST into any throw or anywhere else on a FORGED crankshaft.

There is such a thing as a FULLY MACHINED forging which takes-on the appearance of a billet.

Ford Motorsport crankshafts of the past made from a raw 6415 forging are that way as well as others.

rmcomprandy wrote:

paperman wrote:

dfree383 wrote:They typicaly have some part numbers or manufacture logo or name on them

Lunati 4340 4.5 stroke.  Fresh out of the box.  Only marking I can find anywhere is the flange as pictured.  The Lunai rep says it should have their name cast into a throw and a part number.  

NOTHING is CAST into any throw or anywhere else on a FORGED crankshaft.

There is such a thing as a FULLY MACHINED forging which takes-on the appearance of a billet.

Ford Motorsport crankshafts of the past made from a raw 6415 forging are that way as well as others.

Correct I misspoke when I said "cast" into, I should have said "forged" into but the point being that the rep. from Lunati said it should have been there at it was not.  Im going to run with it as I feel that the experience from the group here gives me a good handle on the it being the real deal.  It is a niece piece, nicer that I was expecting from there standard line.  

Example of what I was imaging seeing from the description from the tech. rep.    

With results similar to this.

paperman wrote:The Lunai rep says it should have their name cast into a throw and a part number.  

The rep is wrong.  I've been selling Lunati's BBF cranks for years, and there has never been any markings on them.  I thought it was odd the first time I saw one too, but given the quality of the part, I can live without a name being etched into it.

As I said before, all the BBF cranks have distinct and different appearances, and it's easy to tell which crank is which without any names or numbers.


.

paperman wrote:Is there any indication on the crankshaft of what it is? I see video of them being produced and see a rough Lunati in the casting. I don't see it on the crank in my box, or any other marking.

Lets assume a dude buys a $900 crank and his buddy down the road buys a $300 crank.  They trade boxes and the $900 unit goes back to the distributor as an unneeded return.    How could you tell what it is?  

That's a Lunati . They never have their name on the BBF forging just like Carl said. BTW not "everyone" is a crook .

I assume since I was quoted you are replying to me. I never said anyone was a "crook". I was questioning how one could verify what they are purchasing, especially given the fact that the manufacturer in question tells you that the pictures of what you have is not one of their products. I provided pictures of what I received and pictures representing an approximation (although it was brand X) of what I thought I would have seen. I was my assumption, since proved incorrect, that their forging and machining practices would be similar across all product lines. When you drop the better part of $1k on a part the OEM says is not thiers you ask a few questions.

I know what you meant and I'm sure it has been done before. No offense meant. I was meaning if it came from Lunati to you , they made it. Forgings come from a variety of sources. High volume or proprietary designs can and do have logos on them. Lower volume forgings "may" not as one source often makes them for "most" of the industry. Camshaft cores and flat face lifters are other items made by a few and sold to many including Lunati to be reboxed with their logos. Shame on the Lunati employee for not knowing his full product line and giving you bad information. I can't understand why Lunati wouldn't want their name on the crank. Hand stamping or laser marking are common methods as I'm sure you know. A friend of mine is the sales manager over there and I will relate your experience to him next time I talk to him.

Agreed, I would not have asked if there was a MFG marking of some sort. I definitely would not have asked here if the OEM would not said "That's not one of my cranks"

It would be interesting to find out where Lunati sources these cranks. Cosmetically they sure look like the cranks that 440 Source sells for Chrysler engines. The whole thing just looks very very similar.

DaveMcLain wrote:It would be interesting to find out where Lunati sources these cranks.  Cosmetically they sure look like the cranks that 440 Source sells for Chrysler engines.  The whole thing just looks very very similar.  

Dave,
There is a raw forging out there that will do the Chrysler, a 460 and an FE. Maybe Ohio Forge ?? Brook @ Callies might know.

DaveMcLain wrote:It would be interesting to find out where Lunati sources these cranks.  Cosmetically they sure look like the cranks that 440 Source sells for Chrysler engines.  The whole thing just looks very very similar.  

Source....China of course.