A buddies misfortune

[bushmechanic]

This has to be the most destroyed 353 Detroit Diesel I ever had to rebuild.The crankshaft is broken into three seperate pieces.This should keep me busy for a few nights in the shop.

  

 

[treefarmer87]

i have never seen one that bad

[sealark37]

How are you going to deal with the block?  Just curious.

[sandhills]

Until now, i didn't think you could kill a Detroit, It appears I am wrong.

[dgdrls]

I bet folks were ducking for cover when she let go!

Any Idea what caused the failure?

DGDrls

[red oaks lumber]

doesn't that look how detroiters sound :D

[Stephen Alford]

All i can say is anyone who looks at that and says " I can rebuild it " gets a tip of the hat from me.   8)  8)

[DeerMeadowFarm]

All i can say is anyone who looks at that and says " I can rebuild it " gets a tip of the hat from me.   8)  8)

+1!  8)

[lumberjack48]

I have never seen one throw a rod, let alone break the crank. I would have liked to have been there to hear the noise it must have made. Are you sure he didn't run it out of oil. Boy those journal cap bolts must be tough to keep from breaking or pulling the threads out.

If you have all the pieces or piece that broke out of the block, you can weld it back together. I don't think there are any water jackets that low in the block.

That will be a good project, take pictures as you go.
I took a closer look, as much as i can see on the right side in pic, damper wheel side, block might not be fixable.

[grassfed]

I think that I would just start with a short block or another used motor and save any good extra parts for spares.

[tlandrum]

i could hook you up with a nice 353 if you were not so far away.

[Tramp Bushler]

It looks like it must have over sped . Ouch . Well maybe the starter is still good .

[Okrafarmer]

You could weld the crankshaft back together, just enough so you can pick it up, and it would be a really great object lesson to mount up on display somewhere.

[bushmechanic]

I finished taking her down last night and surveyed the damage.The block has to be replaced,the number two bearing cap was just ripped out of the block and I found it in the basepan.I think it was the crankshaft that was the initial problem,although it was recently rebuilt by the looks of things and the job left something to be desired.The cam bushings were poorly placed and almost had the oil supply cut off to the cylinder head.In the oil galllery to the blower there was a wooden plug pushed in the hole,I assume the blower was leaking oil and this was sombody's fix for that!Anyway the owner just dropped off a doner block and another crank,now I have to order a overhaul kit and a cam bushing kit then the fun begins.

[Tramp Bushler]

Bush mechanic ; where do you order your rebuild kits from , how much does 1 cost ??

[tjdub]

I have never seen one throw a rod, let alone break the crank. I would have liked to have been there to hear the noise it must have made.

Me too, but only if I was wearing ear plugs... and ear muffs...  over my ear muffs... while standing a couple of hundred feet away

[bushmechanic]

Hey lumberjack48 I had one in a 230D Timberjack forwarder and when it blew up it cracked the number 2 connecting rod in two and the short piece banged around inside the block until it bust holes in both sides of the block and it didn't stop until it ran out of oil.There was a new operator on that machine that day and he never used a forwarder before and you should have seen how far it went on two working cylinders-I could tell by the oil trail on the snow,and it had four cord on it too.Tramp Bushler I get my kits from all over but a good spot is AGkits.com there prices are good and good service too.Usually the price is about 800.00 canadian time I get it here for an overhaul kit.

[Tramp Bushler]

Ok. Thanks . I need to get the tools for rebuilding 53 and 71 Jimmys . And a book on how to . I sure do apreciate all the info you put on these threads .

[kiko]

Its been awhile since I fooled with a Detroit.  I seem to recall the only special tools needed were feeler gauges and injector height tool.  I never had any luck with ring compressors, loader the pistons into the liners from the bottom and installed into the block as a assembly. Oh yea, almost forgot about the match stems ,vise grips to control the rack and a clip board.. If you ever built a Detroit then you know what the match stems are for.  Any guesses about the clip board?

[shelbycharger400]

 it would be currious to see what casting that block was.
the detroits used in the chevy trucks were all thin wall blocks ( chevy pithed about their front suspensions couldnt hold up to the weight of the engine, so detroit went thin wall casting)
some of the thin wall blocks went into other equipment as well.
buddy usto work at a rebuilders shop.  it wasnt uncommon for them to cut bad blocks apart, then reweld in good sections.   he has told me to AVOid detroits due to their thin webbing in the main journals.  he said he has torn down many, when he pulls the pan, a few outside main caps... crank drops out.

i had the welders at the shop hot weld an exhaust manifold for me,  and put on a cast flange from another manifold.  ( it was cracked already too)  it was from my neon dohc. i put a stress relief cut in the flange where it bolted to the head ,  it went to them, they blew it all apart, fixed the crack from the flange at the head to the end,  put in an angled piece from a cat block, and welded my flange on it.   i had to do some final internal grinding..  that guy did one heck of a job.   it was all welded inside a table oven over 500 deg.  with a big oxy/acet. torch!  cost...  case of beer,   rumor is he did it on clock time too...lol

[celliott]

  Any guesses about the clip board?

To put over the intake and starve it of air to shut it down in case it runs away, right?

[kiko]

That's it. I never was a "detroit man










That's it. I never was a "detroit man" . Sometimes repairing a Detroit was part of the job, but those 2 strokes always made me nervous . There is an art to being a "Detroit man" and it is fast becoming a lost art.







'

[barbender]

Bushmechanic's buddy's Detroit looks like it might have ran away.

[Tramp Bushler]

 Ya , I really like Detroits   . That is the engine they put in Nelson Log Bronks . 3+453s , 671 in the big 16 footer . They were the only engine tough enough to take the pounding .

What kind of sockets do I need for 53 and 71 series .?  Than multi pronged / star bolt head .??

[Okrafarmer]

Tramp, I was in Alaska in 2006. Didn't make it over your way, but I know where your area is. Met someone from there at the time. Anyway, I remember seeing an Allis Chalmers HD-14 dozer in Palmer. They have detroits too. That one would be a 6-cylinder, the HD-10 had the 4-cylinder, HD-7 had the 3-cylinder, all with the same specs. Circa 1939-1947 ish.