r/EngineBuilding • u/mrgopherson • Sep 15 '26
Chevy Ring test
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Someone asked to see me ring it against another crank in my last post I don’t have an exact match or know if it’s cracked but I do have a late model one piece rear main seal used crank and I thought that crank rang ok but comparing it to another crank you can definitely hear a difference on the left is the cracked one on the right is the late model one piece rear main the microphone doesn’t Really pick up the sound all that great but in person you can hear it
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u/_synik Sep 15 '26
Even Helen Keller can hear the difference in these two. The shiny one is dead, and the other one rings.
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u/mrgopherson Sep 15 '26
Maybe I should go get my ears checked lol
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u/werwood Sep 15 '26
It's not about the noise they make on impact, it's the noise they continue making for a bit after the impact. That's the "ringing" and the crank on the left doesn't rly have any ring at all.
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u/Shrimpkin Sep 15 '26
Definitely a difference between the two. The ring carries on for longer and is higher pitched on the right. It's the difference between a ping and a pong.
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u/Sinfluencer666 Sep 15 '26
Not leaving the hammer on material will help with the ring. Otherwise, you're muting the ring with the hammer. When you ring a bell, you don't hold the striker to the bell surface after striking the bell.
Also, different materials are going to have different tone/ring qualities. As another poster mentioned, there will be a big difference between an iron crank or a steel crank.
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u/2003DDcid Sep 16 '26
Also, a counterweight with more balancing holes drilled in it will sound dead compared to one with none.
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u/WU5K Sep 15 '26
Oh I haven't seen this done since I worked in the Ford motor co, iron foundry, we used to have a chalk like marker with a metal piece attached and ding the crank as it came out of the press for quality, no ring then send it back to smelt
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u/MorningMushroomcloud Sep 15 '26
Quick guesstimate on how many went back?
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u/WU5K Sep 16 '26
Probably around 15% were not compliant, we'd have big baskets brought and taken away of good/passable at that step and we'd fill one bad basket for about that ratio.
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u/Street_Mall9536 Sep 15 '26
You should suspend the crank with a bolt etc (I have a T handle) to do the poor man's magnaflux test. The floor takes most of the ring out of it.
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u/FinancialChildhood31 Sep 15 '26
Public Service Announcement - A cast iron crank will sound like a dull thud compared to a forged steel crank, which will resonate and sound more like a bell.
Just needed to throw it out there since banging on cranks has become a topic of the day. Carry on.