When I got an email from a BangShifter simply known as “Barry in Kentucky” I wasn’t immediately aware that it would contain epic gearhead gold. I get about 3.2 million emails per day and some of them contain tips that look promising until I click the enclosed link and see something horrible. I’m not talking automotive horrible, I am talking “how does that fit in THERE” levels of horrible. Thankfully, Barry came through in a big way with a link to a series of photos that depict the piston and rod assembly being removed from a massive ship engine. We have all seen the emails that come around every now and again with the ship engine photos and they are cool but this is even better because it is real world wrenching going on here. From the comically massive intake valve and port to the fact that two men can comfortably fit in the cylinder bore of this engine, you’ll love all the photos of big motor guts here.

Judging by the coveralls worn by the guys on the ship with the Maersk name on them, this is a container vessel that belongs to the massive conglomerate that is based out of Denmark and operates a flotilla of ships all over the world. The company employs some 90,000 people and we get to see just a handful of them working in these photos but we’re going to venture a guess and saw that none of the other 89,995 people in the company worked as hard as these dudes did to get the humongo piston and rod out of the engine.

We’ve got no details as to what is happening here and whether it is a planned maintenance situation or some sort of repair at sea. We have heard stories that if one of these engines lets go, they actually cut the hull open to get it out for service, but here we see parts and pieces being stripped away while it still lives in the hull. Maybe this is a simple inspection deal or just a new set of rings and bearings as well as a hone that’s the size of a kid’s carousel ride at the mall.

I’ve included a couple of photos below but you can hit the link at the bottom of the page and see the whole photo collection. Trust us, if you are a gearhead of any sort you need to give these things as look. The scope and scale of this operation is incredible!

SCROLL DOWN AND THEN HIT THE LINK TO SEE THE WHOLE SET OF PHOTOS THAT SHOW THE PISTON AND ROD BEING PULLED FROM THIS SHIP ENGINE –

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL PHOTO SET