Every gear head likes seeing pictures of giant connecting rods, pistons, and crankshafts from trains and ships and all kinds of huge equipment. But one thing that always seems to come up when drooling over such large parts is “How in the hell do they put one of those in?” or “Can you imagine having to lift that bastard up to put it in the engine?” Well this video from ALE Heavylift shows just how they do that very thing. Take one cruise ship with a bad crankshaft and order up a replacement to slam in it. At 7.5 tons that doesn’t sound so simple does it. Especially when the main caps themselves are so big they require a chain hoist to lift each one into place!
These guys have to do A LOT of work just to get the ship ready to handle such a project, and then use lots and lots of hoists and jacks. The hoists and cranes are pretty standard. Just like the stuff you would see in a lot of shops. The jacks however are far from the norm in any mechanics shop. More like a home moving company actually. They are 60 ton units that lift the entire top half of the engine block up 4-6 inches at a time so that blocks can be placed under them and then repeat the whole process a dozen times. After all, if the engine is big enough for several grown men to climb inside to start removing fasteners, then it needs to get up high enough for them to climb in.
This video will let you know just how easy it is to work on all our hot rod stuff, that’s for sure. Check this out.
wow, that was epic! I wonder what the bearing clearances are on that thing?
Fantastic Video right up until the point the Mtce crew and Engr/Supv make a major mistake in craftsmenship (lack thereof) and totally destroy credibility making you wonder what other mistakes were made. While I applaud them for using mechanical adjusters for alignment (most people just beat on equipment w/sledge hammers). You Never EVER weld on a machined surface. They should have drilled, tapped holes and bolted them on.
I have done, been in charge of (and taught by some of the best craftsmen in the world early in my career) heavy industrial machine mtce for almost 50 yrs, specificlly teaching hands on machine alignment for the last 15 yrs. Every real machinist in the world knows this is a No No and reeks of “heating & beating” type poor mtce tactic and lack of craftsmenship. Shame on Supervision for piss poor planning of the final critical step. My biz partner and finest craftsman I have ever known tells people all the time “Do it Once, Do it Right” and we have the plant performance history to back it up. Oh, and as is typical with many engineers who have never done anything Hands On, Shame on the Holland America project mgr for letting them get away with it!
Don\’t you need to check bearing clearance when you\’re installing a new crank? Especially re-using the existing bearings.