What can I do about this?

[suzq044]

It is a relatively fresh machine-shop job, and with a few weeks standing in the garage, it turned into the below pics; I was hoping there was something I could do about it, or even that I dont have to worry about this when rebuilding our engine.. We are noobs @ this stuff so we are unsure.

Onto the pics; looks like surface rust? Is there anything we can do to reverse it?

[mud.man.rj]

Spray it down with WD40 so it won't rust anymore than that, no big deal now, just rub it down with a soft cloth and WD40 and spay all bare metal surfaces with the same to keep moisture at bay.

[suzq044]

cool - thanks. We're about to reassemble it this week/weekend.. just wanted to make sure this wasnt going to be cost-ineffective for the rebuild..

[Captainfab]

Yeah, freshly machined engine parts should always be given a coat of WD40 or similar protectant. If that rust doesn't just wipe off, I would take it back to the machine shop and see if they can give it a quick polish.

[theastronaut]

Cut some 1" wide strips of 2000 grit sandpaper and wrap it around the journals to polish that off. That doesn't look bad at all, should clean up nicely.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by theastronaut

Cut some 1" wide strips of 2000 grit sandpaper and wrap it around the journals to polish that off. That doesn't look bad at all, should clean up nicely.

Just make sure you clean ALL abrasive residue left behind if you sand it off.

[chevy_mike]

And you being right near the coast, the salt air will make bare metal rust even faster. Joys of a coastal community.

[awbrown]

Grinding crankshafts is our main business , I always tell people as long as the crank is dry when you bag it ,and as long as the bag doesnt get damaged it will keep for years ,but take it out of the bag and you are toast..

[suzq044]

Ehm... same problem, piston connecting rods this time. Am I correct in thinking that it will be okay because of the bearings being the contacting piece, not the rods?

Obviously, we weren't told how to care for these things when we got them back from the machine shop.

[Captainfab]

You will want to clean the rust out of the bore where the bearings go. Otherwise that could change your bearing clearances. There again, this can be done with very fine sandpaper, but you have to be careful as to not remove any metal, just the rust. Also you don't want to make the bearing surface uneven. Keep in mind that tollerances are measured in .001", and sometimes less.

[awbrown]

the gray or green scotchbrite pads work well on the con rods,if it doesnt clean up that easy use some mineral spirits with it and you should be fine real fine sandpaper cut in strips will get the crank looking better just dont spend a lot of time on it ,there may still be pits when you are done but that wont hurt a thing ...

[suzq044]

Thanks for the imput guys, we ended up just taking them back to the machine shop; where he is fixing it free.