Rust prevention

[bob46320]

I have a spare crankshaft,  what is the best way of stopping the journals from rusting.  I am thinking of well soaked oiled rag wrapped around each journal.  The crank would have to be ground before use,  so its just to stop pitting.

So what do the team think is best ?

[stevenm]

That would work, just try build a support cradle with wooden blocks OR store it vertically , oil soaked raggs would work or get it absolutely dry and clean and bag it then suck out as much air as can with a vacuum.

Cranks sag over long periods so try support it best can.

[Ian McGowan]

Bob I wouldn't use rags soaked in mineral oil, it has never worked for me as, I believe, mineral oil is somewhat hydroscopic.
The two approaches that I can recommend are a good spray of WD40, don't wrap it in anything just let the propellant of the WD40 evaporate and store the crank suspended on substantial plastic cable ties.
Or, the other way which has worked for me is a thin coating of lithium based grease.

[Robert Leigh]

The use of vegetable oil (Castrol R) is very effective; mineral oil does not stay in place permanently but should be effective in an oil soaked rag. Persoally I smear such items with a liberal coating of grease which will hold in place until removed with a rag or solvent.
Robert Leigh

[Peter Clayton]

Have you considered "Cosmoline" It's use by the military for long term storage along with porus brown paper wrapping. Had a 1948 Daimler camshaft supplied a few years ago , once cleaned off it was pristine. Only downside was after 50+ years was a devil to get the stuff off. 

[Hedd_Jones]

Ive stored the bright bar that is the axle for my steam roller, and its crankshaft by wrapping in grease soaked cotton, then taped up. 15 years so far. Still look good when I inspect

[Chris KC]

You could move to the South of France Bob, where it's warm dry and sunny all the time!!

Not much to add to what others have said. Steve is right about cranks 'drooping' if not supported. The ideal is a purpose built wooden box & you could then pop a couple of silica gel packets in for good measure.

It is a good idea to make sure the crank is clean before you store it (particularly if freshly reground) - look at any old sheet of mild steel and chances are you will see rusty spots where there were once fingerprints. Likewise paper often has a slight acid content so careful what you wrap it in.

Finally, put a note in your diary and pop back to check it once in a while. It's better to discover light surface rust in a year's time than a scrap crank ten years hence.

[Reckless Rat]

You could move to the South of France Bob, where it's warm dry and sunny all the time!!

That wouldn't help. It's peeing it down here today and Bob isn't really that much further north than me, just over to the left a bit and up a touch.

[Chris KC]

Mayhap Recks but at least you have some prospect of it clearing up before June...

[bob46320]

Thank you gentlemen, a suitable grease and some cotton I think. The crank would have to be re-ground anyway, so perfection isn't the object of the game - who knows, the crank might even be cracked !!