Its not often I admit defeat but I have hit a brick wall in removing my (Moss) cranks on my late Shipley engine They have to come out as attention is required to the big ends (excessive compression has caused damage). The right web came loose eventually but the left side just doesn’t want to budge. What I have tried so far;
1. Roger Moss confirmed to me that the technique used to shift Moss cranks is the same as original Scott ones. Thus I set to with brass drift following the instructions on his website but with no joy.
2. Brian Marshall lives close so I visited him with the engine. He set to with his favored drift but also had no joy. My heart sank when he pronounced that “I have never had one that tight”. I suspect he has seen a lot of engines.
3. Encouraged that my technique was correct, I continued knocking (even harder than Brian). End float was observed to increase slightly and the right web worked loose with difficulty. It is very tight on the key so was not obvious when the taper parted. All looks good re the cups/rollers on that side so there is some good news there.
4. The left web was still stuck but I then I had the new option of attacking from the back. Thus, I got my (un)willing helper to hold the engine up by the flywheel (to insulate the cases from the blows) while I hit the in-board end of the crank quite hard from the other side. It didn’t budge 🙄
5. I got back to Roger who suggested I reassembled the crank and continue with the “knocking” technique on the stuck side as he has never had one that didn’t go eventually. I did as instructed for several sessions but with no success. Thus, either Roger is possessed of considerably more patience than me or my engine is being a right b****r.
6. I am unsure if it is the taper or the key that is holding it fast. Thus, it is not obvious if heat or cold would help removal. I tried heating the stuck web with a hot air gun (no joy) and also tried cooling it down with dry ice (no joy).
I have now run out of ideas 🙁
Has anyone got any suggestions?
Thanks!
Keith
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