Broken crankshaft 1995 6.5

[G20.dude]

Hi
Just pulled the pan of the engine and found out that the crankshaft was broken just after first main bearing. Is this a normal place for the crankshaft to break and what might have caused this failure?

[gmctd]

Welcome to the 'Page, 'dude..........

That is the abnormally normal area of breakage - what does your harmonic balancer look like - deteriorated rubber, missing chunks, etc?

Same for the accessory drive pulley - ozone dry-rot, stressed, pulley 'crosses against the hub-bolt bosses?

What about the #2-3-4 mains-webbing near the oil-pan rails - any varicose veins?

[G20.dude]

Welcome to the 'Page, 'dude..........

That is the abnormally normal area of breakage - what does your harmonic balancer look like - deteriorated rubber, missing chunks, etc?

Same for the accessory drive pulley - ozone dry-rot, stressed, pulley 'crosses against the hub-bolt bosses?

What about the #2-3-4 mains-webbing near the oil-pan rails - any varicose veins?

Hell of a way to become a member on The Diesel Page, but thank you....:)

The harmonic balancer look like ****, I can't see any rubber at all on it.
The accessory drive pulleys look ok, but I might have a bad bearing on the tensioner.
I have not yet had the time to take out the crankshaft and inspect the webbing proper. I only hope the block isn't cracked, so I can repair the engine again.

You say the place of failure is abnormal...
Do you think this come from a cracked block together with a bad harmonic balancer?

I have also been told that bad injectors can cause broken crankshaft. Leak and drip from the nozzle can cause early ignition and therefore more stress to the crankshaft. What do you think about this theory?

[gmctd]

Abnormal means the crank should not have broken - normal means that is where they usually break in the 6.2\6.5, with the cratered harmonic balancer as most probable causative.

You can do this with the crank in the block in the truck - wipe down the pan rails and exposed mains webbing, then do it again with lacquer thinner so no surface oil - come back in ~10mins - black varicose veins indicate mains webbing is crumbling, another abnormal normal failure in the 6.2\6.5 series.

Sometimes the mains-webbing craters, not effecting the crank - sometimes the crank craters, not effecting the mains - sometimes the webbing craters and the crank craters - sometimes nothing craters - severe over-heating also appears to play a big part in the eventual fracas, where the original owner is the victim and will testify.

You're right, 'dude - heckuva way to meet new friends, tho.

[G20.dude]

Thank you very much gmctd for responding to my questions and for the good answers! :)
I sure will try that trick to see if there are any cracks in the block.
Do you happen to know how much I have to pay for a used or a new crankshaft?

[gmctd]

I've no idea on pricing, as I'm still on my original engine, knock on wood - others here may have some info for ya, tho.

Be sure to check that block B4 you commit to any course of action.