Crankshaft identification

[Juha Vane]

I have this new crankshaft and wonder if the origin can
be identified from the markings? Box say made in Germany.
Is it a good crank?

[Curt Dansby]

Hi Juha
No other markings on the crank? Alfing is/was one of the German suppliers but there should be another mark somewhere showing them as the maker.
I am sure by the P/N you already know it is a C/912 counterbalanced- yes a good crank.

Curt

[C J Murray]

There are modern Made in Germany cranks sold by various vendors. The identification marks seem to be made with modern methods.

Made in XXXXX is a little bit misleading. Many steel forgings are actually made in China or elsewhere in the world where they are cheaper to produce(for reasons that are forbidden to discuss here). "Made in Germany" probably really means machined in Germany which in fairness is better than machined in Morocco. There is a difference in quality of forgings and I have heard that the finest forgings actually come from England at a high cost. Most likely this is true due to Formula 1 in England.

The crank is good if the crank measures good and/or it passes testing of the material. Basically, if it measures well and nobody tells you that theirs broke put it in.

[C J Murray]

Actually, that crank looks cast. Opinions?

[Dick Weiss]

OEM cranks had the Alfin (mfg. symbol) and all the numbers on several edges of the flanks; Never as shown, and yes--a casting?
I still have a Brazilean crank from the old Valley Core days and the machining spec sheet from Germany when it was ground and treated.

[Ron LaDow]

Actually, that crank looks cast. Opinions?

"Spotter’s Guide: How To Tell A Cast Crank From A Forged Crank"
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-to- ... ers-guide/

Probably requires a pretty hands-on inspection and maybe comparison to a known part