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Scat cranks revisited

Missy Good Wench

Wild Blonde from Cloud Mt
Messages
1,683
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65
Location
Newberg Oregon
Well now.

After hearing all the great hype about how good the Scat cranks are for the 6.5 diesels, I bought one for Dahoooley and was happier than pig in !@#$%.

Engine all in and running and I start hearing some pretty strong SMACK about these cranks. :eek:

Sooooooooooooooo, what is the real deal on these things ???

As far as I'm concerned, the old GM iron in most cases has just far too many duty cycles on them to make me feel warm and fuzzy.

The USED OEM cranks can mag out fine, and two days later snap in two.

It's all about how many times you can flex the paper clip before it goes away.

The forged cranks from AMG are sweet, buuuuuuut, the price is beyond what many folks can afford to drop into just one piece in their engine.

Sooooooo

What sort of real time data do we have on the scat cranks??

I know a few here locally that have used them and beat the crap out of their Six and a half's with zero issues.

I have seen one broken because of a Serp pulley failure that was allowed to hammer for a loooong time.

This entire situation worries me, as I have recommended these cranks as a good bang for the buck.

Input please

Missy
 
Like you said AMG is $$$ so if I was in same boat a Scat would be in my motor also. They have to be better than a used cast crank right??
 
Not much info from me as far as the 6.5L goes, but SCAT has been making cranks for a LONG time now. You have to be doing something right to stay in business that long, and still going. Last I checked they were still expanding there line as well. As far as a cast crank goes, I wouldn't worry about them.
 
Been hearing some pretty nasty smack on other forums
Would just like to know why

There is a lot of stuff that gets started from folks that don't know, and stuff that happens because "it's always somebody else's fault" the $hit happens
Ah well
If anyone hears any good solid data + or -, please post it

The one failure I know of was due to a failed serp pulley that was allowed to hammer

Thanks troops
Missy
 
I lamented long and hard over the AMG forged piece
But got the Scat before I landed the AMG block and heads

Had there been a different time frame on what came and when, I would have sprung for the AMG shaft

Ah well
Missy
 
Well, for what it's worth, I've got one in my 6.2 660 block. Had to have it turned down to accept the two piece rear main. No issues in over a year and a half...17,000 miles. Not long enough IMO to show anything as a long term observation. I''ve ridden it hard a couple of times, a couple of PMD failure induced runaways, a few hard 4x4 climbs etc. in the mix but mostly day to day city and highway miles as well as a few cross country drives (Pony Express and Transcontinental RR bed dirt roads, nothing strenuous, just plain clean/dirty fun).
 
From what I understand, there have been a couple of failures. I know of one from a friend of mine, His broke at the first journal. I think the theory that makes the most sense about these cranks is the initial balancing that's done at the factory. They may have missed the mark on the balance with the rotating assembly weight. So, if you go this route, I'd recommend having the whole rotating assembly balanced, that way the machinist can add or subtract the necessary weight to balance the crank.
 
I wonder, how many people had their cranks "finished balanced" (not sure of the terminology, hence the quotes). When I ordered mine in for my spare block build I called SCAT direct and asked about this and the rep said that they always recommend having it done before installation. I can't remember his exact words as it's been over 3 years ago but he definitely said I should have it done.
 
I think a lot of the heresay is just that. I heard years ago when the company first came out they had issues but now, they are fine and I'd use one of these any day over a stock POS GM cast crank.
 
I'm having really good luck with my stock crank actually still. I think driving it balls to the wall every time I'm in it plays a huge role in that. I'm a firm believer in that. Whether the crank in the Optimizer is different than a GM cast, no idea. But its been holding out like a champ.
 
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