Here's the 300 forged crank "casting" number.

[Bret]

Some years ago I remember people on this forum requesting the part number found on the 300 factory forged crankshaft. I ran across this number in the Popular Hot Rodding 1977 "Engine Annual". The Annual has an article about Bruce Sizemore's Pro Stock Pinto.

The Pinto had the 300 with a cylinder head hand-built from 351C sections. It produced over 500 HP. Sizemore used OEM forged cranks, but had them cross-drilled, and offset-ground (to reduce stroke).

Without further ado, the 300 crankshafts to watch for have the number; C6TE-G on them. We should all memorize this number: C6TE-G. This crank can be found in heavy duty/industrial applications and even sometimes in the F100 and F150.

C6TE-G

Don't let them go to the crusher.

[Fordman75]

You forgot the C5TE-F.

[Bret]

You forgot the C5TE-F.

Darn it! I hauled all my C5TE-F cranks to the crusher last week!

Just kidding. We now have two numbers to remember.

C5TE-F

C6TE-G

Legend has it...that the forge crank motors also use a cast-iron water thermostat housing, or goose neck. Anyone know about this?

[Fordman75]

Most of the 300's I've owned have had cast iron T-stat housings and cast cranks.

[Ferris Bueller]

So is this number stamped into the crank. If so, where on the crank? I'm guessing the 71 F600 I once owned had a forged 300 crank. What about my 94 heavy duty F250? A local marina has a boat lift with a 300 in it. I should chat with them about the 300 and leave my number in case they swap out motors sometime down the road.

[super4ord]

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[Lazy JW]

Looks like C6TE6 to me

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

No - its a "G". The suffix part of the part number generally is a letter, denoting the revision level of the part. An exception to this is if there two suppliers of the part then the suffix will have an alpha-numeric component, different for each supplier.

[66 E100 Pickup]

I can't remember in my browsing here...were there 240 forged cranks?

John

[Fordman75]

No.

[ranger]

C6TE 6303 G
C6TE = application
6303 = basic part #, crankshaft
G = revision

[pssnmn1]

hey super cool modeators please post those in the sticky

[tjm73]

Has anyone on the board ever broken a "regular" factory cast crank?

[addo]

Chuck Norris did, but we had to ban him...

[pssnmn1]

i think it was a round house kick

[motocentro]

CN jokes just don't get old. . .

[Gord]

the guys that ran my race car back in the 70's actually broke a steel crank about every 25 runs, of course they were revving the engine to 8500 rpm, they said every crank broke in exactly the same place. Back then I am not sure the balancing is as precice as it is today and certianly the crank dampers were no where near as good as a modern ATI damper. Those two things alone could make the difference in the life of a crank in a race motor

[tjm73]

the guys that ran my race car back in the 70's actually broke a steel crank about every 25 runs, of course they were revving the engine to 8500 rpm, they said every crank broke in exactly the same place. Back then I am not sure the balancing is as precice as it is today and certianly the crank dampers were no where near as good as a modern ATI damper. Those two things alone could make the difference in the life of a crank in a race motor

hmmmmm......makes me wonder why anyone really thinks they need a forged steel crank????? You're not turning crazy revs and you aren't making 600+ hp.

Other Ford cast cranks have been known tro begin failing around 600 hp. But they don't have the bearing-rod-bearing-rod-bearing-rod-bearing-rod-bearing-rod-bearing-rod-bearing configuration which is better support.

[SuperMag]

Added FAQ Material:

Q: how can i tell if i have a forged crankshaft?
A:

The easist way to tell a cast crank from a forged crank is to pull the pan on the engine in question and look at the parting lines on the throws.
Thin parting lines with some factory flash on them= CAST
Thick parting lines that are relatively smooth semi rounded in appearance= FORGED
Forged cranks do not have casting #'s .The numbers are "stamped" into them at the forge.

Some factory cast cranks, not just Ford ,are what is referred to as "cast steel" "high nodular iron" or "armasteel".
They are very reliable and strong pieces plus they are cheaper to produce than a forged crank.
A forged crank would only be necessary for the most extreme duty service.Heavy trucks doing low rpm lugging,or very high horsepower applications.

Q: which vehicles had these cranks?
A:

There are no specific models they were used in. They came in everything from 1/2 ton pick ups to F600 Grain trucks. They only way to know for sure if the engine has a steel crank is to check the crank casting #'s. From the way I understand it Ford produced the steel cranks from 65 thru the early 70's. Then from there they used the surplus cranks here and there as needed. If they ran low on cast cranks they'd use the surplus steel ones.
If you want the best shot try to locate late 60's to early 70's F600's These had 300HD's and in that age most if not all HD's had the steel cranks. But just because it's an HD does not gaurentee a steel crank. It's pretty much hit or miss in the yard searching.

thread

[Seattle Smitty]

What happened to whacking the crank with a big brass hammer and see if the crank rings (forged), or clunks (cast)?

[American Thunder]

Fords crankshafts are tough, even the cast iron ones.

[American Thunder]

What happened to whacking the crank with a big brass hammer and see if the crank rings (forged), or clunks (cast)?

You can just look at the "seam" lines, cast iron is a thin line, forged steel is a wider line.

[Panama Ron]

If were getting 100,000 miles plus from motors with cast cranks,than Id say a forged crank would be only for a real modified race motor right? Id still like to have one in my 300 scratch re-build.