Torque measurement

[Don.F.Broadus at ucm.com]

Since the motor mounts are connected to the block , you need to rotate the
block to compress the load cell not the crank.
The hardest part with this method is figuring out the scale in foot pounds.
Usually load cells are calibrated with certified weights hung from a known
length, usually a 1 foot long bar, hence 'foot- pound'  I don't know how you
could calculate the moment of movement that the block would place on the
load cell. I would guess if you bolted a 1 foot bar on the engine at the
center line of the crank and placed a 1 pound weight on the end of the bar,
you would be able to calibrate the load cell out put for 1 foot Lb. Of
course you would 
want to cal it to 300 ft.Lbs or what you think the engine would put out. If
you use a 2 foot bar then 1 pound on the end would apply a force of  2 foot
Lbs. This would save some cal weight. Your idea is  excellent  and should
give some good results. Another way to read the torque would be to connect a
load cell to the block about where the front freeze plug is, and the other
end to the frame. This will make a solid motor mount that might damage the
Trans case if you torque it to hard. You might want to try this using the
same cal procedure, and if it works go to the mount system.     
 
Don     


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Ord Millar [SMTP:ord at aei.ca]
> Sent:	Thursday, April 08, 1999 8:49 AM
> To:	diy_efi at efi332.eng.ohio-state.edu
> Subject:	Torque measurement
> 
> I have some strain guages that I was thinking of attaching to my motor
> mounts, the idea being to measure the torque output of the engine.  I want
> to calibrate it by imobilizing the crank relative to the block, and then
> using a torque wrench to apply a know torque in the oposite direction at
> the
> crank pulley bolt.
> 
> Is there a reason why this won't work?  It seems too easy...
> 
>