Yes, it hurt, but it also scared the hell out of me. Had it hit me in the face . . .
As it happened, I had a Dr. appointment a few days later. When the Doc saw the big purple bruise over my sternum with the divot left by the heavy end of the key just beginning to scab over, he wanted to know what caused it.
For what it's worth, several people have reported that their engines knock loudly. My first engine did so, too, and after eliminating the usual suspects, I found that the gib keys were loose in the slot in the crankshaft and the flywheels, so the wheels were rocking back and forth, making a racket that sounds just like rod knock. It was while I was running down the cause of the noise that the key worked out and hit me.
After I put a bandage on the wound (and changed my shorts
) I measured the key and the slots and found there was about 0.029" clearance. I cut some brass shims and put them in place and the problem went away.
Putting a collar on the shaft outboard of the head of the is good insurance.
Quinn
