Cylinder Bores-Machining To Sleeving
The function of a cylinder bore is fairly simple yet quite demanding. The bore is nothing more than a cylindrical void which contains the engine’s air/fuel mixture as it undergoes compression and combustion. The walls of the cylinder have to be strong enough and rigid enough to withstand high combustion pressures and temperatures
Cracked Cylinder Head Repair
It seems as if many cylinder heads are doomed to crack from the very start because of their lightweight construction and design. Aluminum overhead cam (OHC) heads, in particular, are often found to be warped as well as cracked. But so too are many pushrod cast iron heads. Cracks are often blamed as the cause
Hydraulic Camshafts and Lifters 101
Closing up the gap between the tip of the rocker arm and the top of the valve stem reduces the pounding effect that can accelerate valve and rocker wear. Because of this, most of the push rod engines that have been built for the last 60 years have come factory-equipped with hydraulic camshafts and lifters.
Cam Drives and Timing Components
Cam timing plays a huge role in an engine’s power curve. Advancing cam timing shifts the power curve more toward the lower rpm range, while retarding it moves the power curve higher up the rpm scale. If an engine is being built for a particular application (stock, street/strip, drag race, circle track, you-name-it), how the
Smooth Moves: Today’s Surfaces Often Demand Different Finishes
When multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets became commonplace a number of years ago, there was a lot of concern that aftermarket surfacing procedures might not be able to reproduce the mirror-like finish that the vehicle manufacturers said was absolutely necessary to seal MLS head gaskets. The challenge was to duplicate the factory finish using out-dated
Racing Rotating Assemblies: Cranks, Rods and Pistons
Building a performance engine requires assembling the optimum mix of rotating components that are compatible with the block and heads, properly matched with each other, and balanced to precise tolerances. The easiest way to get the right combination of parts is to buy a complete rotating assembly from a supplier who offers such kits. Most
Inside Flat Tappet Camshaft and?Lifter Technology
Roller cams have a couple of advantages over traditional flat tappet camshafts: they reduce friction, and they can be ground with more aggressive cam lobe profiles to make more power. You can also swap roller cams without having to replace the lifters. But the roller cam’s main disadvantage compared to flat tappet cams is its
Cleaning Cylinder Heads and Blocks
The cleaning process should remove all of the dirt, grease, oil, rust, scale and carbon deposits that have accumulated over the years. With painted castings, the old paint also has to be stripped away so the surface can be repainted. Even if you’re working with brand new castings, a final cleaning is still necessary after
Performance Lifters, Pushrods and Valve Springs
Low friction roller lifters replaced flat tappet lifters many years ago in stock production engines, but there are still plenty of hot flat tappet cams bumping the valves open in vintage muscle cars, street rods and race cars. Even NASCAR is still using flat tappet cams to actuate the valves. The advantage of flat tappet
Timing Chain Service on Ford 3.0L Duratec Engines
You will have to use a dial indicator tofind the TDC position of the number one cylinder on Ford’s 3.0L Duratec to make sure the crankand camshafts are all properly aligned. Ford says that when the crankshaft keyway is positioned at roughlythe 11 o’clock position, the number one cylinder should be at TDC. Before you
Media and Solutions For Cleaning Engine Parts
One essential aspect of engine building and rebuilding that cannot be avoided is the need for cleaning. Used engine parts have to be cleaned before they can be inspected. Parts that will be reused also have to be cleaned to remove dirt, grease, oil, carbon, rust, scale and other gunk that could contaminate a newly
Evolving Crankshaft Designs and Applications
In the early days, a crank didn’t have to be very sophisticated or strong because most engines were an inline design, and the loads and speeds were relatively low. Fast forward to today. The evolution in engine technology, power and performance has led to a whole new generation of performance crankshafts that are a mechanical