Shop Solutions – November 2017
Priming an engine with a half-inch drill and getting oil to all rockers without this mod takes 36 minutes. After the mod it takes less than a minute. Here’s what I do on Dart Big M blocks.
Shop Solutions – October 2017
Some cylinder heads, like small block Mopars, have the intake manifold bolt holes at a slight angle from the manifold flange. This makes it hard to mount on our surfacing machine milling plate because, when you tighten up the mounting studs against the plate, it wants to bend the stud.
September 2017 Shop Solutions
In our shop we seem to constantly be moving cylinder heads around. First, from arrival at the door to a tear down bench, then to the jet wash, to a storage shelf, to benches to be worked on and then to benches to be assembled. To do it all efficiently, we have three 34” tall 4-wheel carts.
August 2017 Shop Solutions
At times I have had a main journal that just honed faster than the rest. Here’s my solution – maybe it will work for you as well. I cut some .001˝ shim stock and place it between the stone and journal and give it a few short strokes. The shim stock will stop the honing of that one journal and let the rest catch up.
Engine Builder Shop Solutions – July 2017
Anyone with a Sunnen diamond hone head can gain more clearance on the bottom of the cylinder to main web area by taking off the factory spring setup and replacing it with the spring from a small block Chevy front cover seal.
Shop Solutions June 2017
To check lifter bores for finish, burrs or obstruction, I made tools by removing the plunger and internal parts from some lifters. You can stick the lifter on the end of your finger then slide it, with twisting motion, in and out of the lifter bore.
Shop Solutions – February 2017
Cylinder head and block flatness and surface finish are critical to proper head gasket sealing. The following general specifications cover both gasoline and diesel engines.
Shop Solutions January 2017
You want to seal that flange with an OE MLS gasket? Good luck! The same conditions now exist in exhaust flange technology as when the first MLS head gaskets were being replaced under repair conditions.
Shop Solutions September 2016
I make my own large threaded repair bushing from tapered pipe thread oil galley plugs, with an internal hex. The material of these plugs is hard enough to tap clean threads into, and very similar to your cast iron block or head.
Shop Solutions August 2016
The old adage, “Time is money” has never been more true than it is today. With the high costs of labor, doing a job quickly and efficiently can be the difference in making money or losing it.
Shop Solutions July 2016
Sometimes machine shops are called on to solve more than engine issues. Toyota rear axles are difficult to disassemble and usually require replacing the reluctor gear when replacing the bearings. I made a jig to drive the axle out of the housing using my press.
Shop Solutions June 2016
We live in a time where aluminum blocks with cast-in sleeves are common and we still need to remember to account for how different metals behave. We build several dozen Gen III and Gen IV GM LS type motors per year. We finish our cylinders .001” tighter on the aluminum block engines to compensate for the additional growth when the block gets up to operating temperature.
