Shop Solutions October 2015
Managing your scrap is an everyday chore. We all know aluminum pistons are worth more than aluminum mill waste, but by removing pins and rings they’re worth even more.
Shop Solutions September 2015
Several types of Honda heads have a rocker panel with a set of three rockers together. These rockers have pins that can easily fall out and be lost once the rocker panel is removed from the cylinder head. Before removing the panel, use a small wire to hold the three rockers together.
Shop Solutions August 2015
I found myself without a welder to use to remove a check ball staked into the end of an oil passage of a crankshaft. So I applied a different technique to remove it to clean the crank.
Shop Solutions July 2015
I made a quick and accurate piston ring aligner for checking end gaps out of a .030 over, 454 Chevy flat top piston. Just chuck the piston in a lathe and turn the ring lands down to a little under 4.000˝. The bottom of the oil ring land is about .950˝ from the top of the piston, and will align the ring in the block.
Shop Solutions June 2015
I recycle the thick plastic trays used to store and ship 1-liter soda bottles. They work really well for keeping piston and rod assemblies in order and protected from damage as you move them about the shop.
Shop Solutions June 2015
In our shop we do a variety of cylinder heads for late-model diesel trucks. On jobs like 6.0L Fords, 5.9L Cummins or 6.6L Duramax diesels our customers often install ARP studs as an improved fastener. ARP highly suggests that the studs be re-torqued after the engine is run for the first time.
Shop Solutions April 2015
Hydraulic valve lifters are probably the most precision-machined part inside any engine. It does not take much to cause one to operate incorrectly. Here are some tips for fixing this problem, as well as some other helpful solutions to commonly seen shop scenarios.
Shop Solutions March 2015
Here’s a simple time saver for assembling high performance V8/V6 engines. When intake gasket port alignment is critical, use masking tape to hold the gasket in place on the head. You can then flip the gasket up to apply your sealer.
Shop Solutions January 2015
When working with a ball-and-cup type pushrod from an application like a Ford or Chrysler product with adjustable shaft rockers, it is important to know the “effective” length when ordering custom length pushrods. In this case, the effective length is the length from the tip of the ball end to the bottom of the seat cup.
Shop Solutions – December 2014
In our shop, we don’t have a dyno or engine test stand. We work on a variety of engines from Chevys to Internationals to Continentals, so no engine start stand would suit everything we do. In an effort to find oil leaks, we have started to “smoke” our engines.
November 2014 Shop Solutions
One of the main problems with blocks that need to be align-bored is the lack of squish between the main cap and the block. What I am referring to is the interference fit between the cap and main register that holds the cap in alignment, and is the reason a light tap is needed to seat the cap. If the caps do not fit tight, the crank will not be held as solidly as it was intended, and also results in inconsistent bearing clearances.
October 2014 Shop Solutions
Using Vaseline, grease, white lead or dense lubricants such as engine oil, vegetable oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, castor oil, vegetable shortening and silicon spray IS NOT RECOMMENDED for a liner seal lubricant. Currently, aftermarket suppliers recommend using a soapy water solution.