Engine Builder Shop Solutions: June 2011
Editor’s Note: In the March issue we printed a Shop Solution from Melling Engine Parts titled “Oil Pump and Engine Priming” In the May issue we printed a different view on the subject from Timm Jurinche titled “Pre-Oiling.” This month we have a still different viewpoint on the subject. A Better Way to Pre-Oil New
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: May 2011
Editor’s Note: In March we printed a Shop Solution titled, “Oil Pump and Engine Priming” supplied by Melling. Here is another opinion suggesting an alternative method of pre-oiling a newly rebuilt engine. Alternative Method to Pre-Oiling Tip I respectfully disagree with the published tip on how to properly prime a new engine’s oiling
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: April 2011
Keeping Chevy 4-Bolt Mains From ‘Walking’ All four-bolt small block Chevy main caps “walk” when used with either studs or bolts. The factory cap or a splayed cap relies on the register to locate itself because bolts and studs don’t fit well enough to keep the cap from walking. What I have decided to do
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: March 2011
Inspection: Vacuum Check That Engine With the advent of foreign castings, some less than stellar, it is important to be more critical than before during inspection. I have a large vacuum pump that I use to vacuum check every engine’s water jacket before it leaves my shop. My pump pulls around 22 inches of vacuum.
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: February 2011
Making the Most of Every Job Quote Often times when my people are quoting a job, I will ask if the customer wanted gaskets, to which the reply is typically, “uh, I don’t know.” That’s just a lost sale every time the phone hangs up if you ask me – it’s only selling part of
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: January 2011
Keeping Gaskets In Their Place Can’t get a hard to reach gasket to stay in place even using various types of sealers? Try this trick that worked for me. Simply tie the gasket in place with sewing thread through available bolt holes/studs and/or any area that can be used for a temporary tie off. Once the gasket has
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: December 2010
Your Best Salesman “Ring, ring”… Another interruption – Will somebody grab that @%#& phone!? Too often we look at the phone as an interruption to a busy day. Leroy, the owner of a 3 man shop in Missouri, says he “hates the phone.” He says it’s a waste of valuable shop labor to answer the barrage
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: November 2010
Cleaning Up Cam Bearings After Installation Once in a while you may get an engine block that has an imperfect or misaligned cam bore. Rather than taking the time to scrape the newly installed cam bearings to fit by hand I took old cam cores and made cutter cams. Verifying the cores are straight, I
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: October 2010
GM Castech Cylinder Heads I’m sure most of you know by now about GM’s 4.8L and 5.3L Vortec Gen III and Gen IV V8 engines with Castech cylinder head castings. GM has sent a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for Castech specific cylinder heads that are prone to cracking. GM’s TSB #06-06-01-019B covers 4.8L and 5.3L
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: August 2010
Head and Block Surface Prep Most cast iron V8 heads and/or blocks usually don’t require anything more than a good cleaning. They are not as likely to warp as straight-six or aluminum heads or blocks. But it is unusual to have all the old gasket material wash away in your hot tank. Minimal surface prep
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: July 2010
Use New Head Bolts In Your Rebuilt Engines How much pressure is exerted on a head bolt? In a typical V8 engine, peak combustion pressures could be around 1,100 psi, which means each cylinder exerts about 14,000 lbs. of pressure on the cylinder head at full throttle. In fact, each head bolt may have to
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: June 2010
Cover the Deck When honing cylinders in an engine block use duct tape to cover the deck. Then take a sharp razor knife and carefully trim out the cylinder bores. Doing this as a pre-honing procedure helps keep honing oil out of the coolant passages and thread holes, which reduces loss of honing oil, and