With each new generation of engines come changes that are designed to reduce emissions and extend durability. Key among these have been changes in piston and ring materials. Most vehicle manufacturers today are building passenger car engines that, with proper maintenance (regular oil changes), are capable of going well over...
Traditionally, hot rodding has been as American as apple pie, baseball, hot dogs and Chevrolet. Certainly, imported vehicles have been "hopped up," but serious hot rodding has always been dominated by enthusiasts who believe that engines have eight cylinders, pushrods and 16 valves. For the past 40 years, machine shops...
Why should you care what your business’ break-even point is? What purpose does it serve to know what it is? More specifically, how do you determine which of your business costs are fixed and which are variable? What costs affect your break-even point the most? How often should this information...
Automotive engines have undergone serious changes in the past few years as they have become lighter and far more powerful. These changes can have significant impact on the cores rebuilders receive for rebuilding. In search of lighter engine components, casting technology which was considered "thin wall casting" in the
Toyota has built numerous four cylinder engine families over the years, but one that has been in use for quite a long time is the R-series. The R-series has been the main motor used in almost all Toyota pick-up trucks, as well as the rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Celica and Coronas. The...
In spite of the fact that castings have gotten thinner, valvetrain components have gotten smaller and engines are more highly stressed than ever before. Today
Valve jobs are like a number of other automotive machining operations
Clean, flat and smooth. These three words describe the surface in an engine, not just the head and block. But how clean, how flat and how smooth do the surfaces really have to be to get a good, long lasting seal? It depends on the application. Clean means no dirt,...
Imagine the following news item on August 1, 2001: "Today XYZ Corp., a major automobile parts supplier, announced that it will offer a 10% rebate on each of its new vehicle parts if the purchaser will agree to sign an agreement not to resell the part but to either return...
The Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association(APRA) incoming chairman, Steve Fallen, knows the importance ofstaying in touch with the forces driving today’s market.What are those market forces? Fallen, 49, who is also presidentof Ennis Automotive, Inc., Ennis, TX, a supplier of rewound stators,rotors and armatures to electrical rebuilders, feels that demandfor rebuilt...
Most rebuilders will tell you that the markethas never been more competitive than it is today. Many will alsotell you that the past 12-18 months have been difficult in termsof maintaining their sales levels of rebuilt units. However, although total units sold may be downindustry wide, according to a recent...
The recent move to clean up inner city exhaustemissions has resulted in renewed interest in the use of LPG (LiquefiedPetroleum Gas) and LNG (Liquefied Natural gas) as motor fuels.These fuels are almost pure propane with a little butane present. Tax incentives are being offered to encouragefleet operators to convert to...
The saying, "An ounce of preventionis worth a pound of cure," definitely holds true when itcomes to the operation of cleaning equipment in rebuilding shops. According to David Zehren, product manager,stationary equipment for Georg Fischer Disa Goff, Inc., Seminole,OK, routine maintenance of cleaning equipment impacts all rebuilders,no matter how large...
Tom Vecchi, president of Engine Supply, Inc.,Phoenix, AZ, and incoming president of the Production Engine RemanufacturersAssociation (PERA) hasn’t spent his entire business life in theengine rebuilding market. However, since acquiring Engine Supplyin 1988 with his brother-in-law, Len Joy, who is chairman of theboard, he’s learned enough to know that rebuilding...
Americans have a love/hate relationship withtheir motor vehicles. We love the freedom and mobility the automobilegives us. We love the feel of a good car on the open highway andhow it handles on a challenging stretch of road. And we love thestatement that a car makes about who we are...
Today’s high output, close tolerance enginesare more dependent than ever on quality remanufacturing procedures,durable parts and precise machining. One of the best ways to assurelong bearing life in today’s engines is to make sure the journalson the crankshaft are properly polished. The oil film between the journals on the crankshaftand...
The Buick 3300 was introduced in 1989 as areplacement for the 3.0L that had been around since 1982. It hadthe updated block with on-center bores, just like the revisedversion of the 3800 that came out the year before, along withseveral other changes and improvements. This engine was installed in many...
Much has been reported recently regarding theneed to grow the engine rebuilding and remanufacturing markets.We’re all aware of the Automotive Repower Council (ARP) whichwas recently formed to increase customer awareness on the alternativesto buying or leasing a new vehicle. And Automotive Rebuildermagazine has provided a number of features and columns...
The information provided in this article is excerpted from a presentationmade by Doug Barron, Manager of Freedom Battery Design & Application,Delphi Energy & Engine Management Systems. The presentationwas made at last year’s Independent Battery Manufacturers Association(IBMA) Convention in Chicago, IL. Barron’s comments pertain to the future requirements of automotivebatteries. However,...
Many in the brake rebuilding market are getting on the ApplicationSpecific Bandwagon. It’s the buzzword of the aftermarket brakefriction world today. "We’re going to have to be application specific because ofperformance requirements coming out of testing procedures thatthe Brake Manufacturers Council is working on," observesGil Laycock of the Friction Materials...
