Preventing EME
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
Finding Your Break Even Point
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 be calculated? How do you
Rebuilding Hot Rod Honda Engines
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 catering to devotees of high
Pistons & Rings: Changes That Are Designed To Reduce Emissions And Extend Durability
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 100,000 miles
Toyota 20R Engine
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 20R was introduced in 1975
Gasket Technology: The Science of Sealing
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
High Performance Valve Jobs
Valve jobs are like a number of other automotive machining operations
Washington Way: The Prebate Program Is A Threat To Remanufacturing.
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 it to XYZ Corp. or
The Fit Is In The Finish
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, oil, grease or residual gasket
Cleaning Equipment Maintenance
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 or small. "The issue of
LPG Conversions: Renewed Interest In The Use Of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) And LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)
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 gaseous fuels and more vehiclesare
Jobber Rebuilt Small Parts Report
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 survey of 1,000 jobbers acrossthe