Ensuring Bearing Life: Crankshaft Bearings Are Always Replaced When Rebuilding An Engine
Crankshaft bearings are always replaced when rebuilding an engine because they’re a wear component. Heat, pressure, chemical attack, abrasion and loss of lubrication can all contribute to deterioration of the bearings. Consequently, when an engine is rebuilt new bearings are always installed. “Reading” the old bearings can reveal a great deal about conditions that may
Piston Rings and Surface Finish
Horsepower is always paramount in the minds of customers who salivatelike a Pavlovian dog when the terms "high performance"and "engine" are used in the same sentence. Unquestionably,horsepower is heady stuff, capable of not only moving a vehicleto obscene speeds, but also of propelling its owner to a positionof prominence in the eyes of performance enthusiasts
Machine Shop Market Profile
As is generally already known, the machineshop/custom engine rebuilder market struggled in 1996 to keeppace with production numbers generated in 1995. Many shop ownerstold us that demand was flat for machine shop services and/orrebuilt engines during 1996. Verification of these shop owners’ commentswas generated in our annual survey of the membership of the AutomotiveEngine Rebuilders
Tackling High Performance Work
Obviously, there are many questions to be answered before a shop enters or expands its activities into the high performance arena. There are moderately successful performance-oriented machine shops scattered from one end of the nation to the other. There are also a significantly smaller number of VERY successful shops. Typically, the difference between the former
Performance Small Block: Chevy Engines
Small block Chevy engines long ago became mainstays in both thetraditional and high performance marketplace. So many of themhave been rebuilt over the years, and so much has been writtenabout the rebuilding process, it would appear that nothing moreneed be said. But the small block engine has changed over the years and so haveconsumer preferences
Perspective On Using CBN Versus Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) Cutters
In your June Shop Line you offered Jerry Lawson’s of DCM Tech, Inc., perspective on using CBN versus poly crystalline diamond (PCD) cutters. Have any other manufacturers voiced their opinions? In PERA’s May 1996 Current Concerns publication, Andy Rottler of Rottler Manufacturing made the following observations on CBN versus PCD cutters:Rottler says that due to
Valve Guide Repair Options
One thing you can almost always count on when rebuilding a cylinder head is worn valve guides. The guides experience a lot of wear because of the constant friction between the guide and stem. To make matters worse, positive valve seals on late model engines prevent the guides from receiving much lubrication. Side forces on