Accel Expands Line of High Performance SuperCoils
ACCEL, a leading manufacturer of high performance fuel and ignition system products, has announced the availability of more than a dozen new applications for its line of high performance coil-on-plug SuperCoils for European, import and domestic cars and trucks.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Variable Valve Timing
Variable Valve Timing (VVT) has been incorporated into many late model import and domestic engines, including single overhead cam (SOHC), dual overhead cam (DOHC) and even pushrod V8s such as GM’s GEN IV 5.3L and 6.0L engines. It is a technology that offers performance, emissions and fuel economy advantages for everyday driving, but it also creates some challenges for engine builders.
Ford 4.6/5.4L 3V Start-Up Noise
Some Ford vehicles equipped with a 4.6L 3-valve or 5.4L 3-valve engine may exhibit a ticking and/or knocking noise after reaching normal operating temperature, or a rattle upon starting. The noise may be described as ticks, taps, knocks, or thumps. In some cases the noise may be a normal characteristic of these engines. In other cases the noise may require further investigation.
JE Pistons Expands Ford Modular Product Offerings
JE Pistons, a leader in high-performance forged and billet racing pistons, has redesigned and expanded its product offering for the Ford Modular 4.6L and 5.4L engines along with releasing new part numbers for the Ford Modular Coyote 5.0L. These new JE Pistons utilize a dedicated 2618 alloy Forged Side Relief (FSR) forging that was specifically designed for high horsepower modular engines.
Melling Releases Five New Part Numbers
Melling, a leading manufacturer of oil pumps and other power train components, has announced five new part numbers. Melling has introduced variable cam timing housing, variable cam timing solenoid, camshaft sprocket actuators and rocker arms.
Front-Mounted Oil Pumps: Good or Troublesome?
On late model engines such as Chevy LS, Ford modular V8s and Chrysler 5.7/6.1/6.4L Hemis, engineers have moved the oil pump from its cozy location inside the oil pan to the front of the engine under the timing cover. Traditionally, most wet sump oil pumps have been mounted under the engine inside the oil pan
Jasper Opens Additional Gas Engine Remanufacturing Unit
Jasper Engines and Transmissions has expanded its Gas Engine Remanufacturing Division within the Jasper, Indiana facility. The Jasper facility utilized four remanufacturing lines (called PODs) in which an engine went from a core, to a finished product, within one remanufacturing unit. Each POD has specific engine families that it remanufactures. This allows each POD to
Ford’s Mustang Celebrates 50-Year Milestone
We live in some pretty exciting times for performance automobiles, especially muscle cars. Corvettes are taking on the super cars and knocking on the 200 mph door. The Camaro and the Challenger are back and Ford Motor Company is set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their very popular Mustang. Besides the Corvette, I can’t
Vintage V8s: Exploring 100 Years of Cadillac Engines
For more than a century, the name Cadillac has been synonymous with performance, style and passion. And in those early years of the Cadillac Automobile Company, it was a former loom mechanic – Henry Martyn Leland – who was credited with forging the technologies that separated Cadillac from the other automobile businesses that were springing
Tracking Down the Coyote
Today, restoration projects seem to be at an all-time high. You would have to admit that there is a love for true American iron. True American iron is also becoming rather hard to come by. As Americans, we were always proud of our cars and trucks. The vehicles manufactured by the BIG 3 (Ford, GM,
The Inner Workings of Variable Valve Timing
Variable Valve Timing (VVT) is a way to advance/retard valve timing, and change duration, overlap and even lift in some applications while the engine is running. VVT is computer-controlled and typically uses oil pressure to change the position of a phaser mechanism on the end of the camshaft to advance or retard cam timing. VVT
Choosing Camshafts – Picking Performance
Choosing the “right” camshaft is not only the cornerstone of building a performance engine, but also its centerpiece. Choosing a cam can give anyone a headache – especially if they choose the wrong cam for a given application. There’s a lot of science involved in cam selection, so keep reading and we’ll help you
Performance Rocker Arms
Pushrod engines new and old are still a hot topic. Overhead cams have been used in many European and Asian engines for years, so when Ford opted to go the overhead cam route with their 4.6L V8 engine, some predicted pushrod engines were on their way out. But, GM stuck with the pushrod design for
Damage Control: Removing Problem Plugs on Ford Modular Engines
Ford recognized a plug removal problem on some of its 4.6L 3v, 5.4L 3V and 6.8L 3V engines and issued a tech bulletin — TSB 08-7-6 — to address the problems. This article supersedes TSB 08-1-9. Ford’s Modular engine, used in various Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products during the mid- to late-2000’s, has been known to give techs a hard
Engine Dimensions for Popular Swaps
There are several engine swap kits forputting non-stock engines into popular body styles, such as big blocks, into 1955-’57 Chevys or small blocks into Jeep CJs, for example. The kits usually include things like motor mounts and headers designed to provide clearance of the vehicle frame, steering shafts, and the like. Since there’s more to
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: January 2013
Detonation vs. Pre-Ignition (Editors Note: the following is in response to Greg Goss’s entry in the August 2012 issue) A sharp point or edge that can glow in a combustion chamber or on a piston top does not cause detonation. Mr. Goss inadvertently was referring to pre-ignition. Detonation and pre-ignition are two distinctly different terms and
Racing Rocker Arm Technology
The rocker arms play a more important role than ever these days in high performance valvetrains. The rockers are the teeter-totters that translate the upward motion of the lifters and pushrods to the downward motion that opens the valves. It seems like a relatively simple task, but it demands the utmost from the design of
Variable Valve Timing Can Help Save V8s, Environment
Not that I don’t supportthe environment and being responsible in our efforts to save the planet– I do. But the passion for the thunder of a throbbing,pavement-pounding V8 is, well, similar to that of the how your heartskips a beat when you think of your first love. What if you could stillhave the power, have
Identifying Ford Duratec 3.0L Cylinder Blocks
The Duratec 30 is an aluminum blockwith cast iron liners, aluminum DOHC cylinder head with four valves percylinder, fracture-split (cracked) forged powder metal connecting rods,and a forged steel crankshaft. There are two versions of the Duratec 30: DAMB – Lincoln LS, Jaguar, Mazda 6 and MPV, which use direct-actingmechanical bucket (DAMB) tappets. Here the camshaft
Power Adders: Turbos, Blowers and Nitrous
The engine can only inhale so much air because the atmospheric force that’s pushing air into the engine is only 14.7 lbs. per square inch at sea level. To make matters worse, atmospheric pressure decreases with elevation. Air density also decreases with temperature because hot air is thinner than cold air. Most stock naturally aspirated engines