Extending Valve Life
Most manufacturers of valvesoperate tech phone lines, and all have received that caller who opens the conversation by saying, "Your valve ruined my engine; when are you going to pay to fix it?"As much as the rebuilder or vehicle owner might like to lay blame it on the manufacturer for providing a bad product, it
APRA Europe and FIRM Joining Forces
FIRM and APRA represent 22,000 remanufacturing employees in the European Union. Together they will boost the promotion of automotive remanufacturing. Both boards approved a mutual membership. This step is expected to lead to a fruitful and effective alliance with an initial focus on lobbying the remanufacturing industry and their ideas and matters in Brussels.??"The cooperation
New Products for Modern V8 Engines
The numbers aren’t there yet, but engine builders and suppliers are taking notice of the new V8s. What has taken so long? For one, the new engines are more expensive and more complex. Some shops do not have the capability or expertise to work on them just yet, but more and more shops do. One
How to Properly Dress Crankshaft Grinding Wheels
The grinding wheel must be dressedeach time it is placed on the machine, even though it may not have beenremoved from the wheel center. Mountthe wheel dresser on the grinder table. Bring the rotating grindingwheel up close to the diamond and start the coolant flow. Never dresswithout coolant. Frictional heat buildup can cause the diamond
Engine Bearings and Crankshafts: Best Friends Forever (BFFs)
Bearings appear to be such simple engine components. On the surface, they’re just half-circles of metal whose only purpose is to reduce friction between and support moving parts. The engine bearing has to establish and maintain a film of oil between moving and stationary parts to prevent wear to expensive engine components. They look like
Diagnosing Faulty Spark Plug Wires
Ignitionsystems have changed a great deal in recent years, with coil-on-plug(COP) ignition systems being the most common setup on many late modelengines. COP ignition systems have a single coil for each spark plugmounted on top of the plug. This setup eliminates the need for a sparkplug wire and the troubles it can cause. Most other
The Nitty Gritty of Abrasive Safety
Conventional abrasives have kind of taken a back seat to PCD and CBN cutters in the automotive world in the last few years. Since most engines being rebuilt these days are made from multi-alloy components they are more easily machined with PCD or CBN. But PCD and CBN can’t do everything, so abrasives are still
3-angle Seat Cutting Tips
Goodson Tools and Supplies for Engine Rebuilders suggests using Carbide Pilots for precise and high-quality valve seat and bowl work. 1. Carbide pilots offer the following advantages: Carbide Pilots help keep tooling cutting true. When cutting 3-angle seats, counterboring for seat rings or using Bowl Hogs to enlarge valve bowls, the resistance of the workpiece
Big Block Chevy Cam Identification
While turning the distributor during diagnosis process your customer noticed the other four cylinders would start running and theoriginal four go dead. Now, since it is a big block I truly understooda phrase that my brother always used: "There is no substitute for cubicinches," because it did actually run on either of the four cylindersets.
Design Principles for Connecting Rod Bolts
By Dr. Kenneth Foster, PhD. The process for connecting rod bolts is described in the following paragraphs as an example. Fastener Load The first step in the process of designing a connecting rod bolt is to determine the load that it must carry. This is accomplished by calculating the dynamic force caused by the oscillating
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: March 2012
Transferring Gaskets For Intake Port Matching I have found an effective way to transfer the gasket to the intake manifold without losing the “port location.” First, have the completed long block with the heads and its ports finished. Next, do all the pre-fitting of the gaskets and manifolds or “mock-up” work. Make any machining or
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: February 2012
The Perfect Pilot With the increasingly smaller valve stem diameters it is getting harder than ever to get an air-floated, self-centering, single point, multi-angle pilot aligned with the guide. Here is a pretty simple way of getting you almost dead-on every time and without bending or breaking your $80 to $100 solid carbide pilot.
Engine Options Abound In The Street Rod Market
The National Street Rod Association (NSRA) provides the best definition of what street rods are all about. “By definition a street rod is an automobile of 1948 or earlier manufacture which has undergone some type of modernization to include any of the following; engine, transmission, interior refinements, and any other modifications the builder desires. In
Crankshaft Rear Main Oil Seal Leaks in Some 60-degree V6 GM Engines
This information only applies to 60 degree V6 engines. It is important to verify that the following information is correct before continuing: Models: 1986-2006 GM cars and light-duty trucks (including Saturn) with 2.8L, 3.1L, 3.4L, 3.5L, 3.9L 60 degree V6 engines (VINs D, E, F, J, K, L, M, N, R, S, T, V, W,
Identifying Six Common Fastener Failures
While few engine builders have access to sophisticated analysis equipment, a standard Bausch and Lomb three lens magnifying glass will generally show 98% of what you want to see. Several of the photos have been taken utilizing a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and are presented to simply illustrate typical grain configurations after failure, according to
HPBG: Becoming a Better Engine Builder at 22nd Annual AETC in Orlando
But if I were a professional engine builder, or even a highly competent amateur engine builder, one of the first things I would do is learn as much as possible from the smartest people in the business. While we at Engine Builder magazine provide countless articles on the subject and the business of running a
HPBG: Don
In that discussion we hashed over the disparity in coefficients of expansion between cast iron and aluminum (that caused a revolution in head gaskets around the time of the Cadillac 4.1L). We discussed surface conditions and how that affects gaskets and scrub. We discussed gasket coatings and how they remain plastic while not scrubbing and
Valve Seat Selection, Finishing & Materials
Over time, erosion and corrosion can eat away at the metal resulting in compression leaks, elevated valve temperatures and sometimes valve failure. If a valve seat insert doesn’t have the correct amount of interference fit in the cylinder head, it’s possible the seat may loosen up and fall out damaging the valve, head and piston.
A Conversation with the MAHLE Clevite Champion Technician Winner Dave Arce
Dave is the owner of Arce Engines in El Cajon, CA. He remanufactures engines, performs general installation and repair, does engine rebalancing and has quite a resume when it comes to high performance racing engines. Dave’s daughter Hollee nominated him for the contest and wrote an excellent essay about all of her dad’s accomplishments throughout
Cracked Cylinder Head Repair
It seems as if many cylinder heads are doomed to crack from the very start because of their lightweight construction and design. Aluminum overhead cam (OHC) heads, in particular, are often found to be warped as well as cracked. But so too are many pushrod cast iron heads. Cracks are often blamed as the cause