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Liners and Sleeves

Sleeves are certainly not new technology and experts say that, for the most part, engine builders and machine shops understand the use and functionality well. But is a liner and a sleeve the same thing? Is a hole just a hole? Publisher/Editor Doug Kaufman takes a deeper dive.

Sourcing Engine Blocks

Production engine builders today want engine cores that match a very specific vehicle application. In many cases, they also want the tinware that goes with the engine because the oil pan, valve covers and timing cover are also year, make and model specific. That has changed the way core suppliers have to inventory their stock.

When Oil and Water Mix – The Marine Engine Market

For those unfamiliar with marine engines, there is a common misconception that these are highly unique devices. This simply isn’t the case. If you can rebuild an automobile engine, you can rebuild a marine engine. If you can build a solid, reliable drag or circle track engine, you can build, or rebuild, a marine performance engine. The key to success is understanding the subtle differences and being able to recognize the pitfalls.

Cleaning Engine Parts

Cleaning is a time consuming, expensive process for most rebuilders. According to Engine Builder’s most recent Machine Shop Market Profile, rebuilders say they spend more than 15 percent of their total production time in cleaning. Safer, less toxic methods continue to gain a foothold in today’s professional shops.

Engine Block and Head Repair

A cracked cylinder head or engine block may or may not be bad news depending on the size and location of the crack(s), the value of the casting and what it will take to fix the crack(s) versus what it would cost you to replace the casting. Read what your options are in this Larry Carley feature.

Shop Solutions February 2015

When I need to hone a harmonic balancer or anything else with a key slot, I use a common automotive body filler called Bondo, to fill it up and rough it close. The stones don’t catch on the edge of the slot, it does not clog the stones and it works quite well.

Shop Solutions – December 2014

In our shop, we don’t have a dyno or engine test stand. We work on a variety of engines from Chevys to Internationals to Continentals, so no engine start stand would suit everything we do. In an effort to find oil leaks, we have started to “smoke” our engines.

Internal Affairs – Diesel Crankshafts and Rods

Despite having similar appearances, a diesel crankshaft has some primary differences from its gasoline counterparts. A gasoline engine uses a spark to ignite the fuel. A diesel engine, operating at a much higher compression ratio, uses the heat produced by compression to ignite the fuel. Diesel engines typically have a longer stroke than the bore diameter, so to handle this load, diesel crankshafts are much larger physically.

Cracking Down on Block Fillers

In earlier articles, I mentioned filling dedicated, drag racing iron blocks to keep cylinders round and keep them from cracking. Many drag racers still practice that modification. Today, racers have the luxury of a low-cost block filler called Hard Blok, provided by Joel Bayless. Back in my early Pro Stock days, when I was racing

Delphi Announces 23 New Ignition Coils

Delphi Product & Service Solutions has announced the addition of 23 new ignition coils to its engine management product portfolio, covering more than 7.3 million vehicles, including Audi, Chevrolet, Dodge, Hyundai, Ford, Honda and Jeep applications from 1991 to 2013. Part numbers include: GN10234, GN10396, GN10397, GN10398, GN10415, GN10416, GN10417, GN10418, GN10420, GN10422, GN10425, GN10426,

Replacing Crankshafts, Connecting Rods and Bearings

The crankshaft, connecting rods and bearings are extremely important in every engine build, whether mild or wild, because they convert the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotational torque. The longer the stroke, the greater the leverage effect and the greater the torque output of the engine. There are three things that need to be

Don’t Gamble When Choosing Cylinder Heads

A cylinder head is much more than a casting that tops off the block, holds the valves and forms the combustion chambers. The head works in combination with the camshaft, induction and exhaust systems to determine how the engine breathes, the engine’s power curve and personality.  The “right” cylinder head on an engine will deliver

6.4L Magnum 392 Charity Engine Build Takes Shape

Dare to be different. That was the idea. And right out of the gate I was hit with skepticism. “Why are you doing that?” “What if you did this?” But my answer was always no, you’re going to read about that anywhere. Not that this is a bad thing, it just wasn’t what I wanted

King pMax Black™ Bearing Overlay is the Strongest in the Industry

King’s newly developed engine bearing measures 18.1 Vickers hardness compared to a 14 hardness or less found in competitors’ performance bearings. By Dr. Dmitri Kopeliovich, R & D manager, King Engine Bearings The design of internal combustion engines has been continuously modified. Engine output and efficiency have dramatically increased due to the great efforts of

NASCAR Racing Advice from MWR Via Twitter

Do you ever watch a NASCAR race and wish you could ask a racing expert a question? Is there something about the sport you’ve always wanted to know? Now’s your chance to get those answers. Throughout race weekends in 2014, Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) will collect questions hash-tagged #AskMWR on its @MWRteam Twitter handle. No.

Weighing in on Balancing Work

Whether you’re building a stock engine, a high-revving performance engine or a slow-turning diesel engine, you can’t overlook the importance of balance.  Every time the pistons in a reciprocating internal combustion engine change direction, they generate a force. That force is created by the reciprocating and rotating mass of the piston and rod assembly. If

Goodson Tools & Supplies Green Fluorescent Magnetic Powder

Goodson Tools & Supplies for Engine Builders has expanded its options for dry magnetic inspection with the addition of high-visibility green fluorescent magnetic powder. According to Chris Jensen, Goodson Tech Services, “Fluorescent crack detection powder has been around for years but what sets this powder apart from the others is how bright it is, even

Building Blocks: The Foundation of Any Engine Build

Every engine project starts with the block because the block is the foundation for everything else that follows. The block determines bore and stroke, camshaft and lifter location, oil pump location and oil galley configuration, what kind of main bearing caps can be used to support the crankshaft, and what kind of cylinder heads, oil

Dyno-Might: Utilizing a Dynamometer to ‘Boost’ Engine Builds

Some would say that one of the criteria for being a “real” performance engine builder is having your own engine dyno. A dynamometer is not just a tool for measuring horsepower and torque (though some people think that’s all a dyno is used for). It’s a quality control tool that allows you to make sure

Handling Stress Fractures

Salvaging Cracked or Flawed Engine Parts through Detection and Repairs Cracks are often blamed as the cause of a head failure. In many instances, the cracks are not the cause of the failure, but a symptom of another underlying problem such as overheating, detonation or incorrect installation (wrong torque on head bolts, dirty bolt threads,