Green Strategies: Cleaning Techniques & Equipment
It may seem that there’s nothing natural about cleaning an engine. Even after the couple of hours of cleaning time, the engine might be cleaner than the tech working on it – but the engine still needs cleaned (and so does the cleaning crew from time to time). We are long from the days of
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: February 2013
5 Tips For a Manual Milling Machine Editor’s Note: A manual milling machine is typically at the heart of every machine shop. In the following, Jim Kovach gives some useful tips on how to get the most from your mill. 1. Always use a high-quality machinist’s square on the mill. You will be surprised how
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
The Best of Engine Builder Shop Solutions Presented by Engine Pro
We’ve narrowed the field to the top 20 Shop Solutions, and now we need your help selecting the Top 5. All you need to do is read the submissions listed below, pick you favorite and click through to vote, it’s that simple! The best part? By voting, you get a chance to win one of
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: September 2012
Editor’s Note: This coming October will mark the 5thanniversary for the Shop Solutions column, and to help Engine Pro celebrate, we’re putting plans into place to have a “Top Five from the Past Five” contest where you get to choose your favorite Shop Solution from the past five years. Send your favorite Shop Solution to
Rear Crankshaft Oil Leaks on 2005-2007 GM Atlas 4.2L Engines
Verify the leak by looking at the end of the crankshaft (Figure 1). If oil is present in the bore (where the torque converter nose engages the crankshaft), a specialservice procedure should be performed. If the bore is dry, or oil appears to befrom the seal area, perform normal oil leak analysis. A service cup
Cylinder Head Caution for Mercedes M112 and M113 Engines
Sealing surfaces of the crankcase and cylinder heads are provided withan 0.8 mm thick silicone layer (Loctite 5900) during standard factoryassembly. Silicone sealant should be applied during repair assemblyonly if sink holes exist in the sealing area. When cleaning sealing surfaces of the factory applied silicone sealant,during cylinder head reassembly, extreme care must be taken
Oil Leak By Crankshaft Seal on Porsche Boxter Engines
Models Affected: 97-’04 Boxter/Boxter S M96.23, M96.24 Engines Examination of engines that were the subject of complaints revealed other oil leaks in addition to those found in the crankshaft sealing ring on the flywheel side. These engine oil leak areas included: • Crankcase bolt threads • Intermediateshaft flange area. Since March 10, 2004, bolts with
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: May 2012
Why Engine Valves Break The following are some of the most common reasons why engine valves break. This information is courtesy of Basso S.A., a manufacturer of engine valves for original equipment and aftermarket customers. Break between valve head and stem: Cause: Repeated stress to valve stem Contributing Factors: - Weak springs -
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
HPBG: Engine Builder Fuel Injection Maintenance
The fuel system of a modern computer-controlled fuel injected engine is so reliable that it seems to be almost maintenance free, but these modern fuel injected engines have injectors that become flow restricted or “dirty” with use. This means that if you expect the engine you build to perform like it should, the fuel injectors
Making Dollars and Sense Cleaning Blocks, Heads
Unless you’re starting with all new parts, cleaning is as important to your engine build as disassembly, inspection, machining and reassembly. Without taking the cylinder heads and engine blocks down to bare metal, you can’t properly inspect the castings for cracks, wear and other defects. For something so important, proper cleaning technique is often misunderstood, overlooked
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: January 2012
Finding Better Ways to Clean Fasteners I work on all brands of American classic cars, and mostly rebuild their engines. Most of my clients desire the preservation of original parts as much as possible, especially exposed fasteners. Here are the ways I clean and detail head, pan, front cover, valve cover, intake and exhaust manifold
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: September 2011
Editors note: The first two Shop Solutions are responses to Larry Carley’s article “Cleaning Heads and Blocks” in the July 2011 issue of Engine Builder. Cleaning Vintage Mercedes Parts I enjoyed the July 2011 article “Cleaning Heads and Blocks” and wish to include a tech tip about the use of caustic cleaning on vintage Mercedes
Cleaning Cylinder Heads and Blocks
The cleaning process should remove all of the dirt, grease, oil, rust, scale and carbon deposits that have accumulated over the years. With painted castings, the old paint also has to be stripped away so the surface can be repainted. Even if you’re working with brand new castings, a final cleaning is still necessary after
Advances in Engine Component Surface Finishes
For their part, parts suppliers are often sympathetic to the concerns of engine builders. Alan Davis from Eagle Specialty explains: “There have been a lot of ‘snake oils’ and ‘voodoo’ in the past. Any results you can’t quantify by obvious results on the dyno or by other tests are risky at best.” Anyone who has
Additive Packages Play Key Role in Keeping an Engine Clean
Premium quality motor oilwill maintain its effectiveness over the life of the oil drain,allowing it to help in keeping the engine clean. Additivepackages are added to motor oil and play a key role in helping to keepan engine clean and protected from varnish and sludge, as well as wearfrom heat and acids. Additives can consist
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: November 2010
Cleaning Up Cam Bearings After Installation Once in a while you may get an engine block that has an imperfect or misaligned cam bore. Rather than taking the time to scrape the newly installed cam bearings to fit by hand I took old cam cores and made cutter cams. Verifying the cores are straight, I
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: August 2010
Head and Block Surface Prep Most cast iron V8 heads and/or blocks usually don’t require anything more than a good cleaning. They are not as likely to warp as straight-six or aluminum heads or blocks. But it is unusual to have all the old gasket material wash away in your hot tank. Minimal surface prep
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: June 2010
Cover the Deck When honing cylinders in an engine block use duct tape to cover the deck. Then take a sharp razor knife and carefully trim out the cylinder bores. Doing this as a pre-honing procedure helps keep honing oil out of the coolant passages and thread holes, which reduces loss of honing oil, and