Planning For Failure Can Save You When It Happens
It’s an old story. A customer brings in a rebuild job and you do your normal quality job. You dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s and walk away from the engine stand knowing you’ve done a good job. The customer pays and off he goes with his prize. You make the mortgage
What A Year It’s Been…What!? It’s Been A Year?
As I sit here pondering the many topics I could choose to write about for my last column of 2004, I’m suddenly struck by the unbelievable fact that it is December already! Of 2004! Where did 2003 go? What happened to April, for crying out loud? Of course, the holiday shopping days always seem to
Tractor Pulling: It’s Not Your Granddad’s John Deere Anymore
Tractor pulling has been with us for as long as there have been tractors. Farmers used to pull their horses, mules or oxen and, just as today, each bragged that he had the biggest and strongest. Today, at the top echelons of pulling, the technology is equal to anything else in motorsports. Although you won’t
The Angle On Valve Seats
Valve seats seem to be a fairly simple engine component but they play a critical role in sealing compression and cooling the valves. When a seat becomes worn, it may leak compression and allow the valve to run hotter than normal. The same thing can happen if the seat is out-of-round or has lost its
Big-Inch Cadillac’s
While some engines are relatively rare in machine shops, the big Cadillacs have remained a consistent source of income. These engines are Cadillac’s last big hurrah at traditional big-cube, flagship GM engines. Surprisingly, they are also a scaled-down version of a V-12 engine that made it through early production and road-testing before being scrapped as
Valves, Retainers & Springs
New materials, improved designs and lower prices (at least for some valves). That pretty much sums up what’s going on with valves, retainers and springs today. These are extremely important parts in every engine because of their impact on engine performance, durability and cost. Satisfying demand is the key. Rick Simko of Elgin Industries, Elgin,
Sprint Car Motors
While the World of Outlaws, the All Stars, and USAC are the most well known of the sprint car racing organizations in this country, there are nearly fifty organizations that sanction sprint car racing. In addition, that doesn’t take into account the racetracks throughout the country that have their own division of sprint cars. Although
Putting the ‘Power’ in Powersports
Performing rebuilds and other machine services on ATVs, personal watercraft (PWC) and snowmobile engines may provide your shop with a little added boost during a down period without having to retool your entire shop. However, to make the most of the opportunity, you should know what type of market you can serve best – ATV,
Did What Happen In Las Vegas Go Home With You?
Las Vegas is known in some circles as “Sin City,” yet this improbable outcropping of neon, skin and cash labored hard a few years ago to change its image. “Don’t worry,” the city winked to parents, “we’re different now – we’re the ‘family friendly’ vacation destination. C’mon out and bring the kids!” Well, Las Vegas
Pera’s Core Corner
In the quest to find the latest and greatest information about different casting identification, oddities and interchangeability to assist those within the engine remanufacturing or rebuilding industry, it is easy to lose sight of valuable information from the past. No, I am not talking about the ’50s and ’60s, although that may be an idea,
Core Corner
Whenever I see a new subdivision being built further out into the rural areas of larger cities, I think about the new owners, many of whom will be young married couples moving out of apartments or condos and finally getting to that place where they are ready to start a family. Once that baby booming
Spray Washer Maintenance Tips
In the 2003 Engine Builder Machine Shop Market Profile (Engine Builder, June 2003), shop owners said cleaning/disassembly were their most time consuming parts of the rebuild process. Survey respondents said that 13.8 percent of an average rebuild is spent in this area, down 2 percent from the previous year. In the same survey, 80 percent
As The Industry Changes, It Really Stays The Same
Think back to what you were doing 36 years ago this month. In the February 1968 issue of Automotive Rebuilder magazine, my predecessors were hinting that some of the new 1969 Dodges might be coming from the factory with turbine technology under the hood. Detroit was beginning to get nervous about a growing acceptance of
PERA’s Core Corner
During our research of the General Motors Gen III engine family we continued to run up against a stumbling block of exterior identification between the 4.8L and 5.3L engines. It seemed that no matter who we spoke with, be it core suppliers, wrecking yards, engineers or rebuilders, when asked how they differentiated between the 4.8L
The Constant of Change
Although "change" is a frightening word to many people, reasons Yamato Engine Specialists’ Asiff Dhanani, there’s simply no point in questioning it. Of all the "sure things" in business, the only certainty is that situations definitely change. Dhanani, incoming president of PERA explains that the change in this industry is not new. Things have been
Industry Events
April 18-27: New York Auto Show, New York, NY; 800-282-3336 or www.autoshowny.com. April 23-25: PERA Spring Marketing/Technical Seminars, Las Vegas, NV; 847-439-0491 or www.pera.org. April 24-26: AERA International Rebuilders Expo 2003, Las Vegas, NV; 847-541-6550 or www.aera.org. April 25-27: 2003 SEMA International Auto Salon, Los Angeles, CA; 909-396-0289 or www.sema.org. May 2-4: Carlisle Custom Compact
What should I tell my installers about GM coolant fill procedures with my rebuilts?
A.If you rebuild model year 2003 GM 4.8L, 5.3L or 6.0L VIN V, T and U truck engines, your customers may be unaware of new GM coolant fill procedures. The following is good information to duplicate and include with a rebuilt engine. Following this procedure will ensure that the engine coolant system has been filled
Compact Diesels – Not So Compact Profits!
"Compact" may not be the first thing you think of when you think of a diesel engine, but today more and more products are being powered by these types of engines. For most people when they hear the word "diesel" they think "big rig" or something that weighs as much as a small building. Though
Productivity Watchwords For Today’s Business World
Any company with a service department is selling labor. If you have a repair facility and work on cars or trucks, or have a machine shop providing machine work on engines or transmissions, you are selling labor. If you rebuild components for the engine or transmission, you are selling labor. In more accurate terms you
Where Should The Cam Bearing Oil Hole Be Located On A 3400 Series Cat Diesel?
A: The AERA Technical Committee offers the following information regarding cam bearing oil hole location for 3400 series Caterpillar diesel engines and installation of all cam bearings for these engines. This bulletin should be used, and service manuals published before 1985 should not be used. The correct location for the oil hole in the camshaft bearing