Heavy Duty Technology: Piston Failure Analysis
The air/fuel, coolant and oil systems and relationships between various engine operations and the cylinder liner temperatures are critical to maintaining proper operation of all cylinder components. A variety of conditions can cause excessive piston growth or melting, and each will cause varying results – including catastrophic engine failure. The correct air/fuel ratio balance of
A Kubota diesel engine for rebuild
Engine Builders: If you are considering a Kubota diesel engine for rebuild, the following specifications regarding compression pressures will be helpful. For your installer customers, this information will be useful in engine diagnosis. To obtain an accurate value of cranking compression, the engine should be operated until normal operating temperature is reached. If an engine
Porting For Performance The Science of Horsepower
Air flow makes horsepower. The more cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air that flows through the intake ports and into the combustion chambers, the more horsepower the engine makes. A larger carburetor or throttle body, bigger valves, a high-lift, long-duration camshaft, three-angle valve job and exhaust headers are all performance enhancements that increase airflow
Back to Basics: Oil Pumps
Every engine requires a certain amount of oil flow to keep the bearings, camshaft, valvetrain and other moving parts lubricated. Oil forms a barrier that prevents metal-to-metal contact and reduces friction and wear. In the bearings, it forms a wedge that actually lifts and supports the crankshaft and camshaft as they rotate. Oil also serves
Engine Sludge Origins
Fresh engine oil is a clear, free-flowing liquid blend of base stock and additives that contains no fuel, water, coolant, dirt, or other contaminants. When regular engine oil changes are neglected, normally free-flowing lubricating oil breaks down, becomes contaminated, ceases to flow, and is transformed into a thick soup of waste products. That’s when
Proposed Rule is Improvement But Still Not Perfect
Aftermarket parts and service providers, including rebuild-ers, are being increasingly stymied by their inability to obtain vital diagnostic and repair information about the vehicles or parts they are servicing. Whether the information is totally unavailable, provided only after much searching or inquiry or available but uneconomically priced, the effect is to deny the provider the
Rebuilding The Ford 3.8L Engine
They needed an economy engine that would fit in their new cars, and they needed it fast. They had a couple of old inline sixes and a small German V6, but none of them were designed for fuel economy or the coming emissions standards, and the 250 cid engine was so tall that it wouldn’t
Coretalk: September 2001
Ford Plans to Revamp Parts Distribution Network Ford Motor Co. is working to restructure and expand its United States parts distribution network to deliver service and repair parts to its dealers faster and more efficiently. Over the next three years, Ford plans to increase the number of parts distribution centers from 10 to 21, creating
Pushing Into High Performance Frontiers
Engine Technology is the Talk of the Town at SuperFlow
Little Engines, Big Money
For the rebuilding facility familiar with typical automotive or heavy-duty engines, the small displacement, four-cycle, air-cooled engine may seem insignificant. After all, these one-cylinder motors, which may produce just 5 hp, are found in lawn mowers, rototillers and kiddy go karts, for cryin’ out loud! Although the small four-cycle engines from Briggs & Stratton, Tecumseh,
Hot Heads, Head Work On Harley Davidson Engines Can Yield Good Profits
Porting these heads and increasing airflow and valve sizes does the trick For decades, Harley Davidson (HD) owners have sought increased power and performance for their machines. We have found over the years that porting the cylinder head and increasing the valve sizes and airflow not only adds horsepower but also increases torque and driveability.
Diagnosing Oil Pressure Problems
Every engine requires a certain amount of oil flow to keep the bearings, camshaft, valvetrain and other moving parts lubricated. Oil forms a barrier that prevents metal-to-metal contact and reduces friction and wear within the engine. In the bearings, it forms a wedge that actually lifts and supports the crankshaft and camshaft as they rotate.
Rebuilding the GM / Chevy 2.2L Engine
Unfortunately, this four cylinder, pushrod motor didn’t have nearly enough horsepower, so Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac all opted for the 1.8L SOHC Opel engine from Brazil for most of their “J” cars, and Chevy promptly made its new engine into a 2.0L/121 cid that delivered more power in 1983. The 2.0L was upgraded in 1987
Rebuilding the Chevrolet LT1 Engine
Compared to the 1991 Chevy 350 L98 with TPI, the LT1 made 20 percent more horsepower, got better fuel mileage, and had a much broader torque band with 90 percent of its peak torque available from just over 1,000 rpm all the way up to nearly 6,000 rpm. GM Powertrain accomplished all of this by
Rebuilding the Chevrolet LT1 Engine
Although it shared many common dimensions, looked much the same and even had a few common parts, it was totally redesigned to provide more power with lower emissions and better fuel economy. Compared to the 1991 Chevy 350 L98 with TPI, the LT1 made 20% more horsepower, got better fuel mileage, and had a
1999 Machine Shop Of The Year Award Winner: Metric Automotive Engineering Ltd
Each year, the staff at Automotive Rebuilder magazine recognizes one machine shop that displays business practices that go above and beyond the norm. This year, along with input from the Engine Rebuilders Association (AERA), we have selected Metric Automotive Engineering (Pty) Ltd., from Germiston South, Republic of South Africa. Metric was chosen from numerous entries
Crankshaft Grinding Wheels: Manual Dressing Of The Grinding Wheel Is An Important Factor
Manual dressing of the grinding wheel is an important factor in producing satisfactory work on your crankshaft grinder. The wheel must be dressed each time it is placed on the machine, even though it may not have been removed from the wheel center. Mount the wheel dresser on the grinder table. Bring the rotating grinding
Rebuilding The GM Quad 4
The Quad 4 had four valves per cylinder, tuned intake and exhaust manifolds, no distributor, no plug wires, lightweight rods and pistons to reduce shaking forces, and a crank with eight counterweights that was designed to reduce noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and bearing wear. It didn’t have an A.I.R. pump or an EGR system,
LPG Conversions: Renewed Interest In The Use Of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) And LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)
The recent move to clean up inner city exhaustemissions has resulted in renewed interest in the use of LPG (LiquefiedPetroleum Gas) and LNG (Liquefied Natural gas) as motor fuels.These fuels are almost pure propane with a little butane present. Tax incentives are being offered to encouragefleet operators to convert to gaseous fuels and more vehiclesare
Cleaning Equipment Maintenance
The saying, "An ounce of preventionis worth a pound of cure," definitely holds true when itcomes to the operation of cleaning equipment in rebuilding shops. According to David Zehren, product manager,stationary equipment for Georg Fischer Disa Goff, Inc., Seminole,OK, routine maintenance of cleaning equipment impacts all rebuilders,no matter how large or small. "The issue of