Performance Piston Rings
When you’re building a performance engine, what kind of piston rings should you use? Rings run the gamut from cast iron to ductile iron to steel, with various dimensions, edge profiles and wear coatings. There are a lot of choices available and a lot of questions to answer. Some piston sets come with rings while
Butterfield, Bubba and Me
Okay, so saying?“I have to play golf when I’m at the PERA?Annual Convention” doesn’t sound like the toughest way to spend an afternoon. But when you’re A; not much of a golfer (me), B; teamed with some industry bigwigs (Peter Butterfield of LKQ, Ken Carter of MAHLE?Clevite and Robert?Yarbrough of Bishop International) and C; expected
Common Rail Injection: Understanding its Importance to Today
It seems that there have been some improvements in diesel injection technology that have allowed some “clean-up” work on the diesel exhaust system, and I think we all can appreciate the change. Even though some may feel the need to complain about the increased use of electronics and how the government is cracking down by
Getting Your Bearings
Engine bearings have a tough job to do for such a small component. They must support big loads on a thin film of oil (between .0001-.0004? thick) between themselves and the crankshaft journals to prevent metal-to-metal contact. One of the biggest causes of bearing failures is dirt and debris that enters into the oil pan
Takin
Back in the old days, the late ’90s, when the economy was strong and incomes were high, people had a lot more money to put toward their favorite hobby, which for many was a souped up car that could be driven on the street but maybe also a little on the track as well. Today,
Intake Manifold Cleaning Caution (#1)
If piston failure occurs in this engine, it is possible for broken pieces of piston to end up in the intake plenum. This is due to the design of the engine, which has tuned runners with the plenum located below the runners. The piston pieces may be ingested into the engine if they aren’t removed
Debunking the 10 X 10 Crankshaft Myth for Customers (#5)
First of all, in normal use or even high performance use, a used crankshaft will not “clean up” to standard specifications and will usually have to be ground to .010? undersize. The crankshaft has then remained 98+ percent as strong as new. The problem arises when “spinning” or “hammering” (knocking) a bearing. The crank will
Avoiding Flat Cam Syndrome (#6)
Along with the use of assembly lubes, break-in oils with ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyl Dithiosphate), and a lifter bore grooving tool our shop does this; on all flat tappet cam engines our shop has added one step before final assembly. With the block in a bare and clean state we’ll put in the two end cam
Cold Air Tool Cooling For Machining (#9)
Cold Air Guns use a small amount of filtered compressed air and vortex tube technology to produce sub-freezing air for numerous cooling applications. Without any moving parts to wear out, the internal vortex tube converts shop compressed air into a cold air stream, producing temperatures down to as low as -30 degrees F. Visit the
Piston-to-Valve Clearance (#11)
No problem, go buy yourself a Tootsie Roll, and after it sits in your pocket for 20 minutes or so it should be soft enough to use. John Allen Advanced Engine Machine Bakersfield, CA
Welding Cast Iron (#20)
Next, the crack must be fully “V” notched and ground smooth before welding can begin. I use a stick welder with a high nickel electrode, preferably with 85% nickel. This makes the weld softer and less likely to crack and easier to machine. When a high carbon electrode is used the high carbon content of
Longtime Babcox Media Executive Becky Babcox Passes Away
For many years, Becky was co-owner of Babcox Media (publisher of Engine Builder magazine), along with her brother, Bill Babcox. Together, they were the third generation of the Babcox family to run the company founded by their grandfather, Edward S. Babcox, in 1920. Becky retired from the company in 2006, after nearly 30 years in
DEI Names Steve Garrett New Art Director and Media Coordinator
Garrett, a professed bona fide “car guy” and performance enthusiast, has joined DEI to serve as a coordinator for all media and PR activities and to handle the company’s graphic design for collateral, print and online advertising, packaging and catalogs. A talented graphic design artist, he is the prior owner of Highline Advertising located in
International Remanufacturing Forum Scheduled for Shanghai
APRA has joined with Automechanika Shanghai as the co-organizers of this International Remanufacturing Foum that will be held just prior to Automechanika Shanghai on December 11-14, 2012. Gager stated, “APRA is pleased with the strong support of our Forum and the Remanufacturing Pavilion within the exposition by the Automechanika Shanghai Team. This is a win-win
Ten Head Bolt Installation Tips
The following are useful tips for technicians andengine specialists who spend any time sealing up engines. 1. Make sure all the head bolts are in perfect condition with clean,undamaged threads. Dirty or damaged threads can give false torquereadings as well as decrease a bolt’s clamping force by as much as 50%!Wire brush all bolt threads,
GM Cylinder Head Tightening Specification Clarification
Affects: 1993 Cadillac Allante, Sixty Special (FWD) 1993-96 Cadillac Fleetwood 1993-99 Cadillac DeVille, Eldorado, Seville 1994-99 Cadillac Concours 1995-99 Oldsmobile Aurora with 4.0 L or 4.6 L Engine (VINs C, Y, 9 – RPOs L47, LD8, L37) Cylinder Head Installation Torque specification and sequence for the cylinder head bolts (1-10) using a torque angle meter
BMW Oil Filter Head Leak
An O-ring with improved material quality (Viton) has been developedby BMW. The new repair kit (consisting of 1 Viton O-ring, 1 cover and 1snap ring) must be installed whenever an oil leak is detected comingfrom the control valve cover of the oil filter housing (seeillustration). This repair kit will eliminate the need to replace thecomplete
Driven Racing Oil to Host Technology Seminar at SEMA
Everyone knows that thinner oils make more power, but that usually comes at a price – engine durability. Looking ahead to 2017 and the increased CAFÉ (Corporate Fuel Economy Requirements), engine manufacturers are turning to emerging technologies to gain valuable drops of fuel economy. The use of coatings (dry film lubricants) and advanced synthetic base
MAHLE Clevite Inc. Introduces 65 New Part Numbers in September
The part numbers are available for a range of light vehicle and heavy duty applications. New part numbers are now available for the following products: Engine Camshaft Bearing Sets, Connecting Rod Bearings, Engine Crankshaft Main Bearing Sets and Thrust Washer Sets, Engine Pistons, Piston Ring Sets, Piston Pins and Piston Sleeve Assemblies, Piston Skirts,
Honing Different Coatings, Materials Webinar Set for Oct. 10
The PERA moderated event will be presented by Bob Dolder of Sunnen Products and cover a wide range of honing applications from NASCAR engines to street engines and everything in between. Other topics include – secrets for honing Nickasil, high nickel cast iron, compacted graphite blocks, the new aluminum Corvette block, Sulzer Metco coatings, bore