Shop Solutions December 2015
Despite what you may believe, there is a way to recondition the so-called “cracked” rods, or powdered metal connecting rods. I use a media made of coal slag that can be found at most home improvement stores.
Shop Solutions November 2015
When assembling an engine, one of the most overlooked items is the timing chain sprocket alignment. The upper and lower gears should be installed and alignment checked with a straight edge. I have seen them as far as .020˝ off.
Shop Solutions October 2015
Managing your scrap is an everyday chore. We all know aluminum pistons are worth more than aluminum mill waste, but by removing pins and rings they’re worth even more.
Shop Solutions September 2015
Several types of Honda heads have a rocker panel with a set of three rockers together. These rockers have pins that can easily fall out and be lost once the rocker panel is removed from the cylinder head. Before removing the panel, use a small wire to hold the three rockers together.
Shop Solutions August 2015
I found myself without a welder to use to remove a check ball staked into the end of an oil passage of a crankshaft. So I applied a different technique to remove it to clean the crank.
Shop Solutions July 2015
I made a quick and accurate piston ring aligner for checking end gaps out of a .030 over, 454 Chevy flat top piston. Just chuck the piston in a lathe and turn the ring lands down to a little under 4.000˝. The bottom of the oil ring land is about .950˝ from the top of the piston, and will align the ring in the block.
Shop Solutions June 2015
I recycle the thick plastic trays used to store and ship 1-liter soda bottles. They work really well for keeping piston and rod assemblies in order and protected from damage as you move them about the shop.
Shop Solutions April 2015
Hydraulic valve lifters are probably the most precision-machined part inside any engine. It does not take much to cause one to operate incorrectly. Here are some tips for fixing this problem, as well as some other helpful solutions to commonly seen shop scenarios.
Shop Solutions March 2015
Here’s a simple time saver for assembling high performance V8/V6 engines. When intake gasket port alignment is critical, use masking tape to hold the gasket in place on the head. You can then flip the gasket up to apply your sealer.
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 January 2015
When working with a ball-and-cup type pushrod from an application like a Ford or Chrysler product with adjustable shaft rockers, it is important to know the “effective” length when ordering custom length pushrods. In this case, the effective length is the length from the tip of the ball end to the bottom of the seat cup.
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.
