By Mike Mavrigian
An engine’s rotating assembly obviously includes the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons and pins, piston rings, rod bearings and main bearings (as well as damper and flywheel/flexplate in the case of externally-balanced setups). While many engine builders prefer to design their engines using specific components (brands and versions of components with which they’ve had [...]

By Lyle Haley
A major part of any re-organizing, expanding or setting up a new machine shop is planning the floor layout.
The KISS principal (Keep It Simple Stupid) should be taken seriously by about 95% of shops. Unless you have a large facility that can justify using some type of electronic drawing program, ¼” to the [...]

By Ray T. Bohacz
In every class of motor sport, engine power is increasing in impressive leaps.
Even small displacement engines now produce horsepower that only ten years ago was considered the realm of highly refined and exotic mills hundreds of cubic inches larger. And sizeable cubic inch power plants regularly produce over 1,000 horsepower in street [...]

By Dave Hagen

New GM Ecotec 2.5L powers Chevrolet Malibu’s quest for quietness
The 2013 Chevrolet Malibu’s new 2.5L engine with direct injection is expected to be one of the quietest and most refined in the segment. It will be available in the new Malibu this summer.
The 2.5L development team reduced noise intensity by 40-percent of the [...]

By Levon Pentecost and Cecil Stevens
There has never been a performance engine builder who isn’t constantly looking for extra horsepower. Until now, the dynamometer provided all performance data, but no longer. Combustion analysis (CAS) is now the ultimate measurement tool. While cylinder pressure measurement has been around for some time, it is only in the [...]

By Steve Schoeben
It’s the little things…
Oil galley plugs and how to attack them
Those darn balls, solid round plugs (iron/aluminum), and the old reliable threaded pipe plugs. Are they obstacles, or opportunities? Or just necessary little evils to reckon with, preventing comebacks.
Our approach to any head with oil galley plugs, regardless of style, is to first [...]

By Steve Edmondson
Additional income for your shop
We here at Republic Diesel have been using the thermal spray welding process for many years. I personally applied the coating for my first time in the mid 80’s and we haven’t slowed down yet. This process is something we do every day on a multitude of different components. [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
A brief discussion of materials and designs
Intake and exhaust valves are available today in a staggering range of choices. In this article, we attempt to clarify and explain the differences, in terms of materials, their performance aspects, an overview of valve coatings and to provide a broad reference in terms of valve selection.
STELLITE
Stellite [...]

By Ray T. Bohacz
The final frontier in engine testing
Some of the best competition valve train specialists to emerge in the past thirty years owes much of its supremacy to extensive developing and testing of its competition parts. The test machine is a SpinTron. Parts tested are principally roller tappets and rocker arms.
“Ten or twelve years [...]

By Ryan Hunter
Given the choices, why would one use a copper head gasket? Let’s dig into it because there are applications (perhaps more than you think) for which copper head gaskets are the best choice. To be sure, copper has been around for a while and with good reason. Let’s walk through some of the [...]

By Roger Schiradelly and Rick Diekman
The use of extremely low temperatures (cryogenic temperatures, which scientists define as below -244°F.) to boost the performance and service life of critical components is now commonplace in the racing industry and is becoming more and more prevalent in the manufacture of high quality components. What was once considered by [...]

By Keith Wilson
Big droplets of fuel cost you power
From the Editor: The internal aerodynamics of a four cycle engine intake tract are thought to be understood by many people. In reality, very few in the world understand it completely. Keith Wilson has proven himself as one who does understand. What follows is information from the man [...]

By LaVern Schumann, Jr.
Determining the proper centerline of a camshaft lobe to the existing centerline of the engine block lifter bore has never been easier when using a new tool developed by Schumann Sales and Service.
Cam manufacturers and engine builders all recognize the fact that the centerline of the cam lobe and the centerline of [...]

By Sam Logan
24 things you need to know
Nothing undermines the legitimacy of a connecting rod maker more than a deficient batch of rods. They agonize constantly about heat treatments, high revs, heavy pistons, heavy pins, the number of race laps between rebuilds, but probably most of all whether or not nitrous is being sprayed. It’s [...]

By Sanjai Keshavan
Engine builders and rebuilders, especially in low and medium volume flexible production environment, strive to at least match (or surpass) the OEM surface finish and size specifications when it comes to honing bores of various engine components such as cylinder block, liners, connecting rod, cam bore, crank bore, etc.
Given the higher volumes, OEM’s [...]

By Dr. Dmitri Kopeliovich
 
In my last article for Engine Professional, I examined the causes for engine bearing failure and the importance of selecting the right materials to achieve maximum bearing life, even under the harshest conditions.
In this article we will look at engine bearing tolerances in relationship to the entire engine bearing assembly. To achieve maximum [...]

By Steve Gettelfinger
 
Some of the basic differences between automotive engines and heavy-duty diesel engines are that they’re generally bigger, heavier and the individual components are much more expensive than their gasoline counterparts. That being said, the recovery option opportunity of these larger components is expanded because of their expense. Now, thinking outside of the box [...]

By Dwayne J. Dugas
B Series Cummins: Opportunity for All
The B series Cummins presents opportunity for all shops. Whether your shop works on automotive or large industrial diesel engines or falls somewhere in between, the B Series Cummins presents a good opportunity for any size shop. The B series has been used in many different applications, [...]

By Gary Reed
 
For the sake of this article, the term “light-duty” will apply to smaller diesel engines used in pickup trucks, AG equipment, and autos with engines made by GM, International, Cummins, Kubota, Yanmar, Volvo, Mercedes and many others (up to engines with bores starting at four inches in diameter). These small bore engines were [...]

By Pim van den Bergh
 
In today’s diesel engines, OEMs are forced to meet stricter emissions standards — balancing between premature guide wear due to low sulfur fuels (ULSD) and the need to tighten tolerances on valve-to-guide clearances. They push the limit by reducing the amount of oil a valve stem seal is allowed to pass [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
An overview of the diesel race engine scene
Today’s diesel engines aren’t, well, they aren’t your grand-daddy’s diesels. Today’s Dodge Cummins, GM’s Duramax and Ford’s Powerstrokes are able to pull some very impressive horsepower and torque numbers, both in stock form and with just a wee bit of aftermarket fiddling (air intake, exhaust and [...]

By Dr. Dmitri Kopeliovich
Avoiding Failure: The Proper Selection of Engine Bearing Materials
It is the coroner’s job to unearth the questions of how someone died, often in the hopes of helping those left behind. In my work with King Engine Bearings, I’m charged with the task of investigating engine bearings to discover the cause of their failure.
My [...]

By Joe Mondello
Get more power, torque and component longevity
Stress is a situation in everyone’s life and unless that stress is relieved, it may kill you. I have lost a lot of friends from stress-related illnesses and it can affect your engine in similar ways. The same is true with other components in a performance [...]

By Gary Reed
 
All automotive and diesel machine shops are faced with many different types of cracks and damage in cast iron and aluminum engine parts. Some are engine specific and some can be found in any engine, and some are results of mistakes in machining or assembly. As a professional casting repair company, we’ve seen [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
 
Playing with mini-engines is fun for owners of street & race bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles and PWCs (personal watercraft), and can be a profitable add-on service for the automotive engine builder. In this market, we’re dealing with both 2-stroke and 4-stroke single cylinder engines, as well as 4-stroke multi-cylinders (V-twins, etc.). Starting around 2002, [...]

By Mark Mahlburg
 
Seeing is Believing…
Have you ever been in the middle of something and said, “I wish I could just get in there and see it?”
Let’s face it. Engine building demands a keen eye for detail. But sometimes a “keen eye” isn’t humanly possible when we are dealing with today’s tolerances and performance demands. Fortunately, [...]

By Lyle Haley
 
When crankshaft grinders start getting old and not performing like they did when new there are some simple checks that most shops can make to figure out what is wrong. Since most crank grinders have chucks, we will concentrate on those machines.
(Grinders that only use centers can use the same procedures for “spindle [...]

By Troy Patterson
 
How many times have you rebuilt an engine for a car, truck or boat only to have the customer tell you: (with a high performance / race car) “I expected more” or my buddy’s car is faster”; (with a truck / tow vehicle) “the engine run’s good, but going up hills or towing [...]

By Joe Mondello
 
In this article, Joe Mondello is drawing from over 50 years of building performance engines.
Building a performance engine today is not easy! I’ve been in this business over 51 years and all of it has been in the high performance industry. It has been the best fifty-one of my seventy-four years on [...]

By Sanjai Keshavan and Chris Sauer
 
The main objective of going to a light metal crankcase include reducing weight, space, friction and oil consumption. Manufacturers of Al-Si alloys each have their own variations on the material, but are all based on a common premise; the piston ring travels on silicon particles which protrude above a base [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
 
CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) machining has opened new horizons for machining materials, with regard to prototyping, fabrication, manufacturing and modifications to existing components. In very simplistic terms, once a machining program has been written (instructions for the machine’s milling actions), chuck up the part to be machined, press a few buttons and stand [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
This term is routinely misused and misunderstood. The goal is to maximize performance and durability.
While seasoned engine builders understand what the term “blueprinting” means, chances are most of their customers don’t. Too many neophytes think that balancing and blueprinting go hand-in-hand (they blindly assume that if the crank has been balanced, that must mean [...]

By Duane Boes
 
The old saying “you will never have anything better if you don’t take care of what you have”has become more relevant than ever. The cost of doing business in today’s economy has made it difficult for even the best race teams to improve their programs. Any effort to help a customer understand what [...]

By Joe Mondello
Rocketing the 455 Oldsmobile Engine into the Future using
Today’s Gasoline & Oils

For this article I am drawing on the more than 50 years of experience dealing with automotive gas and oils with their ever-declining zinc and phosphate contents. This will show the effects on the high performance engine. I will also cover Ethanol as [...]

By Derek Churchwell
Building a V-Twin Pro-Stock Engine
Surely every engine builder at one time or another has wished they could design an engine and see it come to life. You know — here’s the rule book and a blank sheet of paper — let’s see what you come up with. Well, that’s exactly what happened to [...]

By David C. “Woody” Woodruff
“We’ve got a digital flow bench, we don’t  need no stinkin’  flow balls!”
Now before you get your knickers in a knot – you can keep your flow balls – for now! Just give me a chance to present another tool for your tool box and enlightenment!
Whenever I ask what you measure on a flow bench [...]

By Dimitri Elgin
 
The goal in rebuilding an engine is to return its performance and reliability to what it once had new. The goal in “building” an engine is to increase its power within the capabilities of that engine without unduly ruining its other performance factors — drivability, mileage, reliability, and perhaps smog-law compliance.
Building a performance [...]

By Michael Tomas
 
On any given sunshiny day, you will see many riding motorcycles. A love affair with V-twin motorcycles and particularly old American V-twins has created an almost cult-like following for some of old names like Harley-Davidson and Indian. Although Harley-Davidson survived over the years, others like Indian were not so fortunate. But there has [...]

By Harold Bettes
 
There are lots of folks out there doing machine work and turning wrenches and doing regular rebuilds everyday. However there are only a very few that take rusty iron and turn it into serious horsepower with old school efforts and skills.
VortecPro Performance Engines is located in Colorado Springs, CO and this small business [...]

By Dwayne Dugas
A license to steal
Compact diesel engines can be a very profitable part of the engine rebuilding market.  Many shops have been afraid to get into this segment of the market for many different reasons.  Many shops say they do not want to work on them because parts are too hard to acquire.  It has [...]

By Derek Churchwell
 
Monitoring the new unit registration information provided by R.L. Poke has revealed that over the past few years Harley-Davidson® has dominated the motorcycle sales industry in the U.S, on numerous occasions holding ten of the top ten new model sales in various regions of the country. Their FL touring models, in particular including [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
A look at static and dynamic cylinder bore shape issues.
Even with the best of intentions and preparation, an unavoidable degree of cylinder bore distortion is likely to occur under dynamic stress (heat and pressure). The challenge is to understand how these changes take place and to establish procedures that will attempt to minimize these [...]

By Joe Mondello
 
This article covers the proper way to port and polish Evo and Twin Cam 1998 to present cylinder heads with or without valve guides in place. My way to do a great valve job and maintain the 89% throat dimension for intake and exhaust ports will achieve the highest horsepower and torque numbers [...]

By Mike Mavrigian
Eliminating the fuel injection setup in favor of a good ‘ol carb
is easier than you may think.
Just because GM LS engines originally featured electronically controlled fuel injection, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with this setup. For many racers or street rodders who want to take advantage of LS engine performance but prefer a [...]

By Jim Miller
 
ROCKER ARM GEOMETRY seems to raise its head every now and then, and when it does, I rarely ever see it stated accurately. Too often a sound bite of only a small piece of information is taken out of context and then used as the Gospel, totally ignoring the other dynamics that revolve [...]

By Harold Bettes
 
Chassis dynamometers are very popular to run some quick tests for installed power and check out the chassis and drivetrain. They are quick to use but have some problems that should be made clear before you start down that direction. If you plan on testing a few sets of exhaust components or any [...]

By Joe Mondello
SMALL BLOCK VORTEC:
Ported power for performance and profit in today’s world
There are plenty of cast iron street heads to choose from but the Vortec is our best, least expensive way to get a good head that is readily available from many sources; new or used. Any GM dealer, car supplier, local junk yard, [...]

By Dave Hughes
Aluminum vs. Iron… which do you need?
To get an idea of which type of metal gives the best performance, we talked to Dave Hughes, a longtime AERA member in Washington, IL and the owner of Hughes Engines, Inc. Dave’s business started in 1969 as Hughes Engineering to build stock and super/stock cylinder heads [...]

By Dave Hagen
 
The Series 60 Detroit Diesel Corporation has proven to be more than a serious competitor in the diesel engine market for more than two decades. A few years ago the Series 60 heavy-duty diesel engine was recognized by Diesel Power Magazine as the number two ranked “Best Diesel Engine Ever” on a list [...]

By Keith Long
 
The use of propane injected diesel or the precisely controlled injection of propane into the air intake chamber of a diesel engine is one of the most viable and promising new technology advancements in recent history. This technology will provide the customer with a safe, emissions reducing, cost effective fuel system alternative. It is [...]

By Gary Reed
Bigger is Better…Profit!
For the sake of this article, the term “heavy-duty” will apply to large diesel truck engines like Cat, Mack, Cummins and Detroit Diesel (up to larger engines with bores to 8 inches in diameter.) These large bore engines are designed to be rebuilt and are valuable enough to warrant repairing even [...]

By Joe Mondello
 
Many still think gas engines are the only true performance package out there and that diesel engines are simply work horses. By definition, all performance engines (diesels included) are dynamically self-driven air pumps who’s power and torque are regulated by volume of air, velocity, swirl and stable fuel that is non turbulent in [...]

By Richard Tucker
What Should I Expect From Coating My Engine?
Internal engine and exhaust coatings are so widely depended on now that the questions, “Do coatings work?” or “Will it flake off?” are obsolete. Now people just want to know, “What should I realistically expect from coating my parts?” Swain Tech Coatings has always been the leader in [...]

By Dave Hagen, Mike Caruso and Steve Fox
 
Suggested Precautions for Remanufactured Engines
Engines that have been carefully remanufactured to precision standards will perform properly if certain steps are taken by the technician making the installation. The following is a list of causes for a remanufactured engine to fail early in service, and suggested procedures to prevent [...]

By Dave Emanuel
More proof that size matters
In the late 1960s, Detroit was at the center of the automotive universe. Horsepower was king, imports were a novelty that resided far outside the mainstream and the connection between race track and showroom was direct and vibrant, and not just for professional race teams. The race track adventures of [...]

By Kevin Gertgen
 
Personal computers are now common place in most engine building shops. They are used for CNC machining, Cad/Cam work, crank balancing, bookkeeping, etc. When your computer goes down or you are learning new software, nothing can be as frustrating. However, used for the proper application with the proper training, they are huge time [...]

By Bill Hancock
What to do with all the numbers?
The sheer amount and variety of numbers involved in dynamometer testing can be overwhelming for the casual user and, in some cases, even for the seasoned professional. We will attempt to take some of the mystery out of these numbers and see what they mean, but more importantly [...]

By Bill McKnight
 
Race engine bearings are called upon to handle stresses almost un-imaginable to the average person. Extreme high RPM, extreme operating conditions including high heat, cylinder pressures of 10,000 psi and higher and extremely thin oil viscosity are common. Add to this the fact you have a bearing size limited either by racing rules [...]

By George Barr
 
• Background: Application notes are provided on an application specific basis to provide background information as well as insight into the current state of the art in Carbon Raptor technology for each component.
• Application Note Subject: Carbon Raptor® as used on various parts of titanium valves.
• Customers and Applications: Nextel Cup, Nationwide, Truck, [...]

By Lake Speed Jr.
 
More has changed in oil than ZDDP content in the last 10 years. The levels of detergents have also increased, and both are contributing factors in the flat-tappet camshaft problems seen in the engine building industry over the last 4 to 5 years.
The oil additive Zinc Dialkyl Dithiophosphate (commonly referred to as [...]

By Dave Hagen, Mike Caruso and Steve Fox
Advanced engine performance tuning via camshaft design
In certain racing applications, a special firing order camshaft (SFO) can be used as a tuning aid, allowing the competition engine builder to further address combustion heat and crankshaft disturbance (harmonic) issues. In essence, the goal in changing firing order is to create [...]

By Gary Lewis, Dema Elgin and Rich Olivier
Why doesn’t the valve do what it’s supposed to do?

When building performance engines, we often ask a production engine to go well beyond where it was intended to go, both in output and in RPM. Since we did not design the engine, we are limited to selecting [...]

By John Goodman
Making a case for Rz
Surface finish has been discussed quite often in our industry so this isn’t going to be an article covering what you already know. Instead, we will be looking at machine tools you use to bore, hone, mill and grind with and surfaces they generate. Each tool or machine process [...]

By Ed Widder
Controlling surface roughness and waviness helps engine builders ensure leak-free gasketed joints
The history of engine development has seen a parallel progression of engine joint design and assembly techniques. The gaskets that seal these bolted joints have witnessed a similar evolution of technology that includes the gasket materials, designs, and even the engine component surfaces [...]

By John Goodman
 
Do all your measuring instruments agree with one another?
One would think so, but what does your shop have in place to ensure micrometers, dial bore gauges, dial and vernier calipers, setting fixtures, size standards, ID and OD specialty bore gauges and other measuring devices all agree on size?
A typical small engine machine shop has [...]

By Ken Barton
 
Micropolishing has evolved rapidly over the past 30 years and now is understood as a controlled metal removal, surface finishing process. Micropolishing has the ability to enhance bearing characteristics such as roundness, flatness, surface finish and reduced lobing, all of which improve the Micropolished product’s performance and durability.
Typical metal removal during micropolishing is [...]

By Dave Metchkoff
 
I’m not an engineer nor do I play one on TV. I didn’t get a college degree on surface bore finishing. Nor did I attend an engine building class on that task. I have an education most engineers are unable to boast – that of experience. Growing up in our family business, L.A.SLEEVE, [...]

By John Goodman
 
The best way to approach the subject of optimal cylinder wall surface is to understand some of the basics:
1. We attempt to seal compression and suction with piston rings
2. Ring, piston and cylinder wall design and material play a big role in how and what type of surface you generate
3. The conditions under which you race [...]

By John Havel
 
Crankshaft surface finish and shape are key factors affecting the performance of all bearings. Crankshaft journal surfaces should be ground and polished to a surface finish of 15 micro inches roughness average Ra or better. Journals on highly loaded crankshafts such as diesel engines or high performance racing engines require a finish of [...]

By Keith Jones
 
What I want to talk about in this article is the importance of a proper cross hatch angle and a good plateau finish in cylinder bores. I will also mention cylinder finish numbers.
The honed cylinder bore cross hatch angle determines ring rotation speed and its ability to promote proper oil migration up and [...]

By John Stewart
Why diesels are good business
Anywhere loads are to be moved or work is to be done, heavy duty engines are there. Generally, these are diesel engines, which are efficient in situations where loads are heavy and steady engine speeds are the norm. These include agricultural pumps, marine propulsion, buses and shuttles, over the [...]

By Mike Osenga
 
January 1, 2010 will be a watershed day for the North America on-highway truck engine business. It is rare enough when a single major change impacts an industry in a given year. In 2010 the truck engine business will deal with at least three fundamental and historic happenings.
Overriding everything these days, of course, [...]

By Lynn Livermore
 
Every engine — gas or diesel — has a harmonic damper on the front of the crankshaft and while many owner/ operators and mechanics don’t give the damper much thought, all engines depend on the damper to reduce the destructive effects of the harmonic vibrations in the rotating crankshaft assembly. Quite often, service [...]

By Steve Fox with contributions from B.D. Diesel Performance
 
Turbocharger Wastegates
Will turbine pressure increase or decrease compared to compressor pressure when the wastegate is opened?
Turbocharger waste gates are one of the most essential, yet misunderstood, aspects of turbocharger performance. Too often, enthusiasts make adjustments to the waste gate without really knowing why they’re doing it, or what [...]

Endless opportunities for profit in
flathead, marine, ag and vintage engine work
British and Other Vintage Engine Restorations
By John Goodman
My first venture into British motor vehicles was with the purchase of a brand new 1968 650cc Triumph motorcycle. The dealer I bought it from was awaiting his stock order from England so I had time to kill before taking [...]

By Jay K. Miller
An expanding market that’s yours for the taking
The turbocharger service market in North America has historically been dominated by the diesel service industry. While the 1980s showed some promise of potential from the automotive service sector, it was relatively short lived. We have typically characterized the majority of what’s been called the [...]

By Randy Neal
Dear Mr. Little,
Excuse me; we know each other better than that;
Dear Chicken,
Despite all of the “Breaking News Alerts” bombarding you every day, the sky is not falling. Yes, the stock market is unstable but unless you own a lot of stock — so what! And yes, the housing market values are declining, but [...]

By John Goodman
A primer on some of the more common specialty coatings and cylinder materials found in small displacement engines
This issue of Engine Professional is dedicated to specialty engines and niche marketing opportunities. Part of that market involves small displacement engines of all types and configurations. Past experience with these small bore engines has demonstrated a [...]

By Dave Metchkoff
Business is not healthy enough for pride and prejudice. The theory of “we only work on Fords, Chevys, automotive/race motors here” will only ensure the closing business hours from late evening to late lunch. Perhaps that strategy will even result in the closing of business altogether.
To add diversity to your business model is [...]

By Dave Hagen, Mike Caruso and Steve Fox
What’s the big deal about  marine engines and why don’t you rebuild them?
Recently, while talking with an AERA member, he mentioned rebuilding marine engines in 1998 and at that time the learning curve was straight up! He was absolutely correct with that statement. We had a good laugh because [...]

By Dave Emanuel
Thirty odd years ago, the handwriting appeared on the wall for the first time. After decades of abundant and cheap oil, an “Energy Crisis” arose. Actual supplies of both crude oil and refined products were never really in question—availability was the issue. For the next few years, oil shortages came and went, prices [...]

As the U.S. looks to decrease its dependence on foreign oil and curb environmental degradation, cleaner-burning gasoline alternatives are getting attention. This article covers some common alternative fuel options and what they mean for engine builders.
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

By Dave Hagen, Steve Fox and Mike Caruso with Rob Munro and Jay Ryan
A great [...]

By Dave Hagen, Mike Caruso and Steve Fox
With current high gas prices and the increased availablity of flexible fuel vehicles and fueling stations, ethanol is now the most widely used alternative to gasoline.
2008 Model Flexible Fuel Vehicles Announced
The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) is very pleased to announce that 31 models of motor vehicles will be [...]

By Jim Rickoff
Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles are currently under production by virtually every major automaker around the world… Is hydrogen our fuel of the future?
Writing an article like this one takes some patience and thought about how deep to go into details specifically on the fuel and where to start with background information. Well, I guess a [...]

By Bob Greenwood
Truly a development process…not a quick seminar or sales course
Let’s clearly acknowledge the facts; we are experiencing challenges like no other era ever seen before in our industry.  Many engine builders are very nervous about their future and whether they will actually have a business to sell down the road; a business where [...]

By Dave Emanuel
Cylinder bore-specific procedures assure optimum performance from a rebuilt engine
Back in the day, when an engine needed to be honed—you honed it. If you were a do-it-yourselfer, you broke out your trusty handheld drill, clamped the chuck down on a ball-type hone and proceeded to “break the glaze” or “refinish the cylinder bores”. If [...]

By David Chobany
A review of OEM honing considerations as they relate to the engine remanufacturing industry
This article will describe typical plateau honing processes used by large original equipment (OE) manufacturers of diesel engines. Included will be the machine methodologies as well as the hone tooling, abrasives, gauging and coolant considerations and their effect on bore size, [...]

By Tim Meara
Mercury Marine, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes Benz and other engine manufacturers use a special aluminum alloy cylinder material filled with very hard, glass-like particles. You need to know the do’s and don’ts when honing this alloy.
Background
Alusil®, Lokasil®, Silitec®, DiASil, Mercosil, ALBOND® — it sounds like a foreign language, but these are all trade names or [...]

By Bob Greenwood
Having bank financing problems? Know the rules of the game!
Engine builders from coast to coast have experienced problems with financing their business from the traditional banks. They truly feel they have been blackballed from obtaining proper and fair financing from their banking institution. Many also have been forced to over secure what loans [...]

By Dave Hagen, Mike Caruso and Steve Fox
Gasoline engine oils with reduced anti-scuffing additive packages are found to be the main cause of flat tappet camshaft failures
AERA is providing you with this information just in case you have not heard about problems with flat tappet camshaft failures caused by gasoline engine oils.
The problem started years ago when oil companies reduced the anti-scuffing [...]

By Dave Emanuel
Camshaft lobes have been disappearing faster than a politician’s promise, and engine builders have been wondering why. Has the “hanging chad” reared its ugly face again?
Whenever conversation rolls around to the “secrets” of building high performance engines, someone invariably notes that he would like to have been “a fly on the wall” at [...]

By Randy Neal
Unleashing horsepower is the name of the game!
Everyone knows that the camshaft is a precision-made component that is machined to exacting tolerances and its primary function is to open and close intake and exhaust valves. We also know that camshaft manufacturers have engineers whose sole mission is to design lobe profiles that enhance the flow of [...]

By Gary Lewis
Proper selection of a camshaft has never been easy. You need to know what you want in the way of performance and what you’re ready to give up in the way of compromises…
In camshaft selection, there are always compromises. For racing, power is the objective and there is little concern with idle quality or low [...]

By Bob Greenwood
Many machine shop owners throughout the country have reached the fork in the road that is forcing them to make a very important decision, yet, it seems 80% of them are “stunned” and want to ignore, or not acknowledge, this most important time in their life.
“Who do I want to be, a full-time [...]