High-Tech Tightening
When you build your engines, you put measured thought into every component you use. From the intake system to the exhaust manifold, everything has its place and nothing is installed without careful consideration. But what about the fasteners? Some of the most critical components are held together with relatively low-cost fasteners including screws, nuts and bolts, and studs. No matter whether you’re building a restoration showpiece, a high horsepower street machine or a stump-pulling torque monster, the fasteners you use are more critical than you may believe.
How To Find And Fix Cracks
One of the essential elements of engine building is making sure heads, blocks, main bearing caps, crankshafts, connecting rods, pistons, cams, timing gears, rocker arms and flywheels are free from cracks. If you’re doing a complete engine build, checking the intake and exhaust manifolds for cracks is also a good idea – and that includes plastic intake manifolds as well as cast iron and aluminum.
Valves & Seats: There’s More Than Meets The Eye
The valves and seats in an internal combustion engine play a central role in engine breathing, compression, performance and longevity. It doesn’t matter if an engine has two, three, four or even five valves per cylinder or if the engine is gas or diesel because the valves all do the same thing: they open and close to allow air into the cylinders and exhaust to exit the cylinders.
Understanding How To Tune Carburetors
A good carburetor tune can make an engine, while a carburetor that’s mistuned can literally break an engine. A good tune means the engine should start and idle without stalling, and respond instantly when the pedal hits the metal. The carburetor will also deliver the optimum air/fuel ratio throughout the engine’s RPM range to achieve peak horsepower and torque.
Non-Invasive Methods To Remove Gaskets And Clean Surfaces
When removing old gaskets, there are two things to avoid. First, you want to avoid any of the material from entering the engine. Second, you do not want to damage the sealing surfaces. On modern engines with aluminum castings, a metal scrapper can do a lot of damage.
Timing Chain Replacement Diagnosis And Repair
Often maintenance neglect, head gasket replacement or related valvetrain issues will require the timing chain to be serviced. If you are replacing the timing chain, you need to look at all the related components. Keep reading for timing chain replacement best practices.
Head Gasket Repair And Diagnostics
Head gasket repair sits atop the Mount Rushmore of challenging repair jobs a technician may be faced with. Dealing with head gasket issues isn’t for the inexperienced tech. Although these jobs can bring a nice profit, the work can be complex and time-consuming. Here are some things every tech should know before tackling a head gasket repair job.
Detergents For Modern Vehicles
As a technician, it is hard to gauge a consumer’s gas-buying habits: Some owners may use a cell phone app to find the cheapest gas, while others habitually buy gas at one or two stations. No matter the type of customer, some in-tank fuel cleaners can help to alleviate fuel system and carbon buildup issues. Selling these fuel system cleaners in association with other maintenance services, like oil changes, is cheap insurance against cheap gas.
No-Start, No-Crank on Mazda6
In extremely cold weather (approximately -30° C), a customer may experience an engine no-start/no-crank condition due to a frozen main relay and/or fuel pump relay.
Diagnosing a Car’s Intermittent Stalling Issues
Causes, Solutions, and Diagnostic Steps to Troubleshoot Engine Stalling Issues.
