Engine Builder, September 2013

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>Future of Engine Building

>Rocker Arm Requirements

SERVING ENGINE BUILDERS & REBUILDERS SINCE 1964 2013 SEPTEMBER

EngineBuilderMag.com

>Injector Issues

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Contents 09.13

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Features

ON THE COVER

Comparing Cummins

Performance Rockers

Technical Editor Larry Carley discusses rocker arm selection and the technology behind these critically important components from rocker ratios to materials. Whether it’s for performance or race, shaft mounted or stud mounted, your customers want the most for their money ..........................24

In 1989, Dodge made a bold move to the automotive market by offering the Cummins diesel for its mid-size truck line. Now, almost 25 years later, the Dodge midsize truck with a Cummins diesel still holds an awesome reputation for efficiency, reliability and dependability.

Contributing Editor Bob McDonald uncovers the differences and similarities between the old workhorse 5.9L and its 6.7L replacement ..........................................48

48 24 Future of Engine Building

In this issue we address the all-important topic of “The Future” and where the industry is headed in the next five to 10 years or more. Topics in this special section include perspectives from industry associations; a look at future engine machining technology; and how much will future power generation/alternative fuels come into play for in the years ahead and will they displace the internal combustion engine in the next 10-20 years ............................................34

34

Columns

Diesel Dialogue ............................20

By Contributing Editor Bob McDonald Fixing What Feuls Ford’s 7.3L Power Stroke Engine

Fast Lane......................................54

By Contributing Editor “Animal Jim” Feurer Recognizing its the Little Things That Help You Win

Tales From the WD........................60

By Contributing Editor Dave Sutton Star Date 2025 Coming Closer to Reality

SEMA/PRI Product Preview Two of the biggest, most important shows for engine builders take place in the last quarter of the year at SEMA (November 5-8, 2013, Las Vegas Convention Center) and and Performance Racing Industry Show (PRI) respectively. This year marks the return of PRI to Indianapolis from its location in the southern part of the country in Orlando. In this section, we showcase products from both shows ..................................64

64 COVER DESIGN BY NICHOLE ANDERSON

DEPARTMENTS Industry News......................................................8 Events ..................................................................6 Shop Solutions ....................................................16 Corporate/Product Spotlights ..............................66 Cores/Classifieds/Ad Index ..................................78 On The Web..........................................................80 ENGINE BUILDER founded Oct. 1964 Copyright 2013 Babcox Media Inc.

ENGINE BUILDER (ISSN 1535-041X) (September 2013, Volume 49, Number 09): Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Periodical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ENGINE BUILDER, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333.

A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to individuals who meet the qualification requirements. Call (330) 670-1234, Ext. 275, to speak to a subscription services representative or FAX us at (330) 670-5335. Paid Subscriptions are available for non-qualified subscribers at the following rates: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada: $89 for one year.

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Events

Industry Events September 27 AERA Tech & Skills Regional Conference Hosted by Rottler Manufacturing Kent, WA www.aera.org or 888-326-2372

October 2 MERA Remanufacturing and Sustainability Conference Troy, MI www.mera.org or 248-750-1280

October 16-20 AIM Expo (Motorcycle & Powersports Show) Orlando, FL www.aimexpousa.com or 855-MCSHOWS

October 26-28 EFI University Hosted by Majestic Motorsports Hubert, NC www.efi101.com or 866-316-7744

November 5-7

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AAPEX Show Las Vegas, NV www.aapexshow.com or 708-226-1300

November 5-8 SEMA Show Las Vegas, NV www.semashow.com or 702-450-7662

November 15-17 Goodguys 16th Southwest Nationals Scottsdale, AZ www.good-guys.com or 925-838-9876

December 9-11 24th Annual Advanced Engineering Technology Conference (AETC) Indianapolis, IN www.aetconline.com or 866-893-2382

December 12-14 PRI Trade Show Indianapolis, IN www.performanceracing.com or 949-499-5413

For more industry events, visit our website at

www.enginebuildermag.com or subscribe to

www.aftermarketnews.com.

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Industry News

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Oliver Racing Parts Moves to Larger Facility in Michigan Oliver Racing Parts, manufacturers of high-performance connecting rods for motorsports applications, is moving its operations and manufacturing to a more modern facility in Charlevoix, MI.

The relocation will take place in three phases and is expected to be complete by the first week of October.

The move will allow Oliver an opportunity to upgrade its manufacturing and packaging equipment in a new facility, moves that will enable Oliver to continue expanding their line of high-performance products.

“The opportunity to move

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Oliver Racing Parts into a more modern facility allows us to upgrade the company and our products in multiple ways, while staying in Michigan,” says Joseph A. Moch, president and CEO of Oliver Racing Parts. Moch also says the proximity to other automotive companies was a factor (in selecting Charlevoix).

Oliver Racing Parts (www.oliverracingparts.com) will now be located in a 70,000 sq. ft. facility at 5339 N. M-66 North in Charlevoix.

Effective October 1, the company’s new telephone number will be (231) 237-4515.

as a technology demonstrator and a marketing platform. The project advanced from a clean sheet design to running prototype in 12 months.

The 1.2L 3-cylinder engine program continued with development of intake, exhaust and boost systems through 2009, resulting in multiple technical publications and presentations at automotive conferences. The engine has also been used by MPT and some of its partners for research projects developing further advanced powertrain technologies.

MAHLE Continues Research on Powertrain Downsize Project In 2006, MAHLE Powertrain (www.mahle-powertrain.com) and its parent company MAHLE started the development of an inhouse designed downsizing engine. The sole purpose of this was

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In 2010, two engines were installed in demonstrator vehicles utilizing a custom single turbo

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Industry News boosting system developed by Bosch-MAHLE Turbo Systems and calibrated for driveability, emissions and fuel economy optimization.

Significant technical features of this vehicle include: Through bolted block design for weight optimization and minimized bore distortion, thereby enabling the use of a low tension ring pack for further friction reduction; an in-vehicle 30 Bar BMEP operation compared to 21-23 Bar for current OEM downsize product offerings; a split cooling system to lower cylinder head temperatures and support increased range of lambda 1 closed loop operation; and an electric water pump for faster warm up and lower parasitic loss.

According to its engineers, the Downsized Demonstrator Vehicle Project has been a great success and will now continue its development within MAHLE Powertrain to push the boundaries of downsized boosted powertrains even further.

Read more on the engine program at: http://bit.ly/1dLdoBv.

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ContiTech Says Timing Belts Drive Modern European Engine Designs According to the independent engineering services provider FEV GmbH, a belt drive ensures lower fuel consumption than a chain drive and, as a result, cuts CO2 emissions.

In a 1.6L gasoline engine, for example, a belt drive reduces fuel consumption by more than one percent and saves up to 1.5 grams CO2 per kilometer.

Timing belts are also lighter and run considerably more quietly. In addition, belts rarely stretch. This is a key advantage, since timing changes when the chain becomes longer. As a result, consumption rises and performance decreases.

Emission limits are thus quickly exceeded.

“In terms of improving fuel efficiency and cutting CO2 emissions from internal combustion engines, belts offer significant advantages over chains,” says Markus Pirsch, head of the automotive aftermarket

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marketing service in the ContiTech Power Transmission Group. “Their importance will continue to grow in the aftermarket, too.”

According to Pirsch, many major automakers in Europe are now enjoying the benefits of timing belts in their engines. “The EcoBoost, Ford’s engine of the year, runs with belts, and timing belts can be found at Volkswagen and PSA as well,” says Pirsch.

“In light of the rapid pace of technological development, it is all the more important for shops to have the right products and the necessary know-how at hand.”

For more information, visit: www.contitech.de.

Down the Road: Nissan Titan to Get New Cummins V8 Turbo Diesel At the kickoff of Nissan 360, an industry showcase of Nissan’s global product and technology portfolio, the company announced it will offer a newly-developed Cummins V8

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Industry News turbo diesel in its next-generation full-size pickup.

Now in the latter stages of development and testing, the available Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel engine has been optimized for the next-generation Titan as a result of the partnership between Cummins and Nissan. Cummins also is developing a version of the engine for its commercial vehicle customers.

With a torque rating in the mid-

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500s (lb-ft) and more than 300 horsepower, the Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel will provide light truck customers the combination of towing capacity and mileage that is expected in the highly-competitive North American truck marketplace.

The Cummins 5.0L V8 Turbo Diesel will be built in America's manufacturing heartland at the Columbus Engine Plant, in Columbus, IN, Cummins headquarters.

For competitive reasons, Nissan is not announcing launch dates at this stage in the truck's development, however engineering prototype trucks powered by the Cummins engine are currently undergoing extensive on-public-highway performance and durability testing.

More information on the upcoming Titan truck and Cummins engine will be released at a later date.

MSD Performance Initiates Voluntary Chapter 11 Restructuring Process MSD Performance, Inc. (MSDP) announced recently that to address liquidity needs and facilitate a restructuring, the company and its U.S. subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware under Chapter 11.

The company restructured its debt in 2009 following the financial downturn, as well as a series of acquisitions by prior management, which burdened it with excessive debt. Since that time, MSDP has reduced operating costs, introduced award-winning products and accelerated marketing initiatives. The decision to file under Chapter 11 is necessary to facilitate this transaction, which positions MSDP to take advantage of emerging growth opportunities.

For more on the restructuring, visit: http://bit.ly/185FQEZt. â–

Make Sure Your News Gets Heard!

Have industry news to share? Email it to Doug Kaufman at dkaufman@babcox.com Circle 12 for more information 12 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

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Cylinder Sleeve Flange Failures May Go Unnoticed Cylinder sleeve flange failures may go unnoticed if the sleeve body stays in position, but if it is pulled down the cylinder, the result can be catastrophic. Cylinder sleeves are usually made from centrifugally cast iron, which makes for good wear resistance, but they can be fractured if dropped or crushed. This usually appears as a crack running down the length of the liner.

Cracks which follow the underside of the flange are caused when fitting the sleeve to the cylinder block, or when installing the cylinder head. With care, these cracks can be avoided. Cracks that start under a sleeve flange are caused by twisting of the flange and the sleeve being pulled apart. The following are causes of and ways to avoid this type of failure.

When installing a sleeve: • If a press is used to push the sleeve into position, a rigid plate must be placed between the press and the sleeve. If the plate bows, a bursting stress will be imposed on the cylinder sleeve.

• Care must be taken to ensure that excessive pressure is not used.

This could shear off part of the sleeve flange once it has been pushed fully home into its recess.

• Be certain that the cylinder block counter bore is even, uniform in depth and parallel to the top surface of the block.

• Be certain the counter bore seat is not worn at the inner edge. If worn, it will cause the seat to tilt downward and possibly crack.

• Be certain there is not an unequal protrusion of flange height in relation to the top of the block.

When installing cylinder heads: • Always use the correct torquing sequence. An improper sequence can result in failure.

• Do not tighten head bolts more than what is recommended. Excessive tightening can result in failure.

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should be lubricated, but not the sleeve. Otherwise, the lubricant will be scraped off the sleeve as it is pushed home. The lubricant will accumulate in the block recess and prevent the flange from seating. In time, the lubricant will dissipate and leave the flange unsupported and vulnerable to fracture. When correctly installed, a cylinder sleeve becomes an integral part of the cylinder block and can only be removed intentionally or by a severe engine malfunction.

Scott York Advantage Engine Parts Lynn, IN

Making Non-Hydraulic Lash Adjustments Quick, Easy On DOHC cylinder heads that have solid or shim lash adjusters, you can speed up your adjustments by scribing each valve with a number and numbering the corresponding cup.

Grinding the valve, cutting the tip and cutting the valve seat sometimes cancel each other out. Even if they don’t, you will be very close to correct adjustments just by keeping them in order. I use fishing boxes to organize the cups until I’m ready to clean and reinstall them.

Jeffrey Myers MAR Automotive, Inc. Philadephia, PA

Save Those Old, Failed Parts I suggest keeping a few examples of failed parts around your machine shop so you can show a customer first hand what happens in his engine. Below is a photo of a failed lifter, a prime example and perfect chance to teach your customers the importance of break-in oils and procedures. Some other failed parts that

would be valuable to hold on to and show customers are pistons with preignition problems.

Kevin Elam Kevin’s Liberty Auto Machine Shop Liberty, MO

Fertilizer Spreader and Kitty Litter: Perfect Match When spreading absorbent or kitty litter around your shop, pick up a hand held fertilizer spreader and keep it filled and ready. When you have a spill, just grab the spreader, give it a couple of quick spins and the problem is taken care of.

Paul Wampler Engine & Performance Warehouse Denver, CO

A Spectacular Method of Removing Broken or Seized Bolts I use a direct method to remove broken and seized bolts or studs in iron or steel; a cutting torch applied directly to the stub-end. Once the stub is glowing bright red, I hit the oxygen lever and a fountain of steel erupts from the hole. Be certain to wear protective clothing!

Strangely, the female threads in the part are never damaged by this treatment. A clean up of the hole with a thread chasing tap restores the part to near-new condition without the risk of drilling off center or oversizing. This may be because there is always an air gap between even a seized bolt and whatever it is threaded in to. The air gap must insulate the female threads.

This method works particularly well on blind holes with broken exhaust manifold studs in cylinder heads or manifolds, and broken motor mount bolts in blocks.

Jack DeRyke (via email) FACTOID OF THE MONTH

Soybeans and Automobiles: From Henry Ford to Biodiesel In the ’30s and early ’40s Henry Ford was determined to make bodies and other car parts from soybean phenolic resin. By 1935 he was already growing

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12,000 acres of soybeans.

He planned to use one million bushels of soybeans per year for various automotive parts and liquids.

To prove his point, in 1941 he held a press conference where he slammed a fire axe into the body of a Ford made of soybeans, causing no apparent damage. He then rewarded the press corps with a soybean lunch, including soybean soup, soybean steak, soybean coffee, soybean milk and apple pie with a crust made from soybeans.

So what happened to Henry Ford’s soybean plans? By the time World War II was over, Henry Ford was losing control of the business, and his soybean plans were forgotten.

Today, soybeans are being used to produce biodiesel, which according to studies done by the University of Minnesota and St. Olafs College, is much more efficient to produce than corn based ethanol. The studies found that ethanol generates only 25% more energy than required for its production, where biodiesel generates 93% more energy.

One small problem. According to a study by the National Academy of Sciences, if all American corn and soybean production were dedicated to biofuels, they would only satisfy 12% of gasoline and 6% of diesel demand. ■

Shop Solutions – The Power of Knowledge Engine Builder and Engine Pro present Shop Solutions in each issue of Engine Builder Magazine and at enginebuildermag.com.

The feature is intended to provide machine shop owners and engine technicians the opportunity to share their knowledge to benefit the entire industry and their own shops.

Those who submit Shop Solutions that are published are awarded a prepaid $100 Visa gift card.

Engine Pro is a nationwide network of distributors that warehouse a full line of internal engine components for domestic and import passenger car, light truck, heavy duty, industrial, marine, agricultural and performance applications.

They also produce engine parts under the Engine Pro name that offer premium features at an affordable price.

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Diesel Dialogue

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7.3L Power Stroke Injector Diagnosis Fixing What Fuels Ford’s Diesel Workhorse

D

iesel engines have always has suffered from a major mechanibeen noted for their great cal failure, so they are very durable. torque, fuel efficiency and As many of these 7.3L engines longevity. Owners of diesel poware still in service somewhere ered vehicles often appreciate the around the 300,000 and 400,000 term of service their engine can mile range, I have noticed some endure before any mechanical unique injector failures. The 7.3L problems present themselves.

Power Stroke gets its name from Of course, we are talking about the fact that high-pressure oil is diesel engines that are worth menwhat pressurizes the injectior. This tioning in this article. We all know form of injection is a trademark of of a few diesel engines out there the Caterpillar Corporation, and is that have had their share of failknown as a HEUI (Hydraulic Elecures, but I am not going to bring tronic Unit Injector). It was develany skeletons out of the closet this oped by Caterpillar for the use on time. Maybe next time. its 3126 engine. The format of the One diesel engine that has been injection process is simple, the enin service since 1994 that would be gine utilizes a HPOP (High Presworth mentioning is the 7.3L sure Oil Pump), which takes oil Power Stroke. These engines put supplied from the crankcase and Ford on the map as the pressurizes power plant that has it and then The major reason as to why the proven itself as an effi7.3L Powerstroke injector fails is due to the fact that the electric coil cient workhorse. These on top of the injector becomes engines have truly weak. gone the extra mile by offering great durability with very few issues that may lead to a breakdown.

These 7.3L engines are still sought after, even though in the past ten years more efficient engines have taken their place. Keep in mind, however, that these engines still require servicing, just like every other engine does.

Some of the common service items for these engines are from wear and tear of components such as high-pressure oil pumps, camshaft position sensors, injector driver modules and, occasionally, an injector. I know of only a handful of instances where this engine

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CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Robert McDonald rmcdonald@enginebuildermag.com

delivers it to the cylinder head where it surrounds the injector.

The high-pressure oil will surround the injector and not enter until it is commanded to by the PCM. The PCM sends a command to the IDM (Injector Driver Module) to open the injector when the appropriate cylinder is ready to fire based on the timing events picked up by the camshaft position sensor.

The IDM is more or less a type of transformer that is used to open the injector. The voltage needed to open the injector is 48 volts, but only using about 3 amps. So, the IDM provides the 48 volts to the injector when commanded by the PCM. When the injector is commanded to open, the coil on top of the injector is energized and opens up the

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Diesel Dialogue

inlet for the high-pressure oil that Getting Buzzed One test that can be performed with surrounds the injector before entera scan tool is known as an “injector ing the injector body. The high-presbuzz test.” This test will buzz or sure oil pushes on an intensifier cycle the electric coil of each injector piston, which is seven times greater to determine if the coil is still strong. than the plunger.

Fuel enters at the base of the injec- The “buzzing” of the injector is usually an audible sound that can easily tor and waits to be compressed by be heard. A weak coil can be detected the plunger through the tip of the inbecause it will most likely buzz very jector known as a nozzle. At idle, the little comparatively. The “buzz” test oil pressure from the HPOP is performed by the scan tool will genaround 500 psi and 3,000 psi at wide open throttle.

If you do the math, the fuel pressure coming out of the tip of the nozzle at idle should be 500 x 7= 3,500 psi. At wide open throttle, this equates to 3,000 x 7 = 21,000 psi. So, basically, the HEUI type of injection is an early form of common rail where higher injection pressures are used to increase efficiency.

The major reason why the injector fails is due to the fact that the electric coil on top of the injector becomes weak. This is mostly due to Using a scan tool, engine speage and wear and tear on the cialists can perform an “injector electrical components as the buzz test” to buzz or cycle the injector is cycled. The averelectric coil of each injector to age cycles of an injector at determine if the coil is still 140,000 miles are somewhere strong. around 300 million pulses.

When the electrical comerally detect the weak coil and red ponent of the injector fails, it will flag the cylinder that may be the usually create a cylinder miss. The problem. injector no longer opens, therefore, If the engine is warm, sometimes the cylinder does not receive any the weak cylinder cannot be detected fuel.

However, what happens when the using the “buzz” test. The only way to detect the weak coil using the test electric coil is only a little weak? The would be to test with the engine outeffects are not typically even noticed until cold weather approaches. I have side in cold weather.

I’ve tried this in some situations encountered several situations in the and the cold weather did not play a last year where the engine runs fine and there is no cylinder misfire, how- role in detecting injector abnormalities when performing the test. The ever, the owner will find that the injector issues would not present early morning start up can be somethemselves, so diagnosing the probwhat daunting. lem could become a challenge.

The situation starts off small with There is an Ohm’s resistance test just a bit of excessive smoke and a nothat can be performed, but this, too, ticeable rough idle when first started was no help. on a cool morning. Most owners tend It came to the point where the ento think that maybe a glow plug or gine continued to run but became two has failed because once the enmore difficult to start. Finally, it came gine reaches temperature, the smoke to a point where the engine just clears and the engine runs fine. would not start. Not even if the block When the owner brings the vehiheater was plugged in overnight for cle to the shop for the problem, there a period of eight hours or more. are no signs of any trouble that can Oddly, the injector coils still be detected with a scan tool.

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checked out fine. After checking the engine thoroughly, I had no choice but to replace the injectors. It was a risk, because the injectors are can be expensive. However, they are less expensive than they use to be. New injectors can be purchased for around $250 each. Even at this price, the parts alone cost more than $2,000.

After the injectors were replaced, the engine in question cranked and ran fine. I came to find out the injector

was in fact firing because the exhaust on the truck bellowed with diesel smoke, but there was no ignition.

The problem was the electric coil was so weak that when the injector finally opened, the high-pressure oil would enter the injector to compress the fuel but it was too late in the process. The fuel would enter the cylinder way past TDC and the raw fuel in the cylinder did not ignite, causing the unburned fuel to exit the exhaust pipe.

The lesson here is that even though your customer’s engine may run great and has served him many years of great service, a major problem will inevitably rear its head at some point. Determining the problem can be somewhat of a chore for the engine builder and enduring the cost can be a chore for the customer.

While diesel engines cost more and are expensive to repair, the payback for your customer is its longevity. ■

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Feature

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Performance Rocker Arms Pushrod engines new and old are still a hot topic

BY TECHNICAL EDITOR LARRY CARLEY LCARLEY@BABCOX.COM

O

verhead cams have been used performance cam in a smallblock in many European and Asian Chevy V8 that produces .480˝ of total engines for years, so when lift at the valve, the cam itself is only Ford opted to go the overhead cam producing about .320˝ of lift at the route with their 4.6L V8 engine, lobe. The 1.5 ratio rocker arms multisome predicted pushrod engines ply the lift (.320 x 1.5) to achieve the were on their way out. But, GM .480˝ of lift at the valve. stuck with the pushrod design for The advantage of using higher their LS engines as did Chrysler with ratio rocker arms is that the same their 5.7L & 6.2L Hemi engines. cam lobe profile can produce more When you add in all the older entotal valve lift for more power. gines and current aftermarket A higher ratio rocker arm also block/head combinations that still requires less lifter and pushrod use pushrods and rocker arms, it’s travel to achieve the same amount of easy to understand why rocker arms lift as a lower ratio rocker. A higher and pushrods are still a hot topic for rocker ratio also reduces the amount performance engine building. of camshaft torque it takes to open The rocker arms redirect the upthe valves for a given amount of lift. ward motion of the lifters and What’s more, the longer the valve pushrods into the downward motion side of the rocker, the larger the direquired to open the valves. The ameter of the arc it follows as it rocker shaft or ball stud mounting moves up and down. This reduces serves as the fulcrum The advantage of using higher ratio point around which this rocker arms is that the same cam motion occurs, and the lobe profile can produce more total relative length of the valve lift for more power. rocker arm on each side of the center fulcrum determines the lift ratio of the rocker.

Like any lever, leverage is multiplied when the valve side of the rocker arm is longer than the pushrod side. The shorter the pushrod side of the rocker arm and the longer the valve side of the rocker arm, the higher the lift ratio of the rocker.

If the length of the valve side of the rocker is 1.5 times that of the pushrod side, the lift ratio will be 1.5:1. If the valve side of the rocker is 2X the length of the pushrod side, the lift ratio will be 2.0:1.

If you’re using a typical street 24 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

side loading, friction and wear on the valve stems and guides. This is why many high revving NASCAR engines typically run very high rocker ratios of up to 2:1 or higher.

Changing Rocker Ratios Let’s say to replace the stock 1.5 ratio rocker arms with higher lift 1.6 ratio rocker arms. The same camshaft will now produce .512˝ of lift at the valve (.320˝ times 1.6). So by simply swapping the stock rocker arms for higher lift rocker arms, you increase total lift 6.7% and probably gain 15 to 20 horsepower.

How does changing rocker ratios affect the duration of the camshaft?

Because the cam lobe is still the same, the point where the cam starts to move the lifter is still the same.

Ditto for the closing side of the ramp.

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Feature

But, the rate at which the valve opens is now somewhat faster because of the higher ratio of the rocker

arm, so the effective duration of the camshaft is increased slightly – maybe a couple of degrees in the

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above example.

A small ratio change won’t have a big impact on the rpm range where the engine makes power, or its low end torque, idle quality or the amount of intake vacuum it produces. But, a large change in lift ratio that increases mid-range duration significantly will move the engine’s power peak up the rpm scale. That’s why wild cams with lots of duration and valve overlap that produce tons of high speed horse power are typically bad for low end torque, idle quality and everyday drivability.

There are a couple of things you have to watch out for when changing rocker ratios. One is to make sure the slot in a stud mounted rocker can accommodate the increased travel without hitting the stud. Something will break if it does. Another is to make sure the valve keeper doesn’t hit the top of the valve guide when lift is increased. There has to be some clearance to prevent mechanical contact. Also, the valve springs have to have enough clearance between the coils so the springs don’t bind – which would be another valvetrain killer.

Stud Mount vs. Shaft Mount Rockers Up until the mid-1950s, overhead valve engines used shaft mounted rockers. When Chevrolet introduced their high revving small block V8s with stamped steel stud mounted rockers, it opened the eyes of engine designers to the possibilities of stud mounted rockers. Ford and others soon followed suit, and stud mounted rockers became the “hot” setup for the time.

As engine builders made modifications to increase engine speed and power, the stud mounted rockers started to show their weaknesses.

The press-fit rocker studs had a tendency to pull out if the engine was revved excessively or spring pressures were increased too much. Some performance engine builders started pinning the studs to keep them in place, while others replaced with press-fit studs with screw-in studs.

As valve spring pressured continued to increase, it became obvious that the rocker arm studs were flexCircle 26 for more information 26 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

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Feature ing excessively at high rpms. The fix will typically produce 10 to 15 more was to install longer studs and to horsepower thanks to increased valclamp a bar (stud girdle) across the vetrain stability. top of the cylinder head to tie all the The advantages of a shaft rocker studs together. setup is that the shaft holds the rockThis, in turn, required taller valve ers in better alignment, eliminating covers to accommodate the stud girthe need for a separate guide plate dle. It also made valve for the pushrods. This reduces flex in adjustments more difficult. the valvetrain at higher speeds for Aftermarket roller rocker arms better valve control. The shaft can were also introduced to replace the also supply oil pressure directly to flimsy and rather wear stamped steel the rockers to improve lubrication stock rockers. The performance rock- and reduce friction. The position of ers featured a roller bearing center the shaft may also lower the pivot fulcrum and a roller on the valve end point of the rockers slightly with reof the arm to reduce fricspect to the A pedestal mount system can protion. These were a huge vide many of the same benefits as improvement over the a shaft-mounted rocker system but stock rockers and alat less cost. Many of these are lowed higher rpms with simple bolt-in installations. more dependability and less friction.

As racers continued to push the envelope, it soon became apparent that some of these stud mounted aluminum rocker arms were not strong enough to handle the valve spring loads and rpms they were being asked to handle.

Aftermarket shaft-mounted rockers were introduced as a means of stiffening up the valvetrain, and steel rockers became an upgrade option for serious high-dollar racing.

According to some manufacturers, changing from stud mounted rockers to shaft mounted rockers (using the same lift ratio as before)

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valves and pushrods to reduce friction between the tips of the arms and top of the valves.

A shaft mounted rocker arm system is overkill for most street performance applications because such an engine doesn’t really need that level of stiffness and strength. But for racing, a shaft mounted system can provide increased rigidity and reliability. Supporting the rockers on a rigid steel or aluminum shaft means the rockers can’t deviate from their fixed location due to stud flex or vertical motion on the rocker stud. The stiffness provided by the shaft holds

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Feature all the rockers in perfect alignment and allows them to safely handle higher loads and rpms. Shaftmounted rockers also don’t require a slot cutout on the underside of the rocker body to clear a stud, so shaft rockers are inherently stronger.

Shaft-mounted rocker systems are available for many aftermarket performance cylinder heads. In many instances, it’s a simple bolt-on installation that requires little or no modifications to the head. Pedestal mount rockers are also available for many engines with stud-mounted rockers.

A pedestal mount system can provide many of the same benefits as a shaft-mounted rocker system but at less cost. Many of these are simple bolt-in installations, but don’t expect them to perform at the same level as a true shaft-mount system in an allout racing application.

A shaft-mounted rocker system also makes valve lash adjustments easier than stud-mounted rockers with a stud girdle, and the lash adjustments should hold longer, too.

train stability, especially with higher valve spring pressures in a highly modified high revving engine.

Some of today’s steel rockers are just as light if not slightly lighter than a comparable performance aluminum rocker. Steel can safely handle a lot of valve spring pressure, up to 950 pounds or higher say the

people who make such rockers. Steel has better fatigue strength and stiffness than aluminum, and will stand up to the rigors of racing for a longer period of time – often 2X to 4X as long as comparable aluminum rockers.

By comparison, the typical economy diecast aluminum rockers should not be used with more than

Circle 24 for more information

Choosing Rocker Arms Today, engine builders have a huge variety of performance rocker arms and rocker systems from which to choose. There are the “economy” aluminum rockers typically made from diecast aluminum that provide an upgrade in performance over stock stamped steel rockers. But for more demanding applications, upgrading to CNC extruded or forged aluminum rockers or steel rockers is often necessary.

Light rockers are a must because they reduce mass in the valvetrain.

Reducing the “moment of inertia” with lighter rocker arms allows the engine to rev higher with the same springs.

Rocker arms obviously have to be strong to handle the loads that are placed upon them, but reducing the mass on the valve side of the rocker arm has more of a positive effect on reducing inertia than changing the mass on the pushrod side of the rocker arm. This also explains why larger or stiffer pushrods that weigh more than stock pushrods have minimal effect on valvetrain momentum.

You want stiffer and stronger pushrods for reliability and valveCircle 29 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 29

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350 to 450 pounds of open spring pressure depending on the brand of rocker. Extruded aluminum rockers can usually handle up to 700 pounds of open spring pressure, with some rated for as much as 900 pound springs. Always go by what the rocker arm manufacturer says their arms can safely handle. Don’t push the rockers beyond their rated capacity unless you want to break something.

Something else to pay close attention to when choosing rockers is the design of the rollers and needle bearings. More needle bearings in the center bearing is better because it spreads the load over a larger surface for improved durability. The rollers on the tips of many rocker arms do not have needle bearings, but some do – which helps reduce friction and valve stem wear.

The type of rocker arms that are permitted may be restricted by the rules in some racing applications. If

the rules call for “stock appearing” rocker arms or stamped steel rockers, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck using the stock rockers. Many aftermarket companies offer stock appearing

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Many companies use sophisticated computer software to develop new rocker arm designs.

stamped steel rockers that are made of stronger alloys for improved relia-

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As rockers continue to evolve, the ongoing trends toward lighter weight and stronger designs will continue.

bility. And even if rules are not a limiting factor, stamped steel rockers can usually handle engine speeds up to 6,500 rpm and valve lifts of up to .600˝ as long as the rocker slot has sufficient stud clearance to handle a high lift cam. The same goes for cast steel rockers on Ford and Chrysler engines that use some type of shaft mounted rocker setup.

For engine applications that demand a step up, replacing the stock stamped or cast steel rockers with aluminum roller rockers will typically produce a gain of 10 to 15 hp with the same lift ratio, and even more of a power gain with a higher lift ratio. The extra power comes from the reduction in friction provided by the roller rockers – which also helps keep the oil cooler, too.

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tip of the rocker will be offset towards the outside or inside of the valve stem rather than centered over it. This can create side loads on the valve stem that increases friction, stem and guide wear.

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An adjustable length pushrod can be used to determine the optimum pushrod length for any rocker arm/camshaft combination.

Adjust the pushrod when the cam is at 50 percent lift so the tip of the rocker is perfectly centered, then remove the rocker and pushrod, and measure the end-to-end length of the pushrod to determine the optimum pushrod length.

If the engine has hydraulic lifters, the lifter will collapse slightly when the valvetrain is under load. Using a light checking spring rather than an actual valve spring will allow a more accurate reading of the pushrod length.

Once the pushrod length has been determined, look for the stiffest and strongest pushrods that will fit the application and anticipated rpm range of the engine. Stock pushrods may be fine for stock valve springs and 5,500 rpm, but they’ll bend and flex with higher spring loads and rpms. ■

Installation Issues Changing rocker arms often requires changing pushrod lengths, depending on the design of the rockers. With stud mounted rockers, the rocker arm location on the stud determines the geometry of the valvetrain.

When the pushrod is the correct length for the application, the tip of the rocker arm will be centered on the tip of the valve stem when the cam is at 50 percent lift. If the pushrod is too long or too short, the Circle 31 for more information

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34-36 Future of EBs #1 9/16/13 4:08 PM Page 34

The Future of Engine Building

Industry Forecast The more things change, the more they stay the same

BY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR MICHAEL FREEZE MFREEZE@ENGINEBUILDERMAG.COM

A

s we entered into the new millennium, the industry had an optimistic, yet cautious outlook as to what the future held for the production engine remanufacturers and custom engine rebuilders.

When we asked various industry insiders this month to look into their crystal spheres, past issues such as regulations and OEM engine longevity are still an ongoing concern.

Although knowing what we know now, a set of new issues are forcing the industry to recognize that the future is happening today.

Rich White, senior vice president of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) says when compared to the U.S. economy, the industry has been above average, but only contingent on the U.S. consumers’ driving and auto purchasing habits that ultimately affect production engine remanufacturers (PERs) and custom engine rebuilders (CERs).

“In reference to engine rebuilding, many forecast a decline as the initial engine quality continues to improve and durability contributes to longer engine life,” he explains. “The only major factor that conflicts with this prediction is vehicle neglect and excessively long drain intervals.”

After a rough patch toward the end of the last decade, the industry fought its way back while transforming into a leaner aftermarket player.

“After that hard hit, it helped our industry to consolidate, narrow its focus and become more nimble. It also created new opportunities for those willing to think outside of their normal experience,” says Paul Hauglie, president of the Engine 34 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

Builders Association (AERA). “Couple this with the fact that there are fewer shops and you will see that these shops are not only surviving, but thriving. It has allowed the cream to rise to the top.”

With a shift toward new markets comes risk, he adds. “Looking forward I would say the same thing; that any engine builder looking to survive on just performance, restoration or marine will not make it,” Hauglie says. “That’s not to say those markets should be avoided, but don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.”

As more engine builders venture into niche markets such as commercial vehicles as well as performance and powersports engines, component manufacturers have positioned themselves to effectively attack their challenges, according to Rick Simko of Elgin Industries and chairman of the Engine Rebuilders Council (ERC).

“One thing I’ve learned over my years in this industry is that the most successful engine building businesses are the ones that are always looking for new opportunities,” says Simko, who is director of sales and marketing for the Elgin, IL-based manufacturer.

“I recently saw a shop that had successfully expanded into jet-skis and other marine engines. One of the most appealing aspects of these categories is that the end-user tends to be far less price sensitive – it’s all about convenience, performance and reliability.”

Simko notes that the industry still faces challenges such as communicating its value to North American consumers. “We also have challenges in the way we as manufacturers and

associations communicate critical technical information and best practices, not only from an engine rebuilding standpoint but also business practices such as marketing and customer relationship management,” he says.

Fighting the Good Fight Ernie Silvers, CEO and president of Egge Machine Company, who is also active on many industry councils, explains that the march toward niche markets could be much smoother if state and federal regulators just got out the way. Going forward, the best way to fend them off, he says, is utilizing the services of industry associations.

“The biggest challenges for the industry in the next five to ten years will be government intervention, both in business regulatory and environmental concerns, and pushback from the big auto makers with regards to ‘right to repair’ issues,” Silvers says.

“I know both major associations are working diligently to keep the peace with both state and federal legislators.

The automotive aftermarket represents billions of dollars in revenue – resulting in taxes paid – as well as millions of skilled jobs throughout the world. Our industry associations’ kindness and diplomacy ought not to be taken lightly or as weakness.”

In addition to legislative muscle, association heads contend they have successfully serviced their members through the concept of strength in numbers.

“Businesses join trade associations because an association can do many things that a single person or business cannot do on their own,” White says.

“Whether it’s market research or gov-

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Feature

ernment and regulatory affairs, an association has the expertise, resources and manpower to serve and protect its members. Call it economy of scale, trade associations provide leadership, connection and empowerment.”

Another concern facing the industry is the fuels that power the engines.

Many like Production Engine Remanufacturers Association (PERA) President Robert McGraw as well as Hauglie tell us in the general sense that engines are leaning toward diesel, natural gas and electric. But let’s not write the obituary for the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine just yet.

“Pure economics will mostly dictate the fuels used in our engines but they may be using some alternative fuels. However, engines will be internally combusted for many years to come,” Hauglie notes. “If battery/electric-powered vehicles become more cost effective for consumers and viable for rebuilds, then that may be an emerging area for

36 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

builders to look into.”

For manufacturers like Egge, a major player in the restoration market, Silvers sees the value in alternative fuels but said as long as Uncle Sam is kept at bay, internal combustion still has a home in the industry.

“Gasoline engines, from the hobby car perspective, will always be utilized, enjoyed and in need of remanufacture as long as the government allows them to be,” he says.

“However, ethanol in gasoline is the government prescribed cancer that's slowly killing the vintage engine market.”

Simko suggested Europe as a model for what’s to come for advanced technologies. Turbocharged engines are commonplace in most European countries and are steadily making inroads in the U.S. “European nations are much father ahead in implementing advanced technologies that enhance engine fuel-efficiency and environmental sensitivity,” he says.

Another page to take out of the European playbook, Simko points out, is the region’s recycling requirements.

“Europe mandates that vehicle materials be recyclable, which is why engine parts manufacturers have been forced to eliminate lead from bearings and other components,” he adds.

“Any push for increased recyclability could increase the public’s awareness of the engine rebuilding industry. The Engine Rebuilders Council has done a tremendous job in the promotion of remanufacturing engines.”

The Good Ol’ Days of Stock Replacement Engine Work As it worried so many in the aftermarket a decade ago, OEM engineering is still the proverbial thorn in the industry side. Some even fear that OEM engine work will eventually become nonexistent.

“Looking at the list of replacement rates reported in our Aftermarket Factbook, there are only three cate-

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PG 24 <<Rocker Arms

gories of engine work mentioned: computer, cooling fan motors and tune ups. There is nothing reported about engine rebuilding,” White said.

“Looking at Lang’s product analysis, the engine repair activities are reported in three areas: engine bearings and engine parts, both of which are declining at annual rates of 3 percent and 14.8 percent respectively.”

Other association leaders such as McGraw and Hauglie have a more optimistic outlook for the future.

“The car makers will always have an engine that has inherent problems which can be repaired by most reputable shops,” Hauglie says. “The amount of OEM engine work has certainly declined, but it will not go away entirely. We’ve already been seeing this trend take place over the past 10 years.”

McGraw suggested a much simpler consumer dynamic.

“Everyday people needing to get their car back on the road are not an endangered species,” he says.

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“Engines most often fail because of abuse or an inherent design flaw.”

Although engines are lasting longer, Simko says, they are also costing more to service with a rebuild coming in approximately three times cheaper than the cost of a new vehicle.

“It’s up to our industry to make sure consumers understand that discarding a vehicle or engine usually isn’t the most economically efficient choice,” Simko says. “We need to make sure this message is communicated at every industry point of sale, from the parts counter and repair shop service desk to the Internet.

We’re simply not doing a good enough job of this today.”

Others believe blocks and heads will continue to be highly rebuildable, but many internal parts will be manufactured in a way that will require the rebuilding process to involve new parts, putting the average machine shops’ viability into question.

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“Getting new product is not always that easy,” McGraw says.

“OEM engineers continuously make design changes, making the availably of new parts not possible. As engines become more advanced it is necessary to upgrade equipment to achieve these specifications.”

As the engine rebuilding community figures out solutions to these new challenges, those who have been in the business for some time know it’s best to focus on what’s in front of you and to stay ahead of the curve.

“Our biggest challenges are finding credible U.S. manufacturers.

Though, there would be no automotive aftermarket without import products. These products, for instance, tend to be cheap, throw away parts that are killing some segments of the aftermarket,” Silvers exclaims.

“The smart shop owners will adapt, improvise and overcome most any obstacle placed in their path. Changing times always eliminate weak players. ‘Innovate or die!’” ■

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The Future of Engine Building

The Road Ahead for Machining

BY SENIOR EDITOR BRENDAN BAKER BBAKER@BABCOX.COM

T

he future always seemed so far and is now Engine Builder, began makaway for some reason. You had ing equipment for the fledgling autocartoons featuring flying cars motive industry and the need to and movies about aliens and galaxies rebuild engines and bore cylinders on a far, far away. But now, well, the “fufrequent basis. Driving was much ture” we all thought was so distant is more of an adventure in the previous basically here, practically before our 100 years, as roads and infrastructure eyes, and it looks a little different than were not designed for interstate travelwe thought. Some things have more or ing. If you drove from Cleveland to less come true – except the flying cars, Chicago, your engine may have unfortunately. needed a rebuild after the trip.

Technology tends to grow exponenToday it is well documented that tially. Each new technology spawns the our industry is plagued with cars that ideas for many new technologies and last 200,000 miles or more and are unso on. In some ways, it’s hard to likely to need a rebuild in that time (if believe how far we’ve come in a short maintained properly). Technology has period of time. Barely 100 years ago, taken the auto industry to new heights Henry Ford was just beginning to by producing better engines and vehidiscover the advantages of mass cles, but what is the next step for production. From there, everything engine builders? Stock engine rebuildelse, one could argue, grew out of the ing has been declining for years, and necessity to keep up. Once we had peo- some believe that the used engine marple in affordable cars – a motoring pub- ket has now surpassed the custom lic – the transportation industry grew engine rebuilder’s (CER) efforts as well at an alarming rate. And when aviation as, to some extent the production engot off the ground, so to speak, The machining equipment of the it was an even faster evolution. future will be more automated Tooling back then was rudiand easier to operate. Some mentary at best compared to machines will be specifically detoday, but what will it look like signed for markets like industrial in 2020? and heavy-duty diesel rebuilding.

To understand where automotive machining may be headed in the next five to 10 years, we first have to look at the past and where it came from and how it evolved to where it is today. Your father’s machining equipment was fine for its day, when machining tolerances were, let’s say, a little more lenient. But trying to use that same machine today may lead to more trouble than it’s worth.

Some of the early supporters of what was then Automotive Rebuilder, Photo courtesy of Rottler 38 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

gine remanufacturer (PER). The CER now views the main competition as the recyclers and not the PERs. Diesel and industrial engine rebuilding has taken up some of the slack in down times, but not all of it. Shops with updated, modern equipment will be more likely be able to find new markets and take advantage of opportunities in existing markets.

For the automotive machine shop, there are a lot of questions about what the future will hold and how much new tooling will be required for the road ahead. Chances are, if you have not already upgraded some of your machine tooling in your shop in the last five years or so then you are on the verge of falling behind. The race to survive and thrive is still as fierce as ever, but the machines may be slightly different in the future. However, it is unlikely that there will be a drastic change in the next five years, according to machine tool experts we spoke to,

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PG 54 >> Fast Lane

PG 64 >> Show Preview

but more of a gradual evolution will and is a key factor in allowing a take place. smaller shop or business to compete Before 1945, machine tools were all with larger shops with more machines operated by hand controls. And in and workers to run them. many shops around the country, hand In the past, machine shops were controls were the norm for a very long filled with a multitude of specialty matime. By 1952, numeric chines; one to to controls were coupled drill, another to With CAD/CAM software, enwith computer power ingine builders can turn their CNC into a profit center that is able stead of punch cards and to port heads or manufacture accounting machine calparts on a small scale. culations. The machines were enormous, but the idea was a good one, albeit, a very expensive one. It was so expensive that the government was the only customer in the beginning. However, as the technology evolved, the size and price of the machinery continued to drop.

Today, while CNC machines are still expensive, they are much more affordable for the average shop or business than they were just 10 years ago. One of the trends in machining that has taken hold is the mulit-purpose CNC machining center. This machine does the job of several dedicated machines,

turn and yet another to mill and bore.

Honing equipment has been around for just about as long as the automobile and was done by hand as well. Removing metal, and “throwing chips” was a very hands-on endeavor. Machinists got the feel of the piece they were working with and knew, almost in-

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Feature CNC machining will continue to grow in sales into the automotive machine shop of the future.

The trend has been toward few machines that can do everything.

Photo courtesy of Centroid

stinctively, how much material they could remove and how fast just by the sound of the tool against the metal.

Machining by hand was painstaking process however, especially in a high volume environment. A milling ma-

chine may only be able to take off a small amount of material at a time and was limited by the amount of movement of the table as well as the fixturing and spindles.

What lies ahead? Experts we spoke

Circle 40 for more information 40 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

to for this article say that they think equipment will continue to become more automated, taking the human factor out of it to an even greater extent. Rottler, for example, is coming out with a new vertical stroke honing machine that can hone a V8 block completely by simply pushing a button. The machine will go from cylinder to cylinder and rotate block to the opposite bank and machine will continue to hone that bank until complete and to size.

By having more automated equipment, engine builders will be able to generate more billable labor hours without having to hire more machinists. While shops are already very lean, the ability to run several machines at once will free up the operator to do other tasks. Machinists in the future will likely be loading fixtures and moving parts from machining cell to other machines. It will still require skilled operators, however.

Most cylinder hones take constant attention by an operator to generate round straight cylinders, says one expert. Now that same operator could be boring, decking, lifter boring, stroker clearancing a V8 block on our CNC block machining center while the hone is automatically honing a V8 block at the same time.

Machines will continue to get more accurate and easier to operate. As materials improve and machining techniques improve, experts say that machines will become smaller. Industry professionals say it is also likely that you will see more and more machining equipped with CNC controls.

Anything that requires a lot of direct, hands-on labor to operate such as cylinder hones and seat & guide machines. Engine builders and shops must be able to bill more hours with less employees in order to survive into the future. As we have seen during the last 20 years of our “Machine Shop Market Profile,” which is a comprehensive study of machine shop operations, pricing continues to hold to levels of a previous era and often don’t reflect today’s economy. Therefore, it will be imperative to run a lean operation, and also, with new equipment, be able to charge a fair price for your services.

One expert says that as an industry,

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engine builders have by and large held on to old ways and old equipment longer than other machining-focused industries. Most automotive machine shops don’t own a CNC machine. In fact, our “2012 Machine Shop Market Profile” revealed that only 12 percent of shops own a CNC. In the next 10 years, many experts believe it will be a necessity and not an option. With the way parts are designed today, it will be impossible to complete jobs profitably without one. CNC machining centers like those from Centroid, Rottler and others, operate as profit centers as much as machines. They are essentially turnkey businesses that the engine builder will then have to go out and find the market for his products, but the expertise and precision will be mostly handled by the CNC. Some experts we spoke to believe you may see robots on such mundane operations as loading a valve in a valve refacers. Most jobs or parts vary widely in size and shape from part to part.

However, you may see a robot be able to load a valve in the chuck of a valve refacer for grinding or a connecting rod for boring, or possibly a block into honing machine.

Another key trend for the future will be the growth in the use of digitizing probes, which experts believe will be very prevalent in the machine shops of the future. As software improves the ability to use digitizing for other than just copying ports in a cylinder head is growing dramatically. This technology allows operators with little training on CAM systems to duplicate parts much more easily.

Machining in the future will be much more scaled down to a level to where a small shop will be able to produce as much as a large shop today.

With CNC prices coming down to affordable levels that can be operated more easily by fewer skilled workers, it is going to turn the industry in many directions. Parts will be able to be manufactured by printing them to a 3D printer in some cases, and in others a 3D printer can make prototypes that can then be produced on a CNC for small scale manufacturing purposes.

Some of these dreams are already a reality, but in the future, the sky’s the limit. And at least you won’t need to worry about running into one of those “flying” cars. ■ Circle 41 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 41

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The Future of Engine Building

Converting the Masses Rebuilding Diesel Engines to Run on Natural Gas

BY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ED SUNKIN ESUNKIN@BABCOX.COM

E

ngine builders often get requests to convert a stock engine into a performance powerplant. Or to take a modest diesel tractor engine rated at 2,200 horsepower and transform it into a smoke-bellowing pulling machine at 6,000 horsepower.

However, in our third installment on the future of engine building, we’ll take a look at a growth opportunity of another kind – converting a diesel engine into one that runs on natural gas.

Making the Fuel Switch Natural gas is a very promising fuel for a wide range of commercial vehicles. For one, natural gas offers comparable horsepower, acceleration and cruise speeds to gasoline or diesel fuel. These days, its cost is much lower than diesel fuel and it is an abundant supply with prices likely to remain the same or even fall over the coming years.

According to some reports, using natural gas over diesel can save a truck operator as much as a $1.50 per gallon at today’s prices.

Also, according to engine designers, natural gas burns much cleaner – with 33% less NOx and 20% lower greenhouse gas emissions than equivalent diesel-fueled engines. And, since natural gas has lower particulate emissions, converted vehicles often need less frequent maintenance because the fuel burns cleaner.

Omnitek Engineering, Corp., a Vista, CA, company that develops and sells diesel-to-natural gas engine conversion systems, reports that any diesel engine can be con44 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

verted to natural gas. The company explained that the power level of the engine after conversion depends on numerous issues, such as natural gas quality, power level of the original diesel engine, emission levels required, etc. Diesel engines converted to natural gas generally require added components as well as some mechanical changes to the engine. Basically, the diesel engine undergoes a complete overhaul and, in the process, transformed from a diesel engine to a natural gas engine (CNG or LNG).

Omnitek also says that thousands of diesel engines are rebuilt to operate on natural gas each year with minimal costs. The company estimates the population of diesel engines around the world, which can be converted using its diesel-tonatural gas conversion system, is in excess of ten million engines.

For companies like Omnitek that embrace this trend, diesel-to-natural gas engine conversions make economic sense for many fleet operators since it’s a viable way to increase the natural gas vehicle population in the most reasonable amount of time.

Engineering Challenges Diesel engine manufacturers that were interested developing natural gas options have faced some difficult engineering challenges in converting existing diesel products to run on natural gas. One of the biggest changes is that much greater volumes than equivalent liquid diesel fuel – must be carefully regulated and quickly delivered to the cylinder at just the right time in the combustion cycle. Another impor-

tant consideration is that natural gas requires a temperature of 800°C to ignite compared to 500°C for diesel fuel.

The usual approach is to convert the engine to spark ignition, reduce the compression ratio, and feed the gas into the intake manifold where it is mixed with incoming air. This method usually results in lower efficiency and reduced power and torque, however, and it is not well suited to heavy-duty trucks where fuel efficiency and engine performance are critical.

According to Westport Innovations Corp. in Vancouver, Canada, its engineers developed a fuel injector specifically designed for natural gas engines that is designed to solve this problem. The Westport HPDI (high-pressure direct injection) system utilizes an injector tip assembly with dual-concentric needle valves.

The needle valves are opened and closed by a hydraulic circuit actuated by a set of electromagnetic solenoids.

The opening of the valve injects a small amount of diesel fuel that serves as an ignition source. This small amount of fuel acts as a liquid spark plug. It is followed in a matter of milliseconds by large quantities of natural gas sprayed at high pressure into the combustion chamber.

Using traditional engineering methods, sizing and synchronizing this complex system for different engine models was a time-consuming task. Engineers had to balance many different injector aspects including flows of natural gas and diesel through the piping and jets as well as the solenoid actuation and

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dual-needle lift.

One of the most critical engineering tasks is determining the natural gas volume to be sprayed in the cylinder. This volume must be enough to provide sufficient power without flooding and stalling the engine. Fuel flow must be precisely adjusted every millisecond in a natural gas engine, not only to account for different load demands, but also for changes in gas density and energy capacity that – because of the gas compressibility – vary widely with environment al temperature and pressure.

Data Milling Until recently, Westport engineers relied on an in-house Fortran program written in the early 1990s to develop designs satisfying all these requirements. With this solution, making even the simplest design change took several days of programming and adding a new component required several weeks more work.

Gas properties were determined

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using look-up tables in a cumbersome process too time-consuming to evaluate alternative design options for the injection system. Moreover, validating a model based on test fixtures required a prohibitive amount of coding to replicate the test fixture geometry.

Computer Simulation To gear up for the market’s growing demand for natural gas engines, Westport needed a more efficient process for developing optimal injector designs much faster. With this goal in mind, they integrated the LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim 1D simulation platform to predict complex multi-domain system performance.

LMS Imagine.Lab Fluids Systems’ unique ability to accurately represent natural gas flow under a wide range of environmental temperature and pressure variations was particularly useful. By taking these variations into account along with load demand requirements and other specifications, a Real Gas Model feature in LMS Imagine.Lab

Feature

provided engineers with an extremely accurate representation of gas fuel flow.

“LMS Imagine.Lab’s Real Gas Model was absolutely critical to our work today. It accurately represents natural gas fuel flow under a widely varying range of environmental conditions,” said Peter Kostka, Systems Development Engineer at Westport. “The model is much more accurate than the standard approximation in engineering handbooks, which can deviate as much as 25% from real-world behavior. Also, the model is more readily modified than our previous table look-up method, enabling us to evaluate design options, quickly validate these designs on test fixtures and have greater confidence in the final product.”

Using this solution, Westport engineers initially size the parts simply by entering parameters as prompted. Output plots straightforwardly show predictions specified by its engineers including fuel flow and injection pressures for various

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loads.

“Automated optimization tools compare hundreds of different alternative part configurations and indicate the one for achieving the most power and efficiency for given load and environmental conditions,” explained Kostka. After arriving at an optimal design, Westport engineers used the new model to check for design sensitivity to manufacturing variabilities – in other words, how the injection system performs within tolerance dimensions for critical parts, such as valve and needle diameters.

“Previously, at least six months were required to reach a workable design – including several rounds of prototype testing to iron out problems. Now we develop optimal designs in just two months – with a single hardware test for final verification.”

According to Kostka, gains in engineering efficiency are even greater in being able to adapt the same basic injector system design to multiple engine variations – each of which may have slightly different

dimensions, assembly layouts and operating specifications.

For more on LMS Imagine.Lab AMESim, visit, www.lmsintl.com.

Note: Engine Builder magazine does not specifically endorse the companies mentioned in this article, however they are provided as examples of businesses currently utilizing

This truck is one of several equipped with natural gas engines/fuel systems from Westport Innovations Corp. and could set the tone for many more.

this technology. It is up to the rebuilder to seek out manufacturers and suppliers that fit their needs in providing the parts and tooling necessary to make diesel to natural gas conversions. ■

ACT Expo Showcases the Future of Transportation To some in the gas- and dieselpowered vehicle community, the idea of “alternative fuels” brings thoughts of tree hugging and granola eating. To others, it’s internet hoaxes of cars that run on magic dust and distilled water.

But for more than 3,000 clean transportation stakeholders – including fleets, technology companies, OEMs, fuel providers, infrastructure developers, educational institutions, and policymakers – the 2013 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Washington, D.C. was a chance to address the current and future state of vehicle fueling in a professional business setting.

The three-day conference (June 24-27) had record attendance during its East Coast debut at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Top fleets from across the

46 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

country like UPS, Proctor & Gamble, GE Fleet Services, Frito-Lay, Waste Management, FedEx, and many others were on hand to share their experiences using alternative fuels in their operations.

Over the course of the 2013 ACT Expo, 137 expert speakers and 37 unique conference sessions helped attendees gain a better understanding of the economic, energy security, and environmental benefits of alternative fuel use.

Tom O’Brien, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of TravelCenters of America, delivered the opening keynote address and discussed the company’s plans to build a large network of LNG fueling stations across the country, revealing the locations of the first five stations in the company’s LNG fueling network which are slated to open in early 2014 – Ontario, CA;

San Antonio, TX; Dallas, TX; Baytown, TX; and Sparks, NV. David Abney, COO of UPS, reaffirmed his company’s commitment to alternative fuel vehicles, stating that “every tractor we buy for our domestic operations next year will be natural gas” and announcing plans to add an additional 285 CNG vehicles to the previously announced 700 LNG vehicles. Abney highlighted how fleets can utilize similar strategies in their operations to reduce fuel costs and achieve superior on-road performance.

The next ACT Expo will be held in conjunction with the NGV Global 2014 International conference May 5 – 9, 2014 in Long Beach, CA. For more information, visit www.actexpo.com.

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BY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR BOB MCDONALD BMCDONALD@ENGINEBUILDERMAG.COM

W

hen you think about a Dodge truck, what is the first thing that comes to mind? I will give you a hint: Cummins.

Dodge introduced the B-series Cummins engine in the Dodge truck in 1989. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not like they had to convince consumers that the Cummins engine was good. The B-series had already proven itself in farm and marine applications.

The only thing that was left to insure consumers was the fact that their truck was diesel and that time would tell how the farm engine would stand up to life as a daily driver. After nearly 25 years of operation, the Cummins reputation is rock solid and a great selling point for the Dodge family.

Cubic Inch Firing Order Compression Ratio Bore Stroke Liters

359 1-5-3-6-2-4 17.0:1 4.02 4.72 5.9

When Cummins introduced the 5.9L it was already a proven commodity on farms and in other applications so it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take much to persuade customers to try it.

Rating/Year Horsepower Torque

1989-1993

1994-1998

160@2500rpm

215@2500rpm

400ftlb@1600rpm

440ftlb@1600rpm

The 5.9L Cummins engine underwent serveral changes as the years progressed for efficiency, power and to deal with tougher emissions standards.

48 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

1998 horsepower torque ft.lbs

ISB Engine 235@2500rpm 420@ 1600rpm

1 Comp Ratio 16.3:1

1999-2000 horsepower torque

235@2500 rpm 460@1600 rpm

2001-2002 horsepower torque

standard 235@2500rpm 460@1600rpm

Comp Ratio 17.1:1 high output 245@2500rpm 505@1600rpm

The 5.9L continued to evolve throughout its run as the King of light-duty to medium-duty trucks. With big torque numbers, it was always a hit with the towing crowd.

Evolution Issues Starting out as a 5.9L, the engine underwent several changes as the years progressed for efficiency and power.

Also, as higher emissions standards were enforced, a cleaner burning diesel had to be an influence in design changes.

To meet the emissions reductions for 2007, Cummins introduced a new B-series engine the 6.7L. The B-series 6.7L engine is largest straight-six design for a light-duty truck. This engine was also introduced to set the stage to meet the 2010 emissions standards as well. We all 2003 horsepower torque 2004-2006 horsepower torque

Engine-ISB-CR 305@2900rpm 555@1600rpm 325@2900rpm 600@1600rpm

After nearly 25 years, the 5.9L proved to be a worthy workhorse through its reign, producing upwards of 600 lb-ft of torque in its final iteration.

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Feature know that diesels are used for hauling rather than gasoline because of their power and better fuel economy. The only drawback is that diesel engines emit higher levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM).

The EPA has set regulations into place to lower these emissions by 90 percent.

This reduction is known as Clean Diesel Combustion Technology (CDC).

So, when you see a 6.7L engine enter your shop, you will notice right away that this engine is equipped with many more emissions controls than the 5.9L.

Keeping it Clean When you hear the term Clean Diesel Combustion, one thing to keep in mind is that the engine will be outfitted with emission control devices. There are mainly five methods that the manufacturer will employ in order to meet the EPA’s Clean Diesel emissions.

1. High Pressure Fuel – Also known as Common Rail, this is where fuel is injected into the cylinders at extreme pressures. This incorporates better combustion and fuel efficiency

2. Boost – By utilizing boost throughout the engines rpm range, the engine can create more power down low without having to rely on engine speed to increase the performance of the turbo. The way boost is controlled is by a Variable Geometric Turbo (VGT). The VGT design is where the turbo can change the ratio of air that the engine is feed by moving veins inside the exhaust gas housing of the turbo, which will increase or decrease the speed of the turbine wheel.

3. EGR – Exhaust Gas Recirculation, this is where exhaust gas is directed into the intake manifold to be sent back into the combustion chamber to be reburned. This method does reduce NOx emissions but does have a drawback, which is the formation of soot.

4. DPF-Diesel Particulate Filter – This device is placed into the exhaust system used to capture soot from the engine. After soot is accumulated in the DPF, it will be burned off through a “regeneration” process, which will clean the DPF. This method reduces smoke, unburned hydrocarbons, and

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carbon monoxide.

5. SCR-Selective Catalytic Reduction – This process injects urea into the exhaust stream, which is a catalyst for NOx emissions. So far this is the most effective emissions device and has only been used for late 2012 and 2013 Dodge trucks.

Controlling Emissions Most of the major changes between the 5.9L and 6.7L engines can be found in the exhaust system. One glance underneath the truck and you will see some sort of an exhaust apparatus that appears to be adapted from a space station. If you are wondering why, there are several things taking place in order to have clean exhaust. The exhaust system will look as though it has two torpedoes stuck in the exhaust pipe before getting to the muffler.

At the rear of the exhaust system right before the muffler is known as a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC). This is basically like a catalytic converter on a gasoline engine. The DOC will treat the engine exhaust gas by converting

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harmful compounds such as carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide, water, and heat. Just before the DOC is what is called a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). This serves basically as a trap. The DPF is a catalyst filter that collects soot or particulate matter from the engine. The DPF is controlled by the ECM. There are two pressure sensors that are mounted before and after the DPF. The pressure sensors provide input to the ECM to determine when the DPF is full. When the ECM has determined that the DPF is full, it will perform what is called a regeneration, which is a process that will burn off the soot trapped inside the DPF. The DPF will capture up to 90 percent of harmful diesel emissions.

The following is a basic overview of what takes place in order to clean or “regenerate” the DPF. Once the ECM has determined that the DPF is full and filled up with particulate past the acceptable limit, the ECM will open the EGR valve. The purpose of opening the EGR valve is to introduce hot exhaust gas into the intake manifold. This will help increase exhaust gas temperature.

The ECM will then command the injector to inject a small amount of fuel into the cylinders on the exhaust stroke (when the exhaust valves for each cylinder is open). The raised exhaust temperature along with the small amount of fuel, burn of the PM (particulate matter) inside the DPF. After the burn off or “regeneration”, the ECM will take readings from the pressure sensors again to see if the DPF is operating at an acceptable level.

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The EGR cooler bypass actuator silver in color sits above the engine over the exhaust manifold.

To the left of the actuator on top of the exhaust manifold is the EGR cooler.

DPF Drawbacks Even though the DPF is very effective in reducing emissions, the following are some drawbacks and problems associated with running them: • Poor fuel economy – This is the #1 complaint. A diesel that is not equipped with a DPF gets somewhere in the range of 18-22 mpg. On DPF equipped trucks, the fuel mileage will decrease to 12-14 mpg.

• Excessive regens – Most midsize trucks are used for work. Most work trucks will travel short distances and may be left to idle for periods of time. Excessive idle time can lead to excessive regens. While idling, the exhaust gas temperature is cool which causes the DPF to clog with soot really fast.

So if the truck is idling for long periods of time, several regens would have taken place. The constant regen is hard on the DPF and may cause premature failure which will lead to replacement. Rule: “Don’t let new trucks idle.”

• Replacement cost – A replacement DPF can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $2,600 for the DPF unit alone and this doesn’t include labor.

If you choose to replace the DPF yourself, there is a core charge for your old unit and you will not find any from a salvage yard. Note: A salvage yard is not allowed to sell a used DPF.

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On the drivers side of the engine at the intake manifold is where the EGR throttle control valve is located and on top of the EGR throttle control valve is the EGR valve

Life Support

There are some steps to take which will extend the life of the DPF. First of all, make sure to use ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel). As of 2007, ULSD will only contain 15 ppm sulfur content compared to 500 ppm in previous years. By running the recommended ULSD, PM will be reduced. The next thing is to use the proper engine oil. By running the recommended engine oil, soot will be reduced in the exhaust. Last, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to get your truck out on the open road and run it hard ever once in a while.

Get the engine and exhaust system hot and cleaned out and

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keep idling to a minimum.

To keep things even cleaner in the exhaust system, there are two oxygen sensors mounted before and after the DPF. The ECM uses these oxygen sensors much like the ones found in a gasoline engine. The ECM will control pulse width modulations of the injectors based on oxygen content in the exhaust. This way proper air/fuel ratio can be obtained for cleaner combustion.

Another thing you may notice when inspecting the exhaust system is a small box with some hoses that is mounted on the side of the transmission housing. This is called the DPS (Differential Pressure Sensor). This is used by the ECM to determine the exhaust gas pressures from the DPF. The two pressure sensors that are mounted before and after the DPF are linked to the DPS. The DPS receives inputs from the pressure sensors to be used by the ECM to help determine the load condition of the DPF to know when to regenerate.

Also, be advised that the exhaust downpipe from the turbo to the DPF has changed. The new downpipe is double-wall insulated that is used to retain as much heat as possible in the exhaust system. The heat retention is used to aid in getting the DOC up to operating temperature. Heat loss has to be kept to a minimum in the exhaust system for the after treatment processes to work correctly.

EGR Improvements When you open the hood, you will find that a lot of things have changed under there as well. The 6.7L looks a little sim-

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Feature gas in and hope for the best. On top of the exhaust manifold is mounted an EGR cooler. In order for the exhaust gas to be introduced into the engine, it must be cooled. Exhaust temperature in a diesel engine while towing can become pretty intense. Temperatures in the range of 1,000°F are not uncommon.

The cooler is very similar to the function of an engines radiator. Coolant from the engine circulates through the cooler, which has flues for the coolant to pass in order to cool incoming exhaust gas. Exhaust Oxygen sensors are placed in the exhaust system for fuel gas is only introduced into the engine at ceroptimization by the engine tain times when a certain criteria has been management system. meet such as engine speed, mph, coolant temperature, etc. So, the engine is not going to be opening the EGR valve all the time, just when it is needed. ilar, but has changed quite a bit due to the fact of the EGR There is a time where the EGR is going to be needed and system. (I addressed the addition of EGR for the 6.7L earlier that is when the DPF is going to regenerate itself. Rememin this article.) Now let’s focus on the components that are in place for the EGR to function properly. The EGR system is ber as mentioned before, when the DPF regenerates, the EGR is opened to increase exhaust gas temperature. When what introduces exhaust gas back into the intake manifold this process takes place, we really don’t want to cool the exto enter the combustion chamber to be burned again. By inhaust gas with the EGR cooler. So, Cummins came up with troducing exhaust gas back into the intake manifold, NOx the EGR cooler bypass valve. The cooler bypass valve is loemissions are reduced. cated in front of the EGR cooler. The valve is cable actuated At the mouth of the intake you will find several compoby a servo motor that will move the cables which will open nents that need to be explained so you will understand their and close the valve. During the regeneration process, the function for the EGR system. cooler is bypassed so hot exhaust gas can be introduced into The EGR system in a diesel can be quite complex. It’s the combustion chamber to heat the exhaust system to aid not just a matter of opening a valve and letting the exhaust in regeneration. continued on page 77

52 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

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Fast Lane

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Racing’s REAL Unsung Heros Recognizing the little things that help you win

R

acers all talk about their big cam, carburetors, engine size and even lubricants. But many of us never give credit to things such as stop leak, duck tape, silicone, cleaners, absorbents, sealers and epoxies. There are times when one or all of these items might make the difference between parking early or winning.

Stop Leak

turn on my electric water pump. Of course, it will leak faster at first. But soon, the stream will slow to a dribble, then drips, and then if you’re lucky, nothing. This has worked for me many times.

There have been times when the leaks were too bad or there was not enough time for the stop leak to circulate. Twice in my career I went to finals with all the water drained.

(When you’re in this predicament, you and your crew should keep quiet about your problem!)

We drained the all the hot water from radiator and engine. Put cool fresh stuff in, iced the intake, ran the pump to cool the engine and then drained it all again. No water, no leak (no long burnouts either).

Luckily, both times this happened to me there was no apparent damage to the engine – and I won

I have had people say, “I am not putting stop leak in my engine!” I say, if you’re a serious racer obsessed with winning – and during eliminations, suddenly you discover coolant seepage – the value of your engine build will be diminished if you don’t do something. Enter stop leak. You finally realize perhaps it can help you/your customer to finish the race – and perhaps win. If you are a racer you There are a number of prodwill use it and beg ucts – normally geared toward for more! the Do-It-Yourselfer – that you In the days of will find in a racer’s pit to give yore, with ported iron heads and even them a winning edge. some aftermarket aluminum heads, the rambunctious head porters would get perilously close to the water jacket. Eventually, a small crack or porosity in a port would cause water seepage. With the engine off, sitting in my shop or pits, I have had headers drip or even leak a stream of water.

A cure I found, if the leak is not too bad and there is time, is the following procedure: With the engine shut off, I would put a dose of my trusty stop leak in the radiator, put a pressure tester on the filler flange at about 12 lbs. and 54 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR “Animal Jim” Feurer ajfeurer@enginebuildermag.com

the race! (Note: when using a stop leak product, be sure to check your coolant overflow lines and fittings.

Also, inspect your catch can drain lines for clogging – and keep them cleared!)

Do Whatever it Takes!

There is a famous story about the Ganatellis racing team years ago adding water to the crankcase of their oil leaking Indy car engine to finish the Indy 500. Sure it was illegal to add oil, but not water. True story. You can read it in Andy Granatelli’s book, “They Call Me Mr. 500.”

Epoxies and Sealers Most fully developed drag race engines have heads and intakes that have been modified inside and out with an epoxy product. Blocks have

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been filled to support the walls and so on. The most popular filler for blocks is Joel Bayless’s Hard Block.

Countless repairs and other uses for epoxies and sealers have helped racers like myself for decades. One time I even managed to a win using a wicking thread-locker on one of my 427 Ford’s thread-worn rocker arm adjusters.

Emergency repairs get even crazier sometimes. My good friend a celebrated open wheel crew chief, the late Max Kelly, told me a story about a race in the 1960s. He was crew chief for actor/car owner James Garner at Racers will do some unconventhe time. They used tional things to their engines to chewing gum to stop a get to the winners circle. However strange, it makes for great radiator leak in his Canstories.

Am car during a race.

Max described Garner frantically chewing Chiclets with In the early ’90s on the Jersey white drool coming from the corners Turnpike, I used bar soap on my of his mouth and spouting in his friend’s cracked, leaking auxiliary “Rockford” voice, “Kelly – this better gas tank. I discovered this tip from damn well work!” an Aussie journalist traveling with us Luckily it did. with our Pro Mod team. “Thanks

Fast Lane

Mate!” (Lesson learned: Save your little hotel soaps!)

Duct Tape This one has many names including Duck tape, 200-mph tape and Racer

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Fast Lane Be careful of which additives or tape. This glorious silver products you use on the engine. roll of pressure-sensitive As I found with some silicones, adhesive has helped you may have trouble removing many a racer cross the the product from engine parts. finish line. These days, duct tape comes in all colors and designs. It has been used for so many things by racers it would take a page to list them. The most bizarre and dangerous use of “racer tape” was by yours truly back in ‘84.

(As I currently serve as a racing tech official, I shouldn’t even be telling this story. But, it was long ago when I still

had a healthy overload of energy and zeal to win).

In 1984, my team and I had updated my Pro Stock Mercury Zephyr (nicknamed “Zeke,”as you may recall) from a small block Cleveland to a huge 672-cid Mammoth Boss Hemi engine. Our first run with the new combo was qualifying at the AHRA Chi Town Nationals at US 30. When launching, the brute torque of the new monster engine twisted the car with enough force that my fiberglass doors popped out of the door frames and could’ve flown off like Frisbees.

We tried to fix it properly without success. Out of frustration and youthful reckless abandon, I had my crew chief tape both doors shut on Zeke with me in it. (Yes, the tape was orange to match the car). The doors stayed on fine. The problem was, after a run, I had to wait till my crew chief came down to the back of the return road to un-tape the doors so I could get out. Talk about dangerous!

You would get ejected for a stunt like that today. After that event, we installed Dzus fasteners in the Lexan side windows to keep the doors shut.

RTV Silicone Many types and colors of silicone are used by engine builders and racers.

Most aftermarket intake manifold manufacturers recommend silicone instead of cork or rubber end seals.

Silicone is used on countless types of gaskets or in place of a gasket. There are a many types of applications the product can be used in, even as a thread sealer.

I have had engines with oil pans Circle 56 for more information 56 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

so complex, silicone was the only way to seal them to the block. My big Ford Hemis are still that way.

However, some of those silicones set up at different rates and strengths. Some are not compatible with electronics, but some special ones are. Some are for high heat, too.

There seems to be a silicone sealer for all purposes.

A few years ago, someone told me about a special black silicone Ford had. It came in half a cartridge and was very expensive. It was supposed to be very strong and fast setting, so I got some.

We were racing a UDRA event at Xenia, OH, with my “Ballistic Bird” Pro Mod Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe when after first round, we noticed dangerous oil spatter on the passenger side lower frame rail. The pan, which had been sealed with clear industrial titanium silicone as normal, had lost about a 2-inch hunk from between the pan-rail and block.

The gap was wide enough to stick a business card in it. I had some of that new black Ford special silicone with me, so I said to my crew chief, “Let’s give it a try.”

We cleaned the area with brake cleaner and squeezed that black silicone in the cavity and spread a generous layer on the outside covering the breached area. By the time we serviced the car for the next round, the silicone had set up like hard rubber. It got us through the night with out a drop of oil leaking.

Back home, I decided to freshen the engine. That black Ford siliconed area was completely stuck. It took

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some effort to get it loose. When I put the engine back together, I decided to use the special black silicone to seal the whole pan, ensuring it would never leak. Well, it didn’t. The next time I went to remove my Steff aluminum pan, I nearly destroyed the rails getting it apart. Apparently, Ford intended that black silicone to be used for something to never come apart again. It was back to my industrial clear, but I did keep the special Ford black silicone handy for emergency repairs.

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best you can. Part of racing is how you deal with adversity in situations like these, and you may help your customers make it to the finish line if it comes down to it.

The point is to never give up easy.

Do what ever it takes. Call upon the unsung heroes. To the person that says, “I’m not putting stop leak in my engine,” all I can say is – If you

Fast Lane

are a true racer, you will!

Welcome to the REAL world of racing. ■ “Animal Jim” Feurer is the owner of Animal Racing Engines in Lacon, IL. He has raced and won numerous drag racing events and has learned many lessons along the way. He is a frequent contributor to our Fast Lane column.

Absorbents and Diapers Absorbents and diapers have been a huge safety breakthrough. I can recall using numerous “unsung heros” back in the day at the “Turkey Farm” before these were around. The Turkey Farm, aptly named for the Cedar Falls, IA, drag strip located next to a property with a huge turkey farm, was another UDRA Nationals venue and my nitrous tune had a disagreement with my crankcase pressure, which resulted in billowing and cracking the front lower horizontal weld in my oil pan.

It only leaked on deceleration when chutes deployed and the oil washes forward. Because of this, shutdown at Cedar Falls created a very dirty, sandy mess under the car.

We used most of the unsung “friends” that weekend, including brake cleaner, silicone, epoxy, racer tape, folded shop towels, etc., on the cracked weld. (Unfortunately, special black Ford silicone was not available yet.) For three rounds we fought to contain that cracked weld. I lost by a hair to Wild Bill Kuhlmann in the final. He was just faster that day. At least we had thrashed our way to the final and were still upright, but our patchwork failed. The smoke from the oil on decell on each run was pretty harsh stuff. The under side of the Zephyr was a mess. Oil drenched and coated everything with the dirty sand. Today, with diapers and absorbents, a situation like this would not be a problem.

When I ponder the sometimes bizarre and scary things that I have done to keep running, it amazes even me. But, my theory has always been to start as perfect and as good as you can be and to get through possible future marginal times the

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Tales From the WD

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Star Date 2025 Closer to Reality Hold on, because some industry experts predict a bumpy ride ahead

I

n 11 years – 2025 – the industry will still exist, but might be as much as 50 percent smaller, with fewer repair shops, machine shops and wholesale distributors, according to some industry experts I recently surveyed.

Their overall consensus was that there just won’t be enough business to support the amount of people who earn a living in this industry today.

Cars will last longer than they do now, and if the OEMs have their way, consumers will rely on them instead of you for rebuilds/repairs.

Besides stock rebuilding, which has declined heavily and will continue to decline, there was overall agreement that racing will also decline. Street rodding will continue as long as those who wish to standout from the crowd still own their own cars or transportation. It was suggested that the trend towards crate engines will have a negative effect. A few said that the youth of today, who will be the buyers in the future, will have less enthusiasm for motorsports as those of the past.

I’m looking at social impact as that “love affair” Americans have had with cars for the last 100 years and how a more practical and pragmatic culture will reduce the automobile down to basic transportation.

This would also include urban population growth. If the swing is towards urban dwelling, parking and traffic will dictate a need for fewer cars.

60 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

More carpooling or more likely, greater use of light rails and busing would seem to fit. Car rental or sharing may increase as there would be fewer owned cars.

Environmental concerns may push us towards more electric or hybrids, unless we make some giant leaps forward with internal combustion technologies. Sadly, I fear politicians will have more to do with these decisions than science. Look around at other industries and the legislation

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dave Sutton dsutton@enginebuildermag.com

offshore labor continues to be more economical than labor at home, I foresee a radical tightening in the average household’s monthly budget.

You need to be able to pay your bills before you can spend on your hot rod or racecar.

How about attrition? How many shops are being replaced when the owner finally hangs up his micrometer or closes his toolbox for the last time. With fewer shops available to take on machine work or repairs, the business will slip back to the OEM by necessity. Also, the trend to recycle used engines seems to have become somewhat of a norm today. Many of my current shops report that the rebuilt engine business has already been lost to used engines, and that the large PER is no longer as big a factor to them.

As long as we can get fuel to put in them, almost all my experts felt that the restoration market will continue. Though Environmental concerns will likely one pointed out that push us towards more hybridthere are fewer cars electric or all electric-powered from the ’80s and vehicles in the future. It may not ’90s to restore that be great for business but hybrids regulating them to offer any real excitedo have gas engines, too. see what we’ll be in ment like the ’60s for in the future. and ’70s muscle Economically, I’m concerned with cars. But, I’ve always contended that inflation. We just may not be able to if the car has a live rear axle, it’s a spend as much of our income on cars candidate for a V8 swap. Maybe as we have in the past, and do still we’ll just have more hot rod pickup today. If a Big Mac hits $7.50 or $8 trucks. and gas goes to $10 a gallon, the Where the parts come from repair American mindset will change. If our vehicles also came up in my insalaries continue to lag behind and vestigation. With a smaller market, I

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THIS ISSUE:

PG 64 >> Show Previews

PG 66 >> Corporate Spotlights

have to believe that we will have fewer parts manufacturers. We’ll probably see many acquisitions and downsizing.

US parts suppliers will be forced to compete on a world market to exist. And how many parts are made in the US today anyway?

The shear number of SKU’s is set to explode over the next five years as many new engine models and designs are on the drawing board (err, computer) today. Possibly, the parts makers will only be able to supply the ever-changing OE market and the OE will dominate the parts supply stream of tomorrow. If they can keep the information about makes and models a secret from the aftermarket as they’ve tried unsuccessfully to do for years, we’ll be in trouble.

Look at what is happening in software and the music industry. If a future generation sees the ownership of knowledge and design along the same lines, cars will be thrown away before we can decide what part goes with which model.

Much remains to be seen on these fronts as well.

The next, and frankly, the largest personal concern comes in the form of distribution. Parts manufactures continue to turn their backs on a market place that served them well for many years. Now, if you can write a big check, you can buy direct and sell for as little as you like, to whomever you like from your home on the Internet. When does this come to a point where the manufacturer sells all their wares directly to anyone with a bankcard? Many of the companies we all support today have consumer friendly websites and sell at a price below retail or even some wholesale prices. Luckily, it costs more to tie up a repair bay than one or two markups impact a price, so availability is the winner today. Price may be the only concern tomorrow. I can guarantee you, there is more going on in online distribution and selling direct to the public to come.

PG 80 >> Final Wrap

Column

tics and get out to vote. Green means a lot of different things to everyone. The Green Movement works to keep themselves afloat, and not necessarily to help the “Green” that goes in our pockets. We need to watch this movement and any impact rightly or not that it may have on our future. We each need to educate ourselves on these issues and also apply this to the candidates we choose to represent us in government.

We also need to support those who will come to fill our shoes. With fewer schools spending money for Industrial Arts programs, we may only have to look around our own businesses to see the last generation of independent automotive machinists. In-house training and a mentor like environment maybe your only hope if you wish to sell your business someday. And even then, you better plan on a long-term pay schedule if you’re going to make this happen.

Most prognosticators end up being wrong somehow.

1984 came and went without Big Brother. Hal was not in orbit and running the show in 2001 or 2010. I think the indicators are all there and it will be the will of those living and working in this industry that will keep it alive as long as possible.

Change is inevitable and change is coming. It will be up to each of us to stake our claim to the business at hand and ahead. Keep up with the changes, get involved and you, too, can help shape the automotive industry to come. ■

It’s Not All Bad News Years ago, a friend and machine shop owner told me he needed to get out of the business. He equated himself with a blacksmith at the turn of the century. And he was somewhat correct. But it has not happened as fast as he may have thought. There is a “hot rodder” mentality that prevails in our industry, and those who can adapt and create a market place for themselves will survive. My feelings are that today is a key time to be thinking about the direction things are going and to work towards the change we want. We’d each prefer to dictate our own future. I hope this means business decisions that reflect a plan for a future without hanging out the “FOR SALE” sign. Maybe it does for those without the wherewithal to ride out the changes.

I look to other industries and watch for trends. I think we need to support those who lobby Washington on our behalf, and not support those who profit at any cost and sell to anyone at any price. The construction industry is down, but builders keep a firm grasp on the sale of their bill of materials. We are not carrying our own eggs into the diner, and so on. We must bill for each of our services at a price that makes us a profit, even though we may spend more time educating our customer about why they need to pay this much.

I can’t say much about social changes other than to support the “Take a Kid to a Car Show” campaign. Learn and participate in the new social media. Get involved with poliCircle 61 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 61

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Corporate/Product

Profile

American Cylinder Head Repair and Exchange – Specializing in Head Repair American Cylinder Head is a cylinder head remanufacturing company that specializes in heavy-duty, medium- and light-duty diesel, automotive and CNG applications and industrial cylinder head repair and remanufacturing, servicing customers throughout the United States and international markets.

American Cylinder Head was founded in 1973 by brothers Arvid Elbeck and Einer Elbeck, with their early focus being on the heavy-duty diesel market. In the late ’80s, the company saw a decrease in demand for heavy-duty applications and a shift toward automotive cylinder heads. During the ’90s and 2000s, automotive cylinder head remanufacturing was the primary focus of the business.

Over the last 5 years, however, American Cylinder Head has seen an increase in demand for heavyduty diesel cylinder heads. To meet these needs, the company has invested in new machinery and technology that specialize in surfacing and seat machining for these applications. Heavy-duty and industrial represents approximately 20 percent of production for the company, with automotive making up the rest.

In 2006, American Cylinder Head became an ISO-compliant cylinder head remanufacturer. This has resulted in production processes being streamlined and more efficient to allow for an overall higher quality product. In becoming ISO-complaint, the company has continued to invest in new machinery such as the Rottler SG80M – which is new for 2013. This machine allows for precision seat machining of valve seats up to 8-¼˝ in diameter. In its continued pursuit of being environmentally responsible, the company has also implemented a wastewater reclamation and treatment system that reclaims wastewater, cutting down on precious resources used.

American Cylinder Head has distribution points in Wisconsin, Missouri, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and North Carolina, with corporate headquarters located in Northern California.

American Cylinder Head Phone: 1-800-356-4889 Email: ed@epj-inc.com

www.americancylinderheads.com

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New Products for SEMA/PRI SB Chevy Exhaust Block-Off Plates Allstar Performance SB Chevy Exhaust Block-Off Plates seal engine exhaust ports to protect vital engine parts during engine storage, transportation and repair from moisture, dust and dirt. Available in one piece and individual standard port or one-piece spread port design.

Allstar Performance allstarperformance.com Circle Number 100 SEMA Booth #25125 / PRI Booth #2001

COMP Sportsman Lifters New Sportsman Lifters from COMP Cams are designed to be a premium upgrade over Endure-X Lifters and a value alternative to the Elite Race option. They are a perfect choice for the late model racing engine market as well as other extreme-duty racing applications. Sportsman Lifters are offered in two configurations: a standard/traditional needle bearing axle/wheel design or an optional bronze bushing axle/wheel setup. Each design features a large, edge-orifice metered, pressurized oil feed to the roller wheel and axle. This design delivers a more reliable oil feed than most competing options. Sportsman Lifters also feature a shallower oil band than competitors’ versions for increased strength and rigidity, while internal machining helps to reduce weight. The body design utilizes a skirted wheel that strengthens the lifter ears, and the skirt also provides more contact area with the lifter bore to further stabilize the lifter. In addition, orbited axles eliminate clips and provide robust axle retention. This permanent axle retention feature increases the stiffness of the lifter ears and helps prevent the ears from spreading.

COMP Cams compcams.com Circle Number 101 SEMA Booth #22613 / PRI Booth #625

64 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

Camaro 5 V6 EFI Wet Nitrous System The new 5th Generation Camaro Triple-Threat V6 Wet Nitrous System combines all three valve functions: purge, N20 and fuel, and is manufactured in a precision machined billet body with three integral solenoid valves with volt-trap coils. This design ensures a dependable, clean, and all-in-one nitrous system. Unlike other EFI systems on the market, only the Ny-Trex Triple-Threat valve system is backed by a lifetime warranty and allows a full purge. Designed for easy installation in the new Camaro V6, and delivers up to 100-hp extra.

Design Engineering Inc. designengineering.com Circle Number 102 SEMA Booth #20013 / PRI Booth #1732

Dart LS Next Aluminum Block Dart’s LS Next block is the first significant change in the bottom end architecture of the LS engine platform. By eliminating the “Y-block” design and utilizing conventional style main caps and oil pans, Dart has addressed the problems resulting from the LS engine’s separated crankcase bays. Windage is greatly reduced, resulting in increased power and improved lubrication.

Dart Machinery dartheads.com Circle Number 103 PRI Booth #2211

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PQX® Series Dual Gear Drives PRW Industries introduces new Dual Gear Drives for its Performance Quotient Series product line. Replace your stock timing chain with a CNC machined dual gear drive, available in noisy or quiet for most applications. Unlike timing chains, gear drives will not stretch or wear prematurely. Most applications require little or no machining and fit under the majority of stock timing chain covers.

Whether it’s on the street or at the track, let a PRW Dual Gear Drive help you make more horsepower. Perfect for Circle Track applications. Available for Chevy, Ford, Mopar, Oldsmobile and Pontiac.

PRW Industries, Inc. PRW-USA.com Circle Number 105 SEMA Booth #23025 / PRI Booth #2329

Black Diamond Series Carburetors While an unsightly looking carb won’t usually affect performance, under-hood heat will. For years racers and tuners have increased performance by lowering fuel temperature. Quick Fuel Technology (QFT) has introduced a highly durable coating that lowers fuel temperatures by 6% to ensure maximum power and response. The high performance, high temperature PTFE coating is designed specifically for the unique requirements of carburetors and is available in a satin black finish.

Quick Fuel Technology quickfueltechnology.com Circle Number 106 SEMA Booth #36236 / PRI Booth #1645

Merlin III Big Block Available With Upgrades World Products American made Merlin III cast iron big block is now available with some serious upgrades, and without the wait – parts are in stock for immediate delivery. These blocks have a 55mm Babbitt cam tunnel and bronze bushed .904˝ lifter bores for improved high rpm valve train performance and stability. The Merlin III is available with the standard 9.800˝ big block deck height, or tall 10.200˝ decks are also available. Merlin can accept up to a 4.375˝ stroke crankshaft and the 10.200˝ deck can accept up to a 4.750˝ stroke. Siamese cylinder bores and .600˝ thick decks provide superior rigidity and strength for maximum effort competition engines.

World Products worldproducts.net Circle Number 107 SEMA Booth #30299 / PRI Booth #1343 EngineBuilderMag.com 65

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Brad Penn HighPerformance Oil Brad Penn’s Penn Grade 1 High Performance Oils are formulated using a unique base oil cut from it’s tower, which gives Penn Grade 1 exceptional film strength. This unique base oil allows it to cling tenaciously to engine parts to minimize wear during high engine torque loading and/or periods of heavily stressed operation such as those experienced during competition. This same oil “cling” helps prevent “drystart” conditions to minimize wear even after the engine has been sitting idle for extended periods. This oil also contains detergent and dispersant additives to guarantee exceptional engine cleanliness as well as oxidation and foam inhibitors that offer protection against thermal degradation and air entrainment. In addition to the unique base oil cut, increased concentration of “zinc” (ZDDP) provides outstanding anti-wear/anti-scuffing protection for engines employing either ‘flat tappet’ or roller cams.

American Refining Group penngrade1.com Circle Number 104 SEMA Booth #22622 / PRI Booth #606

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Corporate/Product Profile H75

CNC Vertical Honing Machines from Rottler

Rottlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new H75 CNC Vertical Honing Machines feature Windows Touch Screen Control and allows complete V blocks to be honed automatically â&#x20AC;&#x201C; unattended. Many new features such as load control and lower crash detection allow easy, fast and accurate honing from small to very large cylinders.

Rottler Manufacturing contact@rottlermfg.com Phone: 253-872-7050 www.rottlermfg.com Circle 112 for more information

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Corporate/Product Profile

Engine & Performance Warehouse…

Celebrating its 40th Anniversary!

“As a major engine parts distributor, our job at EPWI is to supply the products and services our customers need – at the right time, at the right place,” said Paul Van Woensel, President of Engine & Performance Warehouse. “We have the widest brand selection, and over 120,000 part numbers on-hand at any given time, in over 100 replacement and performance product lines, with exceptional 96% daily fill rates to our customers. We continually add to our product offerings, and expand our inventories with the products our customers need and want. Our EPWI Engine Kit catalog is the best in the business with over 600 pages of application coverage. Over the years, EPWI’s product sales include well over one million engine kits! Our catalog also includes the broadest coverage of remanufactured crankshafts & crank kits available anywhere. EPWI truly provides its customers “one-stop shopping.”

EPWI is an outgrowth of the original business, Heads by Paul, an automotive machine shop established in 1972 by EPWI’s owner and president, Paul Van Woensel. HBP specialized in performance cylinder head work. EPWI grew out of a void in engine parts supply chain, and has grown to become one of the largest engine parts specialty distribution companies in the United States.

EPWI services the central and western United States with 12 strategically located distribution centers that support customers in 21 states. That allows them to provide superior service and free next-day ground for most shipments in the markets they serve.

EPWI is committed to superior customer service and expert support. EPWI machine shop and jobber customers are served by 15 local field sales representatives, and 35 qualified engine parts customer service representatives, with a collective engine parts experience that is unparalleled in the marketplace. Customer support programs include our Specials Catalog, targeted pricing programs, web-based “street pricing” guides, and our national Parts Finder program. They have an unwavering commitment to help their machine shop and Jobber customers compete and grow.

EPWI is driven by a their passion for the automotive aftermarket and the industry they serve. They have contributed significant time and effort to further the industry and its goals, and are active supporters of the industry and its trade organizations.

For more information, visit us at www.epwi.net, email us at info@epwi.net or call 800-888-8970.

Engine & Performance Warehouse (EPWI) 955 Decatur St. Unit D Denver, CO 80204 Phone: 800-888-8970 www.epwi.net Circle 114 for more information 72 September 2013 | EngineBuilder

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48-52,77 6.7L Cummins 9/16/13 4:04 PM Page 77

The differential pressure sensor used for determining soot load in the DPF is mounted on the side of the transmission on the drivers side.

over 60 percent of the components used in the 5.9L. The engine still utilizes the same 24-valve design cylinder head with high combustion chambers in the pistons. In 2009, the connecting rods became what is known as cracked-cap design. This is a process where the connecting rod is made using powder metallurgy. Forged steel rods were used from 1987 to 2009. The connecting rod bearings and the main bearings are the same sizes for both engines. The only difference in connecting rod bearings will be if the

continued from page 52

When looking at the front of the engine, you will notice right off the mall exhaust pipe that runs in front of the engine around the front of the valve cover. The pipe routes from the EGR cooler bypass valve to the EGR valve at the intake manifold. This pipe carries the exhaust gas to the EGR valve. Remember, the EGR In order to control harmful valve will open only when emissions, elaborate exhaust commanded by the ECM after systems are mandated for diesel engines to help remove a certain criteria has been met. harmful contaminates.

Once the EGR valve opens, the exhaust gas enters the intake manifold through an EGR throttle control valve. The throttle vapors are re-introduced into the envalve is basically a butterfly in a housgine to be burned in the combustion ing that is controlled by a DC motor. process. The CCV system is located on The throttle valve will move to help top of the valve cover, which captures draw the exhaust gas into the intake blow-by gasses and oil mist. The oil manifold. When the intake system is and gasses are filtered where the oil is under boost from the turbo, the valve collected and sent back to the will partially close in order to slow crankcase and the gasses then travel down the intake of fresh air from the through a tube connected to the fresh turbo and “siphon” in the exhaust gas. air side of the turbo.

One more system that needs to be mentioned is the Closed Crankcase Hard Parts Ventilation (CCV) system. On the 5.9L From the 5.9L to the 6.7L, there are engine, crankcase vapors passed major changes which are mostly rethrough a filter on top of the valve lated to the addition of emissions comcover and then through a tube to the ponents. However, the 6.7L contains atmosphere. For the 6.7L, the crankcase Displacement Compression ratio Bore Stroke Firing Order Cylinder Block Crankshaft Cylinder Head Pistons Camshaft Connecting Rods

Feature

16.3:1,

Cast Chilled Cross-

5.9 liter, 359 cubic inches 17.2:1(High Output) 4.02˝ 4.72˝ 1-5-3-6-2-4 Cast Iron Induction Hardened Forged Cast Iron Aluminum Ductile Iron Rolled Alloy

6.7 liter, 408 cubic inches 17.3:1 4.21˝ 4.88˝ 1-5-3-6-2-4 Cast Iron Induction Hardened Forged Cast Iron Cast Aluminum Chilled Ductile Iron Cross-Rolled Alloy

From the 5.9L to the 6.7, there are major changes which are mostly related to the addition of emissions components. However, the 6.7L contains over 60% of the components used in the 5.9L.

connecting rod is cracked-cap design.

The journal size is the same but the bearings change in design. The major change is with the bore and the stroke, but most of these parts will interchange as some owners are integrating the crankshaft out of a 6.7 into their 5.9L for a stroker project.

There is one important thing to mention about the injectors used in the 6.7L. If for some reason the situation arises where one or all of the injectors need to be replaced in the engine, exercise caution. The process of changing the injector is the same as the 5.9L, but the problem is the injectors have changed. At the base of the injector where the electrical coil meets the body of the injector is stamped a six digit alphanumeric code. This is the correction code that identifies the injectors calibration also known as an IQA code.

This code has to be entered into the engine’s ECM in order for the engine to run properly. Without the proper code in the ECM, the engine will operate poorly from the wrong fuel calibration.

This will have to be performed by the dealer that has Cummins licensed software. ■ EngineBuilderMag.com 77

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USED AND REBUILT EQUIPMENT MACHINE REBUILDING

CBN TOOLING: WE RESHARPEN CBN’S!

JAMISON EQUIPMENT 1908 11th St., Emmetsburg IA 50536 800-841-5405 Check out our used equip. list at www.jamisonequipment.com

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Advertiser Index COMPANY NAME Access Industries ACL Distribution American Cylinder Head, Inc. American Gasket Apex Automobile Parts ArmaKleen Company Atech Motorsports Bill Mitchell Products Brad Penn Lubricants Brock Supply Centroid Corp.

Chrysler Group LLC Cloyes Gear & Products Inc. Cometic Gaskets Comp Performance Group Dakota Parts Warehouse Dart Machinery Ltd

PAGE # Cover 3 7 62, 63 61 9 39 29 57 6 41 42, 43 8 26 50 10 29 3

CIRCLE # 83 7 63 61 9 39 29 48 12 41 43 8 32 50 10 24 3

Darton International Diamond Racing Products /Trend Performance Dipaco Inc. DNJ Engine Components Driven Racing Oil, LLC Elgin Industries Engine & Performance Warehouse Engine Parts Group Engine Parts Warehouse ESCO Industries GRP Connecting Rods Henkel Corp Injector Experts Interstate-Mcbee King Electronics Liberty Engine Parts Lubriplate Lubricants Co

6 56 49 1 33 Cover 2 23 17 55 30 37 11 30 40 57 4, 5 52

6 56 49 1 33 2 23 17 55 30 37 11 22 40 57 5 52

Motovicity National Cylinder Head Packard Industries PRI Show PRW Industries Inc Quality Cutter Grinding Quality Power Products Rottler Manufacturing Safety Auto Parts Corp SB International Scat Enterprises Scorpion Racing Products SEMA T & D Machine Products Trac-Pro United Engine & Machine

58, 59 26 18, 19 12 28 51 21 Cover 4 53 47 14, 15 25 35 27 31 45

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Power Adders: Turbos, Blowers and Nitrous The power that a naturally aspirated engine can make is limited by its displacement and how efficiently you can make it breathe with cylinder head, camshaft and induction system modifications. Tech Editor Larry Carley highlights add-on options for your customers’ engines. http://bit.ly/1atzMKS

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Kafko International has introduced its unique Oil Eater Flex Line parts washers that include ready-to-use units with basic, premium and professional level features. The waterbased systems have a modular design and interchangeable features. http://bit.ly/1e67eev

Running an engine shop can keep you pretty busy and at times, you may feel you don't have the time to dedicate your efforts to “the business side” of your shop.

Richard Lipton, CPA, explains why regular tax planning can help you become a more profitable shop. http://bit.ly/1atGaSm

Reader Comments Addressing Ford Power Stroke Injector Misfire/Cackle “I'm sorry, but after owning one, and writing the Ford Training material for the 7.3 in ‘99 and sitting in meetings with Navistar engineers for six months, I can tell you with great confidence the #8 Injector is a band aid for the cackle. Does it fix it? Yes. But, it hides the real issue.

The fuel system sucks air. The fuel lines were designed for the V10 to be under

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pressure with an in-tank pump, not to be under a draw from the frame mounted pump. A clear line post fuel pump will show air bubbles. In 2000, when mine was six months old, I pulled the whole fuel system and tank and re-plumbed the whole truck. Picked up 3-4 mpg and the engine was quiet.”

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Removing Problem Plugs on Ford Modular Engines “Some revisions — buy the Lisle tool and knock the porcelain against the electrode and tap the top of the spark plug body. Then, screw on the little attachment that works like a slide hammer and they will pop out. Almost want them to break — this tools works that well. Gluing the rods is idiotic.”

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Babcox Media Inc. Bill Babcox, President Greg Cira, Vice President, CFO Jeff Stankard, Vice President Beth Scheetz, Controller In Memorium: Edward S. Babcox (1885-1970) Founder of Babcox Publications Inc. Tom B. Babcox (1919-1995) Chairman

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