Your Fuel Is The Enemy of Your Engine
Understanding the impact of liquid fuel on engine durability By Lake Speed Jr. Engines, whether powered by gasoline or diesel, rely on the combination of fuel and air to produce combustion. While it might sound like clickbait, the reality is …
Twisted Iron
By Francisco Aristizabal One of the greatest challenges that heavy diesel engine manufacturers have faced over the years is improvements of the cylinder liner assembly with consideration of engine block counterbores. As power increases and expectations for longevity have increased, …
Dance, Dance, Dance
Cylinder Liner Dancing By Steve Scott Dance, the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually within a given space. Everyone has heard of line dancing, but what about cylinder liners dancing? Yes, it’s a real thing. It may …
Trivia Contest
Do you think you know everything about engine rebuilding and cars? If you answered yes, you might want to buckle up and join our exciting automotive trivia contest. This quarter, I am giving you the chance to show off your …
LS Fastener Torque Specifications
Factory OE and examples of specific aftermarket specifications By Mike Mavrigian Applying the correct tightening values for threaded engine fasteners is critical for any engine build. Listed here are both factory OEM values, some of which involve a torque-plus-angle tightening …
How Valves Are Born
By Fernando Curello If we could only tell a child that by simply joining an intake with an exhaust valve, we would get baby valves – ha, ha, ha! That would be a straightforward way to make them, but the …
The Internal Combustion Engine Will Never Die
By Dave Hagen UPDATE! The internal combustion engine (ICE) will never die! That’s a bold statement in today’s news world as most all you hear is “Go Green” and electric is the way to go. Well, I’m here to tell …
High-Performance Gaskets
What’s the Difference?By Brian Roberts Gaskets and seals as we all know are used to seal the engine. Looking at the high-performance world the gaskets and seals used are often designed differently to meet the demands of the increased HP …
The R Factor
By Chuck Lynch with Scott Hoffman When I joined the Marine Corps, I was bewildered by the fact that every process, team, group, bathroom activity had an acronym. JJDIDTIEBUCKLE was an acronym that was stencil onto the riser plate of …
The Surprise Inside Cummins ISX
By Steve Scott Cracker Jack® and the Cummins® ISX engine have something in common – a surprise inside. Looking inside a Cummins ISX to see what surprises you may find could also be considered a treasure hunt… you may find …
Machine Maintenance
By Steve Fox One of the most important pieces of the puzzle in the engine building industry is the equipment to machine cylinders, blocks, rods, crankshafts, and other engine components. If that piece of equipment is running, more than likely, …
The Hidden Variable
By Lake Speed Jr. and Keith Jones I have to admit that over the last 16 years of doing field technical support for engine builders around the world, I’ve seen situations where the outcome didn’t fit the known pieces. Those …
Clean Laser Technology
Superior quality assurance and coating adhesionBy Carlo Chatman Laser systems remove grease, residue, contaminants, and corrosion from metal surfaces quickly with less preparation and mess than traditional techniques. Most automotive manufacturers understand the value of pretreating metal surfaces of parts …
VVT Systems
It’s about time…By Brian Roberts Variable Valve Timing (VVT) is a system in an engine that allows for control of the valve timing at any given RPM range to maximize the power, emission reduction, and miles per gallon. There is …
