HALF VALVE GAUGE I cut old valves in half to make a quick tool, when doing valve jobs. It is quicker than dividers or lapping. When installed in the head, you can see exactly where the valves are seating. Scott Ouellette Powerplay Automotive Machine Wilmington, MA...
DON’T BUST THAT GUIDE If you’ve been having problems breaking off the end of a valve guide, on the spring end of the guide, when installing thin wall guides, I may have a solution. I machine from the spring cup side of the head instead of the valve seat side. You will...
WOODIN’ YOU LIKE SOME I have made a variety of valve holders, each made for different head configurations. I make them out of wood and drill holes matching the head configuration so I can replace the valves back into the same valve guides. The attached example is...
HEAD POST Sometimes it’s easier to work on something if you can get it a little higher up in the air. I made a steel post with a tapered end to hold cylinder heads up high above the assembly bench. The single post allows me to swing the head around easily and it is...
ISX CAM BEARING FAILURE ISX Cummins DOHC heads are often return with an injector cam bearing seized to the camshaft. The cause is twofold: 1) When the technician removed the camshaft on the head exchange, they stood the camshaft on end. Since the camshafts are hollow,...
COMBUSTION CHAMBER VOLUME SOLUTION Measuring combustion chamber volume is an important step when trying to achieve a specific compression ratio in a custom engine build. CNC machining the chambers or even sinking the valve job will increase the chamber size by a...