FILLER UP When I need to hone a harmonic balancer or anything with a key slot, I use a body filler, commonly called Bondo, to fill it up and rough it close. That way the stones don’t catch on the edge of the slot, it does not clog the stones and it works quite well....
Sixteen Installation Tips For Cylinder Head Gaskets 1. The engine should cool completely-before disassembly Heat expands metal, making head and manifold bolts more difficult to remove and more prone to breakage. Cylinder heads, especially aluminum heads may warp if...
Evolution of Ring End Gap Theory It’s easy to see or know when you don’t have enough ring end gap. Common signs include scuffed ring faces, damaged rings and cylinders and/or shiny areas on the butt ends of the rings. The ideal minimum ring end-gap would by found...
Ball Cup Effective Length When working with a ball-and-cup type pushrod from an application like a Ford or Chrysler product with adjustable shaft rockers, it is important to know the “effective” length when ordering custom length pushrods.- In this case, the effective...
Guide to Tipping I keep about 15 different valve guides next to my valve-refacer to use when “tipping” the valve stems. By clamping the guide into the machine instead of the stem of the valve, I can easily insert the valve and use two fingers on the head of the valve...
Smoke ‘Em if Ya Got ‘Em In our shop, we don’t have a dyno or engine test stand. We work on a variety of engines from Chevys to Internationals to Continentals, so no engine start stand would suit everything we do. In an effort to find oil leaks, we have started to...