Let’s spend some time together and let me explain just what we do and why we do it. (Other than the fact that you’ll love it and we love doing it)           

The lower part of the engine is called the “block”.  Its purpose is to “suck and squeeze” the fuel/air mixture allowed to enter via the cylinder head and then transmit that power to the rear wheels via the transmission and differential.  First, we disassemble completely, then all the steel parts are acid dipped and cleaned thoroughly and inspected.  The block itself is cast iron and usually is very rusty inside as well as outside because water flows through the block to cool it.  Often times the rust particles can block the water flow and cause overheating.  That’s why we acid dip EVERY  block – to dissolve all the loose rust particles and get them out.

After the block has been cleaned we start the inspection procedure.  The freeze plugs are discs pressed into the side of the block where the water flows to allow the expansion of the water should it freeze.  When removed Prior to cleaning they provide extra areas of inspection to assure the rust has been eliminated.  We always remove and reinstall new freeze plugs.  The pistons move up and down inside the block in the cylinders.  The reason to re-bore the cylinders is not to increase the size of the engine, but to assure a perfect fit between the new pistons and the cylinder walls.  Your old pistons, an alloy material, as they wear and change shape with the heat, slap back and forth causing damage to the cylinder walls.  (also, oil starvation can cause serious damage as well as too lean of fuel/air mixture).  The crankshaft fits into the very bottom of the engine and controls the up and down movement of the pistons via the connecting rods.  Not only is it important that the crankshaft be straight, true, and balanced, but the area in which it fits into the block must also be straight.  This machining process of making sure the block area is straight is called “line boring”, we check and line bore every block to assure proper fit.  This greatly adds to the life and durability of the engine.  The block itself has several threaded holes.  Most of the time some of these holes are stripped or damaged, usually by someone in the past using a metric threaded bolt, the wrong thread pitch, or a bolt too short and pulling the threads out.  Each and every hole is checked, rethreaded or repaired as needed.  This aids in the assembly later and is much easier to repair properly at this point.  Two other areas of the block are machined at this point.  The top of the block (where the cylinder head contacts it) and the bottom of the block (where the oil pan fits).  Often the bottom of the block has areas that stick up around the bolt holes, if these areas are not smooth, the oil pan will leak later.          

The pistons that we help you choose will depend on your driving habits and desires.  We offer the stock A.E. 9.0:1 which is just fine, but we also offer a wide range of custom designed aluminum pistons and compression ratios for the extra power and performance some desire.  The piston moves up and down in the cylinder in the block, its job is to suck in the fuel/air mixture, and then squeeze it until it is ignited by the spark plug.  The ratio for instance 9.0:1 relates to the way the air is squeezed (compressed) before it’s ignited (combustion).  The higher the compression ratio – (that means the air is compressed tighter) the more power you get.  Unfortunately, the quality of today’s fuels and the lower overall octane ratings prohibit us from increasing the compression ratios beyond 10.0:1.  Basically the higher octane fuels burn slower and create a larger combustion.  Today’s fuels burn very fast, although they burn thoroughly and cleanly they don’t produce the power we used to get.  More than 10.0:1 ratio would not be productive unless of course you had access to aviation fuels or racing fuel.  But then again if you have access we can work with you to design something more exotic.  The “rings” that fit around the pistons seal the pistons to the cylinder walls.  The top two rings seal “up”.  That would ensure a positive seal when the piston sucks (down) or squeezes (up).  The third or bottom ring seals down.  Below the piston is the crankcase and oil pan.  The oil needs to lubricate but stay below the combustion chamber (above the piston) otherwise the engine will burn the oil with the fuel/air mix and exit the tailpipe.             

The piston is attached to a “connecting rod” which attaches it to the crankshaft.  As the crankshaft rotates it pushes and pulls the piston up and down via the connecting rod.  The connecting rods are of utmost importance to the proper functioning of the engine.  We spend lots of time and care working with the connecting rods.  At the top of the connecting rod it attaches to the piston wrist pin and is constantly pivoting as the piston moves up and down.  The bushing at the top of the connecting rod is always replaced and sized (machined) to fit with the proper clearances for lubrication.  The bottom of the connecting rod attaches to the crankshaft and has bearings that allow the rotation of the crankshaft without damage to the connecting rod.  This area of the crankshaft is called a connecting rod “Journal” and is one of the many areas of concentration when machining.  The perfect diameter of the lower end of the connecting rod is critical to optimize bearing life.  If the area is not matched perfectly – bearing failure will occur.  Commonly called a “rod knock”. (Not a noise you ever want to hear.) 

The connecting rod itself is also an important factor.  The rods here are “shot peened” and balanced.  “Shot Peened” is a machinist term to lighten and strengthen the metal of the rod.  Also it’s important to balance and weigh each rod to match each other,  When the pistons are all of equal weight and the rods are all of equal weight vibration is minimal.  Also the connecting rod bolts are replaced.  The connecting rod bolts are the (2) nuts and bolts that attach each of the connecting rods to the crankshaft.  The bolts normally stretch – so replacement is necessary – but we also upgrade to a newer style which is much more reliable.

The crankshaft is also machined and balanced.  The bearing areas (Journals) of the crankshaft that contact the engine block and the connecting rods are machined to perfect specs to allow long bearing life with proper lubrication.  The crankshaft core plugs are removed from every crankshaft and the crankshaft is thoroughly cleaned inside and out.  There is always oil residue and dirt inside the crankshaft and must always be cleaned out or it will contaminate the new engine and probably cause engine bearing failure.  The core plugs are “clean out” plugs in the crankshaft.  They are often very difficult to remove but must be done regardless of difficulty.  Then after the “Journals” have been machined, the core plugs removed, the crankshaft thoroughly cleaned, and the new core plugs re-installed, we balance the crankshaft to assure smooth running and proper bearing wear.

Now we start assembly.  We replace both the upper and lower timing chains.  (Literally like a bicycle chain only twice as wide)  The lower timing chain connects the crankshaft at the bottom of the engine to a centrally located gear at the front of the engine.  It runs a path through (2) “guide rails”, which are metal plates with rubber on the side that the chain could touch up against, and then by a “tensioner”.  The “tensioner” is an automatically adjusting rubber shoe that pushes against the timing chain to help keep it tight and stop vibration.  The tensioner is also replaced with a heavier version than originally installed. 

The upper chain connects the camshafts to the centrally located gear as well.  There are also 2 guide rails for the upper chain to prevent movement, but the upper chain has a manual tensioner which is adjusted through a hole in the front of the cylinder head.  This chain has to be considerably tighter than the lower and should be periodically adjusted to maintain proper valve operation.  Since the upper chain connects both the camshafts together, it is crucial they stay synchronized at all times – or damage could occur to the valve system and of course performance.

The oil in the engine is like the blood in your body.  Very very important.  You know what happens when you run out of blood?  Same thing happens with your engine.  There are many things to consider and be aware of when it comes to engine oiling.  Yes, we want good oil pressure but we also want lots of volume.  Too much oil pressure is not good – it can cause all kinds of problems and leaking.  To achieve proper oil pressures, we must make sure that all of the engine bearing clearances are correct, and the block oil passages are clean and free from debris, and of course a new oil pump.  We choose the late style high volume pumps supplied by AE.  With the high volume pumps we are assured of plenty of oil to all those critical areas.  The pressure we can adjust via the oil bypass or relief valve system to make sure oil pressure is not too high.

The rear of the engine has a “rope” seal – which sounds kind of “cheap” but actually works well.  As long as the oil pressure is correct, minimal leaking is expected and acceptable.  The front of the engine originally came with a rubber seal – which always leaked.  Now we upgrade to the newest style seal, which has a new sleeve, fitted with an internal “O” ring and a Teflon inner lip on the outer seal.  Front seal leaks have been eliminated entirely.

When we assemble the cylinder head back onto the block, we discard the original head studs (because they always stretch and cause head gasket leaking) and use only chrome molly (hardened) head studs with new nuts.  The new head studs don’t stretch, therefore they hold the cylinder head tighter to the block ensuring a better seal and the need for constant re-torqueing is eliminated. 

As a final comment on engine assembly, we use all new copper washers and cirrated lock washers to aid in the assembly.  We try as hard as possible to cure all the leaks in the problem areas we have found over the years and are very successful in stopping the leaks or at least minimizing this age-old problem.