The hands-on approach
Engine design advances, new materials, tighter tolerances, plus the leaps made in lubrication and fuel technologies mean that full engine rebuilds are less common today than they were in the past. However, higher power outputs and speeds, greater engine complexity, extended oil drain intervals and less mechanically-sympathetic driving means that remanufacturing remains a vital service that requires a high level of professionalism.
Since being established in 1946, Ivor Searle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, has become one of the most prominent engine remanufacturers in the UK. Its commercial director and former operations manager, David Eszenyi, says that, while it is perfectly possible for a home mechanic to repair an engine adequately, remanufacturing an engine to the BSI standard may not be cost effective, or even possible: “Diyers must be wary of indulging in a false economy. After having all the separate machining work carried out, from the head to the block, plus the time and cost aspects of ferrying the parts to different specialists, it may be cheaper and certainly more time efficient to entrust the entire job to a single remanufacturer. Choose your supplier carefully.”
David warns also about throwing good money after bad: “You may take a cylinderhead to be machined, for example, but if the casting is cracked
and it has not been pre-tested, you would have paid out on remanufacturing a part that may be scrap.”
As with all engine repairs, a minute particle of grit can ruin a newly assembled engine within a short period of time, which is why professional remanufacturers are obsessive about cleanliness.
David also says: “Data is a hugely valuable part of our business. Every engine possesses its own unique specifications. Without such detailed information, you cannot be sure that you are remanufacturing a unit to the original equipment (OE) standard and, therefore, complying with the BSI conditions.”
Component quality is another problem. With counterfeit and sub-standard car parts being rife, Oe-quality replacement
parts are critical to long engine life. Fitting a sub-standard timing chain, bearing shell kit, head gasket, etc, can be ruinous. While quality remanufacturers spend considerable effort on establishing a reliable supply chain, fixings is one area in which establishing OE quality is very difficult. David explains how Ivor Searle overcomes this problem: “Even bolts have their own specification, but many of them are not marked with any identifiers to denote their hardness. This is why, when we have a casting that is scrap, we strip, inspect and clean all original fixings, then catalogue and store them. This is the only way that we ensure, to the finest detail, that everything we do is at least OE quality and even exceeds the requirements of BS AU 257: 2002.”