JASPER, Ind. — Jasper Engines & Transmissions has implemented an operation to remanufacture Ford Modular cylinder heads with overhead cams.
An overhead cam bore alignment station has been put in place in the Gas Engine Division of the Jasper, Ind., facility. At the heart of this station is a Milltronics 7200 CNC machine that properly centers the head for the align boring tool to machine each journal. The CNC machine takes less time to do the procedure, with improved accuracy, when compared to a manually operated drawbar boring setup, according to Jasper.
Currently, the station’s main focuses are the Ford 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8L modular engines with aluminum overhead cam cylinder heads. The station gives Jasper the ability to remanufacture these heads that in the past would not be salvageable.
“The camshaft rides on the aluminum journal of the head and not on an actual bearing,” said Lukas Hetterscheidt, JASPER Gas Engine quality control captain. “Any dirt or debris that gets in between the cam and the head tends to tear up the journals and the camshaft itself.”
JASPER’s Indiana Tool & Die Division has the capability to weld up the steel camshaft journals to .030 oversize. Meanwhile, heads are taken to the cam bore alignment station where the journals are align bored to accept the remanufactured camshaft.
“It doesn’t have to be the same cam that originally came with the head, but the journals have to match in size,” says Hetterscheidt. “So if you have a .030 cam, the journals on the head must be cut .030. In some instances the head journals are align bored .080 over, and a bearing is inserted so a stock camshaft can be used.”
“Anything that was in poor condition would, in the past, be discarded, and we would run out of core heads or core cams,” added Hetterscheidt. “Now we can save both the cam and the heads. We are always keeping our eyes open for ways to reclaim components, maintaining the highest quality standards and producing the greatest value for our customer.”
In the future, JASPER plans to utilize the cam bore alignment station on 3.7 and 4.7L Chrysler cylinder heads. Hetterscheidt added similar stations could be implemented in other JASPER facilities where overhead cam engines are remanufactured.
