Franklin Engineering Services Ltd. - Franklin Engineering Services Ltd. 129 Manukau Road

Estimates are free – from machining to fully reconditioned engines and delivery. As well as this, we offer free pickups throughout the greater Auckland area.

Regardless of the brand or how robust an engine’s components are, it’s a simple fact that eventually, some parts of it are going to wear out, thus requiring the need to repair or replace the engine parts.

Pukekohe engineering reconditioning company Franklin Engineering Services Ltd (FES) has a procedure that aids fleet owners in making that final call.

It’s fair to say that FES owner, Ian Walters, has had quite a bit of time to design and streamline a system to get the best possible outcome for his customers. After all, working in the company is the only job he’s ever had.

Ian landed a job at FES when he was straight out of school, more than 30 years ago, and as the saying goes, he liked the company so much, he eventually bought it. Another string was added to the company bow when Ian purchased Johnson’s Piston Rings, the New Zealand-famous manufacturing firm that has been around since 1920 and still exists as a subsidiary Franklin Engineering Services Ltd.

While FES can take on any engine reconditioning job, our major source of work comes from the heavy diesel market such as buses, trucks, marine, right up to large stationary engines.

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OUR ENGINE RECONDITIONING PROCESS

A rigorous process is followed once an engine is brought through the door. Bear in mind, different customers have different requirements. Work can be completed on the short assembly, long-assembly (cylinder head/s attached) or complete engine assembly, ready to be fitted back into their vehicle or machine.

FULL ENGINE JOB PROCESS:

Step 1

Engineers Deo and Matt checking valve recessions on a Cummins ISB cylinder head.

 

The engine assembly is completely stripped down for a visual check-over, and assuming it’s repairable, every component goes through an acid tank before being crack-tested. In order for a component, such as a cylinder head or a crankshaft, to be crack tested, it is first magnetised with an electromagnet and then sprayed with a special solution.
The solution migrates to any cracks in the component, which become visible when placed under ultraviolet light. A photo is then taken as proof of the work needed to be done.
This important step gives the FES team a good indication as to whether the individual engine part is able to be repaired or if it’s destined for the scrap bin after a replacement part has been procured.

Step 2

A condition report is furnished, outlining the overall finding, allowing the customer to decide on a course of action that best suits their requirements.

Step 3

Arc spraying in progress

 

Assuming the customer has decided to go ahead with a complete overhaul, whereby the engine will be returned to them, ready to be fitted-in and fired-up, step 3 will generally be started at the block. It will involve a complete strip-down and replacement of parts, including replacement of gallery plugs and cleaning oil galleries, water jackets, etc.

Hardness tests are also carried out where necessary, as are checks for wear and bends in the crankshaft, camshaft, and conrods. This step is imperative.

Naturally, each rebuild has its own requirements and depending on the condition of existing components, along with each engine’s configuration, liners may need to be removed and new or repaired ones freeze-fitted.

Pin boring and freeze-fitting of conrod bushes may also be a requirement. Crankshaft journals, and similar, worn beyond practical grinding tolerances are no problem for the FES team. We have our very own arc spraying department which saves valuable time in avoiding outsourcing that job.

Step 4

Deo reading a valve recession gauge. Note the clever use of a bearing cap as a saddle­—recycling at its best.

 

A similar process follows with cylinder heads. After passing through an acid tank, they are given a decarb and a pressure test to ensure there are no water leaks, with surface milling of the head generally being a requirement.

Valve guides, valves and springs are checked for wear, and replaced as necessary, along with yet more tests for valve seat condition. The setting of valve tip heights and valve recessions is also a part of the process.

Steps 5, 6, and 7 involve reconditioning the oil pump, replacing/reconditioning the water pump and acid cleaning the manifold prior to resurfacing.

In order to achieve a uniform surface across two-piece manifolds, the two sections are tack-welded together, with the weld being unpicked when the surface-grinding is completed.

Turbo faces are also machined while the manifold is in the workshop. Obviously, tack-welding isn’t a requirement for single-piece manifolds and turbo faces aren’t present on naturally aspirated engines.

The final part of the process is taken up with replacing camshaft bearings, as these are sacrificed during the acid cleaning part of the exercise.

Rocker shafts and rockers are polished and resurfaced and reassembled, along with the rest of the engine before a vacuum test and final check-over is carried out. An extra step of stripping, cleaning, and reassembling intercooler components is carried out on engines fitted with this feature.

In order to minimise any congestion on the production line, we have two of almost every machine in the workshop. This allows our engine reconditioners to get the work out the door considerably faster than is possible with a one-process, one-machine set-up.

FES operates a Sunnen hone with the capacity to hone out to +0.30", which does away with the need to bore an engine block, further reducing the time required to complete a full or partial rebuild.

We understand our clients’ time is limited. Our engine reconditioners have the capacity to get an entire engine rebuilt in and out the door in double-quick time, saving our clients’ valuable time off the road, construction site, or farm.

For more information, call 0800 001628 or For International Calls +649 238 4079