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Racing engines are like dogs and babies: They
communicate in ways that not everyone can understand.
When Duke, my Labrador retriever, is thirsty or wants to
go outside, he doesn't need to send me a memo or speak
to me in perfect English. We communicate in nonverbal
ways, and he has trained me how to interpret his actions
and expressions. I have also learned that if I ignore
what Duke is telling me, it's very likely that I'll end
up with a mess on the kitchen floor to clean up.
A racing engine will also tell you when it is in
distress. There are early warning signs that indicate
when something is wrong. If you learn how to listen to
your engine and interpret its messages, you can save a
ton of money. And if you chose to ignore what your
engine is saying, you will probably end up with a mess
in the bottom of the oil pan to clean up.
Like electricity, racers follow the path of least
resistance. If an engine suddenly spits out a pushrod, a
typical reaction is to decide that the part was
defective. You replace the pushrod and make another run
- and the engine usually breaks a lifter, drops a valve,
and pulverizes the piston, block, and cylinder head.
Instead of taking a few minutes to investigate the
reason for the original failure, you're now facing days
of
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work and a big repair bill.
Many of our engine customers make over 600 runs in a
season without a single mechanical problem. Are they
just lucky? Perhaps - but they make their own luck by
being observant and conscientious. They don't take their
engines for granted. They check the valve lash
regularly, look for broken springs routinely, and
inspect the oil filter religiously. They don't count on
good fortune to keep their engines running in top form.
My number one rule of prevention is to never ignore a
significant change in valve lash. If one valve suddenly
has 20 thousandths more lash than the other valves, find
out why. Is the valve bent, is the lifter broken, is the
pushrod tip burned up? Random failures are rare; things
usually happen in a racing engine for a reason.
When you change your engine's oil, don't just chuck the
filter into the recycling bin. Cut open the canister and
take a close look at the filter element. (We sell a tool
that opens an oil filter like a can opener. It's such a
neat deal that we now include it in our "Engine
Care Kit.") Are there chunks of metal in the
filter? A little aluminum glitter is nothing to be
concerned about, but if there are bits of copper or
pieces
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