Denver--Terry Bunker said he can recall the number of local machine shops that have closed their doors since he opened his 18 years ago. Many of those shops machined and rebuilt carryout engine parts, focusing on their niche and leaving the assembly and installation to repair shops. As that specialty business dropped off, so did they, said Bunker, president of Western Engine Supply Inc.
From the onset, Bunker said he decided that his machine shop would install the engines it rebuilds, in addition to doing carryout work on cylinder heads, long and short blocks, and crankshafts. That move, along with a niche in industrial rebuilding, has kept his business healthy in a declining market segment, he said.
"Seeing that a lot of places weren't doing installations, there was no reason not to," Bunker said. "We do installations for other shops, too."
The diversification provides balance, Bunker said, adding that when one side is slow, the other is busy. "The fortunate thing is we have both sides."
"For repair shops, there is more money in a small job because they don't have to tie up a bay," he said. "A lot of shops are getting away from rebuilding because of lack of profitability." A shop can invest a lot of time and resources in a heavy repair, he said.
Although modern powertrain units are lasting longer, motorists still need to understand the necessity of maintenance and repair, Bunker said.
Automakers with powertrain warranties that last more than 80,000 miles or a lifetime, coupled with extended service intervals, have created a false sense of security with the motoring public, Bunker said. "They say you can go 'X' miles without maintenance or repair," he said. "People don't check their oil to see if it's broken down; they just go 5,000 to 8,000 miles."
Several motorists are also experiencing premature engine failure with diesel engines from the mid- to late '90s because of the way they're driven, he said. "They wear out at an early rate. They're not designed for the stop and go in-town traffic."
Aside from owner neglect, Bunker said he gains business from known pattern failures in the Ford Triton engine (4.6-, 5.4-, and 6.8-liters) and Isuzu engines (3.2- and 3.5-liters).
On the Ford Triton engines, spark plugs frequently blow out and break the ignition coil, he said. "The problem is simply that there aren't enough threads (only five) to hold it in." To repair that problem, he said he uses a solid, threaded bushing insert made by Time-Sert. Some customers may have a single plug repaired or do all 10, he added.
With the Isuzu 3.2- and 3.5-liter engines, the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval is 7,000 miles, Bunker said. With little notice, the engine can burn up all five quarts of oil, he said, causing the engine to seize up. The No. 1 and No. 6 connecting rods usually fail, he added.
"A lot of people don't want to tackle foreign engines, so there's more profit," Bunker said.
When rebuilding Isuzu engines, he said he prefers to use Hastings piston rings because they seal a lot better than the factory rings. No oil is burnt during the seating process either, he added. If the shop rebuilds an engine and installs it, he said it warrants it for five years or 50,000 miles; and three years or 36,000 miles for carryout units.
Engine Performance Warehouse Inc. (EPWI) is Bunker's first call for engine hard parts, he said, although he uses several suppliers to keep turnaround time on a rebuild to a minimum. Other hard-parts suppliers include Engine Rebuilders Supply in Columbus, Ohio, and Engine Tech in Carrollton, Texas, he said. For industrial parts, he said he relies on Howard Enterprises in Lynn, Ind., and Industrial Parts Warehouse in Tiffin, Ohio. "If a customer wants their engine in three days, I have to get them their parts."
The nearby Checkers Auto Parts store is his main source for tuneup parts, Bunker said. "They're pushing real hard for wholesale business," he said. "If they have high-quality lines, I don't mind paying more."
Bunker's employees specialize in specific rebuilding jobs that range from teardown to assembly. Each employee specializes in a discipline, including cylinder-head rebuilding, engine block align honing, connecting-rod reconditioning, and crankshaft grinding. As the engine parts move through the remanufacturing process, different machinists in the departments inspect it with "a new set of eyes" as they work on their portion, he said.
To obtain engine specs and information, Bunker said he and his 11 employees rely on PRO-SIS engine specification software, a benefit of his Automotive Engine Rebuilders Association (AERA) membership.
The PRO-SIS system has information on more than 4,300 engine specifications from 110 manufacturers covering light-duty and agricultural, he said. Included are many of the recalls and factory repair recommendations, he said, adding that he passes along this information to his repair shop customers. Alldata is another major source of information, he added.
In addition to complete rebuilt units, Bunker said he and his crew also do a fair share of carryout machine work, accounting for 35 percent of total sales.
"The carryout machine work and parts sales are the most profitable," he said. "I'd love to do that all day long. You can do so much more volume." Some of that work includes machining engine blocks and selling crankshaft kits, he said.
An area of growth for Bunker has been with industrial applications, which include working on propane engines for fork lifts, skid steers, and industrial diesel applications. "If you're a general contractor, you have to have your piece of equipment up and running," he said.
