[Fot] [Spits] County Pistons Quality Control Issue

[Body Wagner]

Where are AE pistons made?

Boyd C Wagner

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 11, 2013, at 5:01 PM, Glenn Franco <gaf3 at charter.net> wrote:

> Yes the County Rockers are made in India.
> They usually have better quality control than most.
> 
> On 1/11/2013 4:33 PM, Doug Braun wrote:
>> Another horror story:
>> 
>> A while back I replaced my Spit's rocker arm shaft with the part that 
>> most vendors sold.  I believe it was "County"
>> branded, and it was made in India.  I went to adjust the valves a few 
>> days later, and I noticed that the front four rocker arms
>> seemed rather oil-starved.  When I ran the engine with the rocker arm 
>> cover off, I could see that only the rear four rocker
>> arms were getting lubricated.
>> It turned out that the shaft was not completely hollow:  They had 
>> rifle-drilled it inwards from each end, but they did not drill
>> deep enough, and the two holes did not meet up in the center.
>> 
>> Doug
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 4:14 PM, Glenn Franco <gaf3 at charter.net 
>> <mailto:gaf3 at charter.net>> wrote:
>> 
>>    FYI
>>    I am in the midst of a TR6 Rebuild with an engine that is .020"
>>    overbored.
>>    While fitting up the pistons and checking clearances everything
>>    checked out and the bore was concentric and to specs.
>>    With the piston installed in the bore I noticed increased drag
>>    with #1 piston installed.
>>    With rings gaps, skirt clearance correct I pulled the piston and
>>    didn't see any  issues.
>>    Further inspection showed that the piston was cocked in the bore
>>    and had score marks on the bottom of one skirt with the same wear
>>    just below the oil ring on the other side.
>>    After inspecting it with the machine shop we noticed that the ring
>>    grooves were not fully machined on one side of the piston.
>>    The rings would not move far enough in the groove and was proud of
>>    the surface causing the piston to cock in the bore.
>>    We collectively have not seen this before and have a new set of AE
>>    pistons not County on the way.
>> 
>>    Having spent many years in Automotive Engineering at one of the
>>    former Big Three, these events are usually not one of's.
>>    There likely are many more out there that ran down the line in the
>>    same batch at the same time before it was caught.
>> 
>>    These are new County Piston sets (I think made in Israel now).
>>    I would inspect their parts very closely before you install them.
>> 
>>    I also noticed machine chips in the machined groove of their
>>    Tri-Metal Main Bearings (Israel).
>>    The chips were in the machined groove and were plated over with
>>    the babbit and copper.
>> 
>>    I have had very good experiences with their parts in the past.
>>    Just thought I would provide a heads up.
>> 
>>    Glenn
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