Group 18 - GM V-6 Engine Gate2

Gate 2: Preliminary Design Review

Causes for Corrective Action

The dissection of the GM V-6 Engine went very smoothly with a few minor problems. Our project plan worked out exactly as planned. The dissection took three weeks, and everyone was able to be at the lab on Wednesdays after class to work for an hour to an hour and half. The biggest challenge faced was setting up a time with the group thirty-four, and communicating with them at first. To overcome this, Meredith Canty from our group and Parth Kalia from group thirty-four exchanged emails since both are project managers. Both groups met at five on Wednesdays to work together on the dissection of the engine.

While dissecting the engine the groups realized that there were tools that needed to be acquired that were not offered in the lab to finish the dissection. The two tools needed were the pulley puller and the valve compressor. To get the tools needed, group thirty-four did not really offer any communication or effort into getting them. So it was left up to our group to find the tools. Andrew went to see if the Society of Automotive Engineers had the tools, and if we could use them. However, their tools were specially designed and could not be used, so Meredith tried to see if her father’s business had the tools. Her father’s business did not have them so Brett went home and got the tools needed to finish off the dissection.

Once we had the tools, the valve compressor was used to remove the valves. Then we went to use the pulley puller and realized the bolts were not long enough. To fix the problem, Brett and Derek went to Lowes to buy longer bolts. The bolts worked and the dissection was completed on Monday October 26th. For the small problems that did occur, every member was willing to help out and resolve it as fast as possible to get the dissection done in time. The group works very well together and there are no problem areas in the group.

Product Dissection Plan

The table below documents the procedure that was taken to dissect a GM V6 engine. Each step includes the part that is to be removed, which tool(s) will be used, and how difficult the step is on a scale of 1 to 5. Any additional concerns about removing the part are made in the "Notes" column.

Difficulty Scale

1	Quickly and easily removed by hand
2	Quickly and easily removed using tools
3	Easily removed, but time-consuming or repetitive
4	Required moderate force, skill, or special tools
5	Required excessive force and time

The Dissection Process

Step	Part Removed	Difficulty	Tools Used	Quantity / Size of Bolts Removed	Notes
1	Throttle Body	2	Socket Wrench	3 / 10mm
2	Electric Ignition	2	Socket Wrench	2 / 10mm
3	Upper Intake Housing	2	Socket Wrench	6 / 12mm	Fuel lines removed by hand (Image#2)
4	Intake Manifold	2	Socket Wrench	10 / 14mm	(Image#3)
5	Valve Covers (2)	2	Socket Wrench	6 / 13mm
6	Exhaust Manifolds (2)	2	Socket Wrench	10 / 14mm	(Image#1)
7	Heads (2)	2	Socket Wrench	26 / 13mm	(Image#6)
8	Push Rods (12)	1	None	N/A
9	Plastic Lifter Covers (2)	2	Socket Wrench	4 / 10mm
10	Lifters (12)	1	None	N/A	(Image#4)
11	Water Pump	2	Socket Wrench	4 / 14mm
12	Crank Pulley	2	Socket Wrench	2 / 14mm	There were supposed to be 3 bolts, but 1 was missing. The engine stand was rotated upside down after this step.
13	Oil Cooler	2	Socket Wrench	2 / 12mm
14	Oil Pan	2	Socket Wrench	12 / 12mm	(Image#7)
15	Clamps connecting pistons to crankshaft (6)	3	Socket Wrench, Hammer	12 / 14mm	(Image#9)
16	Harmonic Balancer	5	Pulley puller, Adjustable crescent wrench	N/A	This part was stuck and required a particular type of pulley puller, as well as excessive time and force to remove.
17	Camshaft Cover	2	Socket Wrench	5 / 6-point flange bolts
18	Camshaft Sprocket	2	Socket Wrench	3 / 13mm
19	Camshaft Mount	2	Socket Wrench	2 / T-20 torque bolts
20	Camshaft	1	None	N/A
21	Sprocket and Oiler Drive Gear	2	Socket Wrench	3 / 13mm
22	Oiler Mount	2	Socket Wrench	2 / T-20 torque bolts
23	Oiler	1	None	N/A	(Image#4)
24	Flywheel	4	Socket Wrench	6 / 14mm	The flywheel had to be maneuvered around the engine stand.
25	Clamps holding crankshaft (4)	2	Socket Wrench	8 / 16mm	(Image#8)
26	Crankshaft	1	None	N/A	(Image#8)

Images through the Dissection Process

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Image # 9

Post Dissection Analysis

On a large scale this product was taken apart with relative ease. This was mainly because of the groups knowledge of the engine combined with the Group 34's knowledge of the dissection of an automobile engine. To an Engine rookie however this the process may not have seemed as fluent and second nature. However this engine is intended to be easily taken apart for a professional, but may come off difficult to a person with little knowledge of tool, dissection methods, and basic engine knowledge.

The majority of the fasteners on this product were traditional hex nuts and bolts. These bolts are common therefore tools to remove these fasteners are also common. The hex head is strong and easy to manufacture. Another fastener worth noting is the Torx head. This head is similar in fashion to a head commonly used on a drywall screw with the difference being a star like pattern in place of a traditional straight-slot of phillips head. The advantage of this star pattern is that it transfers more gripping resistance from the tool to the screw head allowing the bolts to be tightened down harder and remain flush to the surface to allow clearance for other parts. Removing the Torx heads are also easier provided a person is equipped with the proper tool, because they are less likely to be stripped.

Special tools required for this project include a pulley puller, Torx bits and possibly a valve spring compressor of the valve assembly was to be taken off of the head. The group obtained a pulley puller and Torx bits were provided. The group decided not to take apart the heads due to not being able to obtain a valve spring compressor in a timely fashion.

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