Edward T. King

Hardware effects on the wear of methanol-fueled engines

A 98-hour sequence test has been developed to study the wear of Ford OHC 2.3L methanol fueled engines. This test requires only half the test time of an ASTM Sequence V-D test used by many researchers, and yet provides sufficient severity to generate measurable bore wear to discriminate engine hardware changes. A portable fixture was designed to provide rapid, convenient, and accurate measurement of radial bore wear at a prescribed depth in the cylinder. The fixture can measure radial bore wear with accuracies to 0.004 mm. Its portability allows on-site measurement of engines on dynamometer test stands, or in vehicles with minimal engine disassembly. The test procedure and measurement fixture were used to quantitatively document the ring and bore wear effects of numerous variables, such as fuels, fully formulated lubricants, top ring configurations, coolant temperatures and flow patterns, intake heat addition, and fuel contamination.