Superior Engines are very reliable, hard-working engines, explaining their immense popularity. We want to help you extend the working life of your Superiors.
White -Superior was one of the pioneers of the high-speed compressor engines to be used in the oil and gas industry. REYNOLDS-FRENCH & COMPANY pioneered the repair of damaged or wrecked high-speed engines and compressors, thereby leading the way to successful engine reclamation and service.
Each manufacturer’s engine frames have damage prone areas, and Superior frames are no exception. This page points out some of the more common areas where trouble can start, and what REYNOLDS-FRENCH can do about them.
Types of Repairs
Block Frame
Sometimes unpredictable operating conditions result in failures that cause severe damage to the split line rail and the lower liner guide area. REYNOLDS-FRENCH has extensive experience in repairing these areas by rebuilding the affected frame areas and machining them back to standard.
Severe rod damage to rail and liner guide areas of Superior block are repaired in REYNOLDS-FRENCH shop more easily by turning frame upside down.
Casting secured in liner guide area.
Rail damage being replaced with steel on one side of frame.
Upper Line Seat Repair
The upper cylinder liner seat (counter-bore) is an area that often needs repair. As engines run hard and long enough, or are subjected to improper operation or maintenance, fatigue causes liner seats to become fretted, warped or out-of-round, sometimes accompanied by cracking. This condition results in water leaks under the liner.
The repair can often be made by simply machining the seat to reclaim the surface, keeping machined depth to a minimum.
An insert may be required to bring liner seat back to proper height, to seal and prevent leaks
Crack out of head bolt into upper liner seat.
Cross-sectioned display model showing
upper liner seat ring insert.
Lower Line Guide Repair
A common problem is in the lower liner guide area which results in cavitation or improper water treatment that damages the o-ring seal area.
To repair the lower liner guide, the block must be stripped down and sent to REYNOLDS-FRENCH’S shop. The damaged area is machined off and a thick-walled cast iron sleeve is installed to give a proper area on which to seat the liner o-rings.
This repair, as with many of our repairs, has been approved for most applications by the OEM’s engineering staff.
Boring bar machining lower liner guide.
Block inverted in REYNOLDS-FRENCH shop showing liner guide machined and sleeved.
Camshaft Bore Repair
Another area commonly repaired on the 825 series engines is the cam bearing area. The #2 cam bearing saddle is usually the first to crack. It then continues to #3, 4, and 5 until all cam bearing saddles are cracked.
The first indication of damage is the 1/2″ bolts that hold the cover doors in place will begin to break. When this occurs, the cam bearing saddle is cracked clear through, thus putting the firing load on the 1/2″ bolts that hold the cover doors in place.
Special reinforcing bolts are fabricated and installed. This transfers the load away from the cracked and weakened area to a stronger area in the block. It is usually found to be very cost effective to install these bolts at all the cam bores as preventive maintenance if any are found to be broken.
Cam area of Superior Engine.
Close up view of cam area.
Model 825 upper and lower block with cam bearing areas repaired.
Superior Lower Base
Although fairly unusual, REYNOLDS-FRENCH has encountered severely damaged lower bases, or bedplates. As the photos show, the main bearing saddles are completely removed and new steel castings are installed. Then the castings are welded to steel bolted into the webbing of the main bearing support walls.
After the structural repair is done, the entire bedplate is machined to original dimensions, including lineboring.
These photos show severe damage and how it can be repaired. The most common problems on bases, however, are misalignment, heat distortion from failed bearings, fretted caps, fretted landings, or slight damage from seemingly minor wrecks. Problems such as these are routinely corrected at REYNOLDS-FRENCH.
Severe damage to main bearing saddle and stud hole.
Damaged area removed
Webbing reinforced with steel and machined to accept new steel fabricated saddles.
Superior Base Cap Landing Repair
Less severe, but more common, is the damage done to the main bearing cap stud holes. Cracking can develop from these holes or the studs can be pulled away from the threads in the frame.
By machining out the damaged cap landing area, machined blocks are installed allowing proper cap fit and new, longer studs can be installed into the frame.
Precision-fit blocks installed after damaged area machined.
