RockAuto has added three brands to our engine component offering, giving you an even broader selection of fasteners, bearings and valve train parts.

ARP is a manufacturer of quality, high performance, OEM replacement bolts and studs. ARP's product mix includes virtually every fastener found in an engine and drivetrain, as well as throughout the suspension and chassis. All ARP products are manufactured using premium grade materials and strict manufacturing practices. ARP is focused on building superior quality fasteners for cars, trucks and SUVs.

Dura-Bond has been manufacturing bearings since 1947. They are known as the industry leader in full round camshaft bearings and powder metal valve seats. Dura-Bond's seamless, 100% machined surface camshaft bearings provide the tightest tolerances in the industry, while the patented materials and processing of their powder metal valve seats offer excellent machinability, along with low wear and high heat resistance. All Dura-Bond products are manufactured in the USA.

SBI offers a full line of valve train parts, including intake/exhaust valves, valve guides, valve seat inserts, valve lifters, valve stem seals, valve springs, push rods, rocker arms and other related components for cylinder head rebuilds. Components supplied by SBI are manufactured from advanced materials and rigorously tested in their quality control lab, ensuring correct specifications for every part.

You can find these parts and more in the "Engine" category of the RockAuto catalog.

RockAuto has all you need on one page!

I had just re-installed a freshly rebuilt instrument cluster in my 1970 Plymouth Road Runner along with an oil change and other routine maintenance. I took it for a test drive, and all of a sudden the oil pressure warning light started flashing as I turned a corner. As I straightened the car out, the blinking oil light stopped. During the next turn it had the same issue. It only happened on left turns. I was freaking out that maybe I forgot to put in enough oil so gingerly limped the Road Runner home.

As I pulled into my driveway (with the oil light flashing), I noticed the left turn signal bulb on the dash was not working. I did my dashboard yoga, and I found I had plugged the left turn signal bulb into the oil pressure warning light and the oil pressure switch wiring into the turn signal. I was relieved and embarrassed all at the same time.

Greg in Ohio

I enjoy reading stories in trade magazines about repairs that challenged professional technicians. Sherlock Holmes level sleuthing and an oscilloscope are needed to diagnose some of the problems. I wonder if a DIYer might have had a realistic chance of solving the problem without the sophisticated training or tools. Repair manuals (found under "Literature" at RockAuto.com), Youtube videos and vehicle-specific online forums can all help the DIYer, but it is especially fun when I find the parts descriptions and/or Info pages in the RockAuto.com catalog contained enough clues to solve the case.

One recent puzzle I read about was an OBDII cylinder misfire trouble code on an early 2000s Isuzu Rodeo (and Honda Passport) 3.2L V6. Engine computers usually decide a cylinder is misfiring if sensors detect a problem with the spark generated by the ignition system and/or if the speed of the crankshaft's rotation slows whenever that cylinder is supposed to be providing the mechanical power.

The professional technician used a specialized oscilloscope to look at the spikes in electrical current as each spark plug fired. Sure enough, the waveform for the cylinder with the misfire problem looked different than the waveforms for nearby cylinders. The sparkplug for the troublesome cylinder was firing but the spike in electrical current was unusual enough to cause the engine computer to generate a trouble code and switch on the check engine light.

The professional mechanic did research using his access to subscription databases and discovered a factory technical service bulletin (TSB) reminding mechanics that one of the 3.2L coil-on-plug ignition coils is different than the other five ignition coils. The Rodeo/Passport power brake booster is a little too close to the engine. A different ignition coil with a slightly shorter ignition coil boot is used on cylinder number six to help prevent interference problems with the brake booster.

Somebody had recently accidentally installed cylinder 6's unique ignition coil on the wrong cylinder's spark plug and the engine computer had noticed that the resulting spark was a little too different (duration, timing, peak values...). Installing the correct ignition coil on the problem cylinder's spark plug solved the problem.

Alternatively, a DIYer could start his/her diagnosis process by looking under "Ignition" in the RockAuto.com catalog to see if there is anything unusual about their engine's spark plugs, ignition coils or crankshaft position sensor (parts often associated with cylinder misfire problems). After looking in the catalog, he/she would say, "This V6 has one ignition coil that is different than the other five? How strange! I am sure Isuzu would not have spent money making two ignition coils without a reason." Then the curious DIYer could visually compare the ignition coil on the problem cylinder with a nearby ignition coil and discover that they are different. A legible part number on the ignition coil might also match one of the cylinder-six-only ignition coils listed in the catalog, confirming the wrong coil is on the plug. The problem is solved when five spark plugs have matching ignition coils and only the spark plug in cylinder six nearest the power brake booster has the unique ignition coil.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.