RockAuto now offers Heavy Duty/Towing Camshafts and Camshaft & Lifter Kits, in addition to the OE Replacement Camshafts we have carried for years. Maybe your trusty Ford F-100 pickup needs more low end torque for plowing snow, or perhaps more horsepower would help your family's Chevy Tahoe tow your camper trailer somewhere warmer. Get the torque/horsepower your hard working vehicles need with Heavy Duty/Towing Camshafts built by respected manufacturers like Enginetech and Melling.

Changing out your camshaft to a Stage/Class 1 Heavy Duty/Towing Camshaft typically increases the volume of air/fuel flowing into the engine, which in turn provides more power and better performance to help haul large loads and/or run accessories. Stage/Class 1 Camshafts do not require any major modifications to your vehicle, and idle quality, driveability and emissions remain about the same as stock. In addition to the Stage/Class 1 Camshafts, we also offer a large variety of High Performance camshafts (Stage 2, 3 & 4) for customers who want to maximize torque and horsepower at higher RPM.

RockAuto now has the Camshafts you need whether you are hauling trailers up steep grades or improving 1/4 mile times at the drag strip. Find Camshafts, Camshaft & Lifter Kits and other engine parts for your specific car or truck in the “Engine” category of the RockAuto.com catalog.

CamryForums.com is a comprehensive resource for owners and enthusiasts of this popular Toyota sedan. The forum covers a wide variety of topics, from easy DIY projects, to general troubleshooting, to more involved repairs.

Particularly useful are the dozens of How-To and Tech articles. The administrators have mined the best content from the automotive experts in the forum and turned these gems of wisdom into valuable, easy to read articles.

If you are the administrator or member of a forum and you would like to see your website featured in an upcoming newsletter and receive a discount code to share with your members, contact marketing@rockauto.com.

It was the mid nineties, and I was changing a flat tire on my dad's Ford Ranger. I had the truck parked at the top of his driveway which was on a long and steep hill. Before I attempted to tackle the annoying job of chocking the wheels and jacking the truck up, I decided to set the spare tire against the side of the truck. In a split second I regretted my decision as the tire started rolling down the driveway and across the road...and continued through the neighbor's yard.

And it did not stop there. The tire continued to roll into the lake alongside the neighbor's house and floated into the middle where I could not easily get to it. After a few moments of raucous colorful language, I finally got up the courage to ask my dad to borrow his canoe to retrieve the tire from the lake. The worst part was the neighbor was in his house watching everything as it happened. Of course he had to come out to see if I needed a hand. It always seems there is someone around to see the stupid things you do when you think you are alone.

David in Illinois

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked (at least for a while!). Please email your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt (please let us know your shirt size) or Hat if we publish your story. See the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the catalog. The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

The Zeppelin Foundation is the mysterious organization behind:

A. The "ZF" automatic transmissions in countless BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Rolls-Royce and other manufacturers' cars and trucks.

B. Part manufacturers including TRW (ball joints, tie rod ends...), SACHS (lift supports, shock absorbers...) and LEMFÖRDER (control arms, stabilizer bar links...).

C. The manual gearbox in the Aston Martin driven by James Bond in the '60s.

D. All the above

Answer below

Emissions testing of passenger vehicles will end on December 31, 2019 in Washington state. It ends on April 1st in Ontario. Emissions testing was no longer required in 26 North Carolina counties starting December 1, 2018. British Columbia, Canada's "AirCare" passenger vehicle testing ended in 2014. Alaska ended emissions testing in 2012.

There are multiple uplifting stories here. Air quality has improved! Fewer vehicles fail emissions testing! Government programs that have outlived their usefulness are eliminated! Car manufacturers design and build great vehicles! Use the money you no longer have to spend on testing fees to buy your own OBD II scan tool and check for emissions and other trouble codes whenever you want, from the comfort of your own garage!

Since 1996, cars have been required to have OBD II computers with standardized access ports. That probably marked the beginning of the end for government mandated emissions testing. The number of jurisdictions that still require emissions tests will probably continue to drop over the coming years.

Many emissions testing stations gradually stopped using dynamometers and exhaust probes and simply began plugging scan tools into OBD II ports. Why buy and maintain a bunch of expensive tools to test declining numbers of pre-1996 cars? The potential impact of a relatively small number of old cars on air pollution was statistically insignificant. Many states gradually stopped testing pre-OBD II cars.

If there were OBD II trouble codes, the check engine light on the dash should have already informed the driver long before he/she rolled into an emissions testing station. Most drivers learned ignoring a check engine light for too long can increase repair costs or the risk of being stranded. Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and Minnesota actually ended their emissions testing programs in the late '90s, a few years after OBD II was required on new cars.

Some emission control systems of the '70s look a lot like parts clumsily tacked onto engines designed in the '60s. Those days are long gone. Over the years, it has become increasingly hard for parts manufacturers and RockAuto to classify Emissions parts separately from Fuel & Air parts, Ignition parts, Engine parts, Electrical parts or even performance parts. "Emissions" parts like Knock Sensors and Mass Air Flow Sensors help control emissions, but they also help optimize engine performance, fuel economy and durability. The Variable Valve Timing Sprocket (cam phaser) is definitely an engine part because the valve train will not work without it, but isn't it also an emissions part because it helps eliminate the need for an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve? Catalytic Converters are one of the few remaining distinct emissions parts, but they are also part of the exhaust system. ("Exhaust & Emission" is where to find them at RockAuto.com.)

Emission systems on vehicles built this century frequently are blended with other critical systems that have to work properly or the engine will not run at all. There is less need for emissions testing if a broken "emissions system" means the engine cannot even propel the car to a testing station. It is great news that better engine performance, fuel economy and emissions have frequently become complementary rather than competing vehicle design goals.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

Share Your Hard Work
Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets, RockAuto social media or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! Please email flamur@RockAuto.com with your vehicle's history, interesting details, your favorite images (tips for taking pictures of your car) and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

The Zeppelin Foundation is the mysterious organization behind:

A. The "ZF" automatic transmissions in countless BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Rolls-Royce and other manufacturers' cars and trucks.

B. Part manufacturers including TRW (ball joints, tie rod ends...), SACHS (lift supports, shock absorbers...) and LEMFÖRDER (control arms, stabilizer bar links...).

C. The manual gearbox in the Aston Martin driven by James Bond in the '60s.

Answer: D. All the above (The Zeppelin Foundation owns nearly all the shares of prolific transmission designer and manufacturer ZF Friedrichshafen AG. ZF Friedrichshafen AG owns TRW, SACHS and LEMFÖRDER. The Zepplin Foundation is managed by the City of Friedrichshafen, Germany and was created by Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the father of the famous Zeppelin airships.)

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