Samantha Reed

I rebuilt my first V8 in a friend’s garage with nothing but a flat bastard file and a stack of feeler gauges. Three rings later, my hands were cramped and one of my cuts looked like a jigsaw puzzle piece. That weekend taught me something every engine builder eventually learns: a proper ring filing tool … Read more

Building an engine at home used to mean hiring a machine shop or paying a rebuild specialist several thousand dollars for a job most gearheads could do themselves with the right tools. After spending 90 days assembling three different engines with 10 of the most popular tool kits on the market, our team can confidently … Read more

A harmonic balancer installer is one of those specialty tools that separates a clean balancer swap from a costly mistake. The tool threads into the end of the crankshaft, then uses a forcing screw and thrust bearing to press the balancer on evenly — without cracking the rubber dampener, damaging the snout threads, or leaving … Read more

I rebuilt my first small block Chevy in a one-car garage with a hammer, a wooden dowel, and a lot of bad words. The result was a slightly bell-mouthed front cam bearing that ate oil pressure for the next 40,000 miles. That mistake is exactly why I started taking camshaft bearing tools seriously, and why … Read more

Finding the best freeze plug installation kit can save you hours of frustration and prevent costly engine damage. Whether you call them freeze plugs, frost plugs, core plugs, or expansion plugs, these round metal discs seal the casting holes in your engine block’s cooling system. When they rust through or pop out, you need the … Read more

A flywheel locking tool holds the flywheel, flexplate, or ring gear still so you can crack loose or properly torque the crankshaft pulley bolt. Without one, the engine just spins every time you hit the crank bolt with a breaker bar, and most crank bolts are torqued between 90 and 180 foot-pounds so you need … Read more

I’ve been turning wrenches on manual transmissions for over a decade, and the single tool that has saved me the most frustration is a clutch alignment tool kit. If you’re staring down a clutch replacement on your daily driver, your old Jeep, or a project car in the garage, the right alignment kit turns a … Read more

If you have ever pulled a transmission to find a stubborn pilot bearing staring back at you from the end of the crankshaft, you already know why the right tool matters. I have been on my back under a truck with a screwdriver and a pry bar, swearing at a pilot bushing that would not … Read more

I still remember the day my front tires started eating the inside edges like a kid with a bag of chips. The shop wanted $90 just to look at it, and I had just dropped cash on new tires. That’s when I bought my first camber caster gauge, clamped it to the rotor, and discovered … Read more

If you tow heavy loads, drive a turbocharged car, or spend weekends at the track, your engine oil is working overtime. Heat is the silent killer of bearings, piston rings, and turbo seals, and the stock oil cooler in most vehicles was designed for grocery-getting duty. Adding an aftermarket engine oil cooler is one of … Read more