Shop talk from the people on AERA's tech line.
Chuck Lynch and Rob Munro trade detailed bench talk on valve springs, diesel quirks, oil specifications and failed parts, then turn just as readily to labor pricing and trade shows. Guests run from shop owners to suppliers to AERA's president, and the advice stays tied to real calls and real engines.
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The Engine Professional Podcast is engine-shop conversation hosted by staff of AERA, and it moves easily between the bench and the books. A run of titles shows the technical spread: 'Episode 22 – Engine Assembly', 'Episode 26 – Parts Cleaning', 'Episode 33 – Piston Failure'. Oil earns more than one look, in 'Episode 16 – API Engine Oils' and 'Episode 32 – Oil Specification GF-7'. The valve spring episode shows how granular things get. Beehive and barrel-shaped springs, round versus ovate wire, chrome silicon and chrome vanadium alloys, paint marks that hint at a supplier, a break traced to hydrogen embrittlement: it all comes back to measuring before machining and discarding rusty springs. Diesel keeps coming up. A tech-call episode explains why oil pump backlash needs checking on modern diesels once a repair moves the crankshaft centerline, why piston coatings complicate piston-to-wall clearance, and how powdered metal valve guides sweat oil when hot and draw it back as they cool. The business half is just as direct. In 'Episode 36 – Are You A Man With A Business or A Business Man?', the argument is for repeatable processes, so a father and son can earn the same on the same engine. One guest defends charging to wash a grimy cylinder head before it goes in the pressure tester. The conversation also takes aim at owners who stop investing as retirement nears, leaving a business nobody wants to buy. Guests widen the frame. Jeff Baldwin describes shops on the same Rottler CNC platform swapping programs, a stroker notch here, a cam tunnel there. Jim Rickoff, AERA's president, joins one episode, and specialists from MAHLE, Maxiforce Engine Parts, the American Petroleum Institute and Ultrasonic LLC have appeared along the way. Jamie Meyer walks through the High Performance Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina, from its trade floor to a leadership conference and a program for women in the industry, and the talk settles on how a handshake at a show can turn a competitor into a collaborator. Association business shows up too: regional conferences, training scholarships, PRI recaps, an engine giveaway. Chuck Lynch is the common thread, paired with Steve Fox in episodes through early 2025 and with Rob Munro after Rob arrived as a new co-host. Episodes from 2022 carried a history segment that took in Junior Johnson and the Ford Flathead V8, along with an 'Ask The Tech' feature built from tech line questions. The tone is friendly and neighborly; even an opening joke about an Olympic medal falling off its winner's neck bends back toward quality control. The valve spring episode leans on slides, and the hosts point to AERA's YouTube channel for anyone who wants to watch. Together, the valve spring, tech-call and pricing episodes make a sensible first pass through both halves.
Made for: Suits a machinist, engine builder or shop owner who wants spec-level detail on springs, diesels and piston clearances alongside plain advice on pricing labor and keeping a shop worth selling.
What sets it apart: It comes from inside a trade association: the people answering AERA's tech line talk through the calls they field, bring in shop owners, suppliers and the association's president, and treat the business side of a machine shop as seriously as the machining.
Engine-related technical information and machining procedures hosted by AERA staffers Chuck Lynch, Steve Fox and Rob Munro.
A dirty cylinder head meets a pressure tester, and you learn why 'just test it' costs extra.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A seasonal shop-talk episode tying industry events to training, leadership, and the next generation of small engine work.
Spring sets the episode's working rhythm: motorcycles are back out, a boat is nearly water-ready, and the conversation turns naturally toward the season's events.
Quality control, communication, and charging for the work behind a pressure test.
The episode frames quality control as a business issue, not just a shop-floor standard. It starts with the image of an Olympic gold medal slipping from a winner's neck, hitting a toe, and rolling away, then connects that public embarrassment to engine work, where a loose…
A shop-floor conversation about quality control, hidden labor, and the calls that keep engine work clear.
Engine Professional Podcast frames quality control as a business problem: what happens when a defect becomes someone else's cost, embarrassment, or safety risk?
AERA’s president ties shop progress to better equipment, training, and peers who share what they know.
AERA President Jim Rickoff brings a shop-floor view to where professional engine rebuilding goes next. AERA’s long-running role as an industry information source sits behind much of the conversation, but Rickoff keeps the emphasis practical: equipment choices, training,…
A practical shop-floor episode connecting diesel demand, machining work, and a last-minute Pinks race build.
Engine Professional Podcast frames a changing engine-shop workload through the kind of improvised problem solving that also drives a Pinks race build.
Cars, explained from the garage outward.
Driverless mobility, argued from the road up.
EV arguments from the performance garage.
Engineering breakthroughs, translated without the lecture.
Shop-floor talk for serious engine people.
Future shock, made practical.
["Engine Professional Podcast episode 37 centers on Dr.
Engine Professional Podcast’s Episode 36 examines how engine-machine-shop owners should set prices instead of copying competitors.
Engine Professional Podcast examines how engine machine shops should set prices, using Phytron’s labor guide and shop-owner cost calculations as concrete examples.
Engine Professional Podcast interviews AERA President Jim Rickoff about the association's information, training, networking, and industry-development work.
Engine Professional Podcast episode 34 with Jeff Baldwin follows a shop that moved from old Van Norman equipment to Rottler CNC and industrial diesel work.
Rob and Chuck of the Engine Professional Podcast examine piston failures through a Duramax case involving stuck rings, bore marks, and embedded copper-colored debris.
Sean Wynn, a Pennzoil technical scientist and automotive lubricant specialist, explains how the ILSAC GF7 standard launched in March 2025.
Engine Professional Podcast Episode 31 examines valve springs through Chuck’s presentation on installed height, close height, coil-bind clearance, spring dimensions, and spring reuse.
Engine Professional Podcast Episode 30 – NACAT features Todd Richardson and Drew Barnes explaining how automotive educators train students, maintain industry knowledge, and recruit future technicians.
Chuck and Rob of the Engine Professional Podcast explain how AERA handles more than 1,000 technical calls each month through phone, email, social media, and WhatsApp.
Chuck Lynch, Rob Monroe, and Steve Fox recap AERA’s Engine Professional Industry Conference and PRI in Indianapolis, including a 150-attendee technical event and a 20-by-20 booth.
Phil Ez, owner of Ultrasonic LLC, explains how agitation, side-mounted transducers, detergent choice, and tank loading affect ultrasonic cleaning of engine parts.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch of the Engine Professional Podcast explain how engine shops should clean cast iron, aluminum, and powdered-metal connecting rods before machining.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch explain cylinder sleeves, dry liners, and wet liners for engine rebuilding in Episode 25 of the Engine Professional Podcast.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch explain how engine rebuilders choose among dyno testing, hot-run stands, cold spin testing, and Spintron testing.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch discuss engine assembly, emphasizing cleanliness, organized preparation, correct specifications, and application-specific lubricants.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch examine engine-warranty policies, including coverage periods, labor rates, documentation, customer disclosure, and failed-part analysis.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch answer engine-rebuilding questions about MLS gasket surface finish, thicker head gaskets, piston height, and compression ratio.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch introduce the Engine Professional Podcast’s “Ask the Tech” segment with questions about installed stem height, gasket surface finish, piston-to-wall clearance, and compression ratio.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch introduce Fernando Cruella, an Argentine mechanical engineer who worked 15 years at Ford before developing racing valves for Motor Parts International.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview Paul Kelly of Maxi Force about small-bore diesel rebuilding opportunities for engine shops.
Engine Professional Podcast Episode 16 features Jeff Harmoning of the American Petroleum Institute explaining engine-oil licensing, aftermarket audits, and diesel specifications.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch explain incoming part inspection and deeper part qualification for engine shops, including pistons, valves, bearings, lifters, and control samples.
Engine Professional Podcast Episode 13 examines AERA's online training program through Rob Monroe of AERA and Dave Capitolo of De Anza College.
Chuck Lynch explains how torque plates reproduce cylinder-head and main-fastener clamping during engine boring and honing, with Steve Fox hosting the discussion on the Engine Professional Podcast.
Engine Professional Podcast hosts Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview Randy Neal of CWT Industries about engine balancing, vibration diagnosis, and component durability.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview Lake Speed Jr.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch explain how to break in remanufactured engines, beginning with pre-lubing, correct air-fuel and ignition setup, cooling-system checks, and filter replacement.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview Norris Marshall of Blueprint Engines about what engine blueprinting means and how defined specifications differ from ordinary repair practices.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview AERA senior technician Dave Hagen, who describes 32 years at AERA after 19 years in a northern Minnesota machine shop.
Steve Fox and Chuck Clinch interview AERA Tech Brian Roberts about torque, torque-plus-angle procedures, and torque-to-yield fasteners in modern engines.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch of the Engine Professional Podcast explain how measuring and documenting engine parts during disassembly prevents costly assembly errors.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch use Episode 4 of the AERA Engine Professional Podcast to explain how daily and scheduled machine maintenance protects machining quality, equipment life, and shop revenue.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch interview Rob Monroe, AERA's membership and technical-development lead, about using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to promote an engine-rebuilding business.
Steve Fox and Chuck Lynch explain how engine machine shops can promote themselves through cleanliness, organization, customer education, published prices, and responsive communication.