The missing oil filler cap

"Chrysler Oil Fill Cap with hole"

As we began the cylinder head replacement project late last year, we removed the old oil filter cap from the engine, took it home, ran it though the dishwasher (sorry Frances), then primed and repainted it.

Then, as we reassembled the engine with its new heads, we couldn't find the damned thing. We searched everywhere but it never turned up. We couldn't just forget it because it's part of the passive crankcase ventilation system. So, we began a search for a new oil fill cap.

Were the hell were we going to find a small part like this that's used a 35 year old engine? 

We tried the Internet and once we had the part number, this seemingly insignificant part was everywhere. Or so it seemed. Many of the marine parts websites that came up in a Google search listed Chrysler Part Number 4417421 as "Chrysler Oil Fill Cap With Hole" and every website used the same picture. In fact, every site showed 100 of them in stock.

Not only that, but beginning on the day we first found the correct cap on a website, that same photo of the cap and its description began appearing on every other unrelated website that we visited, served up by Google, no doubt. It's still showing up and we bought that cap 10 days ago. So much for search relevance.

So, why not just order it? From the description, especially the "with hole" part, made us suspect that the cap didn't come with the grommet (shown in the photo above) that is needed to hold the fitting on the vent hose in place. We asked about the grommet at three well known marine parts websites and only one bothered to reply and that with just a cryptic, "Just the hole."

This was beginning to eat up a lot of our non-work time, so we ordered the cap "with hole" ($9.95 plus another $8.00 for shipping) and then went searching for the grommet. That took a lot of cross referencing part numbers but we finally found the grommet at a website that specializes in Mopar parts for car restorations: Bill Rolik Enterprises in Hasbrook Heights, New Jersey.

In you're into restoring an older Chrysler car or truck, this guy's website is really worth exploring. Need the absolutely correct intake manifold bolt for a 1969 Plymouth Cuda? Bill Rolik looks like he'd have it. .

Before we could order that elusive grommet, the cap we had ordered arrived and yes, it came with the grommet installed in "the hole."

What we learned

First, we suspect that none of the sites we visited searching for this cap actually had it in stock as they said they did. Sure, someone, somewhere had a bunch of the NOS caps but it certainly wasn't the site we ordered from.

This type of parts networking allows people to get into the marine parts business by simply buying the right software. They don't stock parts but simply take orders and have parts drop-shipped from some other vendor. 

Customer service is a joke at many of the sites that populate a Google search for a small part. Even the one vendor who took the time to answer my question was wrong.  He or she had never seen Chrysler Part Number 4417421 and obviously didn't care whether we bought it or not.

There is something vaguely dishonest about how all this now works. The true source of the part slaps someone else's return address on the box so we'll think it came from where I ordered it. The true cost of the cap was probably a few dollars but everyone in this misleading supply chain gets their mark-up. Who cares? Boat people will always pay up, right?

We don't want to paint with too board a brush here. We know and deal with a number of reputable marine parts suppliers that have invested millions in inventory and who employ real, knowledgeable people who can and will answer questions, even if they don't make a sale. I'd include Defender Marine and Lighthouse Marine Supply as two that we have had excellent experiences with over many years of owning a boat, and we're sure there are lots of others. Unfortunately, none of our preferred suppliers had a Chrysler Oil Fill Cap With Hole.

OK, time for us to get back in the bilge.