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I
ordered from RockAuto for the first
time this month. I found the online
catalog easy to use with many choices.
Ordering was easy and the parts
came faster than I ever expected...
Thanks for a great
source of high quality, inexpensive
parts.
Fred in
Connecticut |
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Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details. |
|
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Holiday
Celebration Car Show
12/5/2009
Casselberry FL 32707
e-mail
Toyz
4 Totz - Cops that Care Car
Show
12/6/2009
Phoenix, AZ
e-mail
6th Annual
Motor4toys Charity Car Show
12/6/2009
Woodland Hill, CA
e-mail
Toy Drive/Show & Shine
12/13/2009
Los Angeles, CA
e-mail |
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30 Days or 30 Minutes Before Christmas, RockAuto Gift Certificates Have You Covered |
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Everybody
needs something for their car or
truck. A RockAuto Gift Certificate
lets the recipient choose replacement
parts like a cabin air filter or
power window switch; restoration
parts like a tail lamp lens or new
carpet; or fun parts like a tachometer
or dash board cover.
Gift Certificate
Purchase gift certificates and have
them shipped directly to you or
the recipient. Choose a shipping
method in the RockAuto shopping
cart.
E-Gift
Need a Christmas gift in a hurry?
E-Gift delivery is free. Simply
choose e-mail as the shipping option
in the RockAuto shopping cart and
your friends and family can receive
a great gift via e-mail!
Click here to purchase a Gift Certificate
today! |
Forum of the Month |
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DieselPlace.com is the home for Duramax Diesel owners
and enthusiasts.
The DieselPlace.com
forum has extensive discussions for
owners of GM Diesel Engine vehicles
and
is a valued resource for prospective
and current owners. Diesel Place
boasts an active and educated membership
base
eager to help out fellow owners
or those looking to purchase a new
truck.
DieselPlace.com
has a dedicated forum for each generation
of the
Duramax engine and Duramax engine
electronics. There are also specific
forums for drivetrain, suspension
and steering, maintenance and other
GM truck topics.
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 jessa@rockauto.com.
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Repair Mistakes & Blunders |
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We
all do things in life that we
regret...this is my story.
My son owned a
1988 BMW 325 convertible which he
loved. Over the years
I taught him how to maintain a car
and do his own servicing. I was
proud to see him changing his oil,
tuning the motor, and fixing
things as needed.
One day he
asked me to investigate a problem
with the car while he was on vacation.
He told me the engine was missing
at
high
speeds. It sounded simple and it
probably was, but stupid me came
to rescue, not bringing along
my common sense.
I started with
the spark plug wires, then moved
on to the
fuel filters, then the fuel injectors,
and finally the spark plugs.
I took out the #1 plug, it looked
good so I figured
that since I had the plug out I would
check the timing. So I wanted to
get the #1 piston to top dead center
so I put a screwdriver in the spark
plug hole and told my friend to just
click
the engine until the piston was
at its top. Needless to say the piston
came up, breaking the hardened screwdriver,
the broken piece falling into the
cylinder.
"OH..." was
my only response at that
time.
Well I had to get
piece of the screwdriver out of
the cylinder so I ripped down the
engine
and took off the cylinder head hoping
to have avoided a major problem.
I pushed
down
on the
piston...it collapsed into the engine
block...the connecting rod was broken!
Knowing how much
my
son
worshiped
this car, I went to my friends
garage and explained what I did.
His first response was "WHAT
ARE YOU? STUPID?" Luckily we
found a used engine
and put it in before my son came home. It all went well and he did not find out
about the incident until a week afterwards.
I'm happy to say it's now something
we laugh about. But at my expense
of $2,000 for the replacement engine.
John in New York
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 awhile!). Please
email your story to flamur@rockauto.com.
Include your mailing address and
shirt size (large or extra large)
and we will mail you a RockAuto "Do
it yourself?" t-shirt if we
publish your story (see the t-shirts
under Extras 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!
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Better Replacement Parts |
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The original equipment
(OE) hazard switch fails causing
both the emergency lights and turn
signals to stop working. This problem
occurs on late model GM cars including
the Chevrolet Malibu, Monte Carlo,
and Impala; Oldsmobile Achieva, Alero,
and Cutlass; and Pontiac Grand Am.
The OE GM hazard switches do not
go bad from being used too much.
Temperature changes cause the solder
joints in the OE switch to crack
over time.
The good news
is Dorman and for some applications,
Airtex have built
replacement hazard switches. Dorman’s
hazard switches are part of their “OE
Solutions” parts line. Dorman
engineers watch for parts like the
GM hazard switches that were not
done right the first time and they
come up with solutions that are better
than the OE parts. Dorman not only
builds complex parts. Did the knob
pull off the window crank handle
on your ’94 Toyota? Wondering
if you will have to go to the dealer
to replace the OE throw-away spindle
lock nuts on your ‘80s Mazda?
Car owners are often relieved to
find Dorman makes these and many
other relatively simple but hard
to find parts.
Dorman watches
for OE mistakes with a microscope.
But if the OE part
fails a lot then typically lots of
manufacturers will flock to build
better replacement parts. I often
use the RockAuto.com catalog to help
diagnose my cars’ problems.
My wife’s ’93 Ford Tempo
was recently idling too fast. There
were no error codes stored on the
engine computer, but idle air control
valves (IAC) were in bold font in
the RockAuto catalog, an indication
that lots of Ford owners have needed
a new IAC. Several manufacturers
(ACDelco, Airtex, SMP and Motorcraft)
build replacement IACs. A new IAC
by Standard Motor Products fixed
the Tempo.
The photos
in the RockAuto.com catalog can
help identify OE parts. What
is that rod with ball joints on the
ends making the clunking sounds on
my ‘92 Dodge van? Oh, there
the “drag link” is listed
under Steering. Moog, Mevotech, Kelsey-Hayes,
and Raybestos (Spicer) all make replacements
so there must be many other Dodge
vans with bad OE drag links.
Those GM car
owners will not be happy when the
hazard switch they
never used spontaneously breaks,
but they, like the rest of us, will
be happy to find Dorman, Moog, SMP,
Airtex and RockAuto’s other “aftermarket” manufacturers
have solutions for our vehicles’ OE
issues.
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
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Tom's 1988 Pontiac Mera |
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This
is my 1988
Pontiac Mera with only 28K miles.
As most will agree, this is not
your
standard "kit
car". The Mera was only
available as a new car through Pontiac
dealerships. Corporate
Concepts of Capac, Michigan converted
a total of 247 Fieros, 88
in 1987, and 159 in 1988.
The build code for my Mera (#8044)
indicates that this is the 44th
built
in 1988, and the 132nd built all
together.
I've purchased
a number of items from RockAuto for
all my cars, including
brake pads and shock absorbers
for this
car.
Thanks,
Tom in Hawaii |
Share Your
Hard Work
Do you purchase
parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto
would like to feature you and your
car or truck in our monthly newsletter.
Please email flamur@rockauto.com with
details.
© 1999-2009 RockAuto,
LLC - Madison, Wisconsin USA. RockAuto
name and logo are registered trademarks
of RockAuto, LLC. Manufacturer names
and logos in the RockAuto catalog
are trademarks of their respective
companies and are used only to identify
their products. All rights reserved.
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