RockAuto August Newsletter :: Early Edition

August Newsletter

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Another Happy Customer!

I started using RockAuto this year and the service has been tremendous.

From the rebuilt brake power booster, to the gas tank and many items in between, I couldn't of gotten my 1970 Imperial LeBaron back up and running after a 30+ year hiatus without RockAuto.

Thanks,
Mike in Illinois

 

Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, email us with details.

Wheels & Waves
9/5-9/7/2008
Seaside, OR
email

9th Annual Roamin Angels "Cruisin' the Pines" Car Show
9/5-9/7/2008
Grass Valley, CA
email

Queen City Cruise
9/5-9/6/2008
Nelson, British Columbia
website

32nd Annual Pat Reed Memorial Car, Truck, & Bike Show
9/6/2008
Belmont, MS
website

Oldies & Goodies Classic Car, Truck, & Motorcycle Show
9/6/2008
Saugus, CA
website

Triple C Car Show
9/6/2008
Waco, TX
email

Wheels of the Past 2nd Annual Car Show
9/6/2008
Edgewater, MD
email

Central Illinois All Truck Show
9/7/2008
Peoria, IL
email

Saltsburg Heritage Days Car Cruise
9/12/2008
Saltsburg, PA
email

8th Annual La Conner Classic Yacht & Car Show
9/13/2008
LaConner, WA
website

9th Annual Make-A-Wish Car Show
9/14/2008
Johnstown, PA
email

Palouse Days
9/13/2008
Palouse, WA
website

Cruise'n Silsbee
9/19/2008
Silsbee, TX
website

Historic Prescott All Corvette Car Show
9/20/2008
Prescott, AZ
website

Nino's Classic Car Show & Benefit
9/21/2008
Milwaukee, WI
website

9th Annual Pontiac & Buick Car Show
9/21/2008
Easton, PA
website

31st Antique & Classic Car, Bike n' Truck Show
9/21/2008
Jordan, NY
website

Waupaca Rod & Classic Car Show
9/23/2008
Waupaca, WI
email

Super Run 2008
9/25-9/28/2008
Henderson, NV
website

Maidencreek Community Day Car Show
9/27/2008
Blandon, PA
email

2nd Annual Swap Meet/Cruise-In
9/28/2008
Kemptville, Ontario
email

 

 

 

A New Catalog Feature to Manage Shipping Costs

RockAuto has All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need, so all of our parts will not fit in one warehouse, and some parts are shipped directly from manufacturers. As customers add parts to their shopping carts, RockAuto’s computers work feverishly crunching RockAuto inventory numbers, FedEx data, time zone changes, etc. to choose the ideal shipping locations. The more parts that can go in one box, the lower the shipping costs.

Some customers like to help manage their own shipping costs by choosing part brands and/or part numbers that can ship from the fewest number of locations. The new truck icons in the RockAuto.com catalog make this easier to do. A truck icon next to a part in the catalog indicates the part can ship from the same location as parts already in the shopping cart.

 

 

Back to School with Raybestos and RockAuto

Back to School with Raybestos
Offer ends Sep 15, 2008

Your Little Rookies Go Back to School with Raybestos! With the purchase of $125 or more of Raybestos Professional Grade® or Advanced Technology® products you can receive a Raybestos® backpack and a $10 Wal-Mart gift card. Plus be eligible for a Dell® laptop drawing.

More Info

 

 

Introducing the CRP Water Pump Kits!

 

Vehicle manufacturers recommend that timing belts be replaced approximately every 60,000 to 80,000 miles. They also recommend that the components of the timing system be changed simultaneously: the belt, idler, and tensioner pulleys, along with the water pump if it is driven by the timing belt.

What does this mean for you? Replacing the timing belt and each related component at the same time assures the entire system will operate and perform correctly for the intended life of the belt. And with a CRP Water Pump Kit, you get all of the components and a perfect fit. You find these kits in the "Cooling" category under "Water Pump" in the RockAuto.com catalog.

The kits include the following:
•Water Pump w/gasket •Idlers
•Hydraulic Tensioners (if applicable) •Timing Belt(s)

 

 

Forum of the Month

Serious Explorations

The Serious Explorations website was launched in 1996 by Rick Horwitz of Phoenix, Arizona. Serious Explorations now has a registered membership of over 85,000 members.

Our membership represents everything from stock, to highly-modified off-road, street-cruising, and drag racing, Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, Mazda Navajos,and Ford Rangers. Owners and fans of these vehicles share maintenance tips, modifications, and plan enthusiast events across the country and around the globe.

The success of Serious Explorations has not gone unnoticed. Several Ford Motor Company engineers accompanied our group for our off-road exploration of Moab, Utah; Colorado’s ghost towns and 13,000 foot peaks; and the Southern California desert’s Truck Haven Hills.

In addition to having a great time, Ford's engineers learned much about how we challenge our vehicles off of the pavement.

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.

 

 

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Ouch!

I was doing some repairs on my 1970 Camaro which necessitated disconnecting the battery. The car had chromed metal support bars in the engine compartment. One of these supports crossed over the battery. As I disconnected the positive battery cable it occurred to me that the combination wrench I was using could contact the metal, completing the circuit to ground with disastrous results. Cutting corners, I decided to put my hand in the way to keep the polarities apart. Sure enough, the wrench just barely touched my hand as the terminal loosened. Unfortunately, I had not counted on my gold wedding ring…you guessed it: the wrench on the positive terminal hit the ring, the ring was resting on the chrome bar and “instant arc welder”! The sparks startled me such that I yanked my hand loose from the spot welds (ring to support and ring to wrench) but the heat conducted was immediate. After a few seconds under cold running water, I got the ring off and ended up with second degree burns where my ring had been.

Moral of the story: never use your body to protect your car, remove jewelry before working on cars, and always disconnect the negative cable first. Oh, and my wife was not happy with the divots of gold missing from my wedding ring (they are still attached to the chrome support bars)!

Randy in Kentucky

 

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. 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. 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!

 

 

Tech Tip

RockAuto

Will the spark plugs in a late model car or truck last for 100,000 miles as advertised? Platinum and other exotic metals in plugs coupled with well managed ignition systems might keep a set of plugs working for that long.

However, it is still a bad idea to leave spark plugs untouched for that many miles or years. There is a good chance the plugs will be frozen in place, almost as if they were welded. On some vehicles the spark plugs might be hard to get a socket on or even see. Imagine how much harder (or expensive) the job will be when the spark plugs are frozen in place.

Leaving the spark plugs on a newer car untouched might even be a worse idea than neglecting the spark plugs on a ‘75 Chevy. Most cylinder heads are now made of aluminum alloys. Aluminum tends to be more fragile than cast iron. Dissimilar metals could make the spark plug threads more likely to meld with the threads in the cylinder head.

The spark plugs on even common engines may now look quite different. New ignition systems and new, multi-valve designs sometimes require unusual plugs. Direct injection gas engines of the future might come with unfamiliar spark plugs. Thousands of 5.4L powered Ford trucks built since 2004 have spark plugs that look like the plug in the photo. It is even harder to predict how a new, uniquely shaped spark plug will hold up if neglected for 100000 miles or ten years.

Removing and inspecting the spark plugs every couple of years or 20000 miles and putting anti-seize grease on the threads is still a good idea. Look under Ignition in the RockAuto.com catalog to see photos of the spark plugs in your vehicle.

 

 

Connie's 1983 Subaru GL-10
Connie's 1983 Subaru GL-10

Thank You RockAuto for making the restoration of my 1983 Subaru GL-10 coupe as easy as pie. With the help of your website, you made locating the parts for my head gasket repair and engine reseal simple and stress free. Here's to another 235,000 miles and plenty of Import Car Shows! Your super fast shipping and prompt contact if an issue comes up can't be beat.

You know what makes a girl happy...car parts!

Connie in Connecticut

 

Share Your Hard Work
Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to feature you and your vehicle in our monthly newsletter. Please email flamur@rockauto.com with details.

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