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Through the month of July, 2025, BOSCH, AISIN, NISSENS, and WALKER PRODUCTS are offering customers instant rebates on some of their most popular parts. Save on BOSCH Fuel Pumps!  AISIN Coolant / Antifreeze NISSENS WALKER PRODUCTS Simply add qualifying parts (marked with a | |
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 Most of us are familiar with F1 (Formula One) racing. What is FE racing? Answer below | |
 One crisp fall evening, I sauntered into my garage, ready to tackle a routine brake job on my beloved 2014 Cadillac ATS. I've done this dance countless times, so I slipped into my coveralls and cranked up some classic rock to set the mood. Everything was going smoothly until I fumbled a caliper bracket bolt. "No biggie," I thought, "I'll grab it during reassembly." Fast forward to reassembly, and that bolt had pulled a Houdini. Poof! Gone. I searched high and low - under the jack, around the jack stands, even in the nooks of the control arm, thinking it might be playing hide-and-seek. I checked my coverall pockets, wondering if I'd actually picked it up at some point and stashed it. Nothing. I was one step away from calling a priest to exorcise my garage or a physicist to check for wormholes. That bolt had clearly moved into another dimension. Just as I was about to lose my marbles, my saint of a wife called me in for dinner. Her cooking is worth pausing any existential crisis for, so I started peeling off my coveralls to avoid tracking grease into the house. And then — *clink!* — something hit the floor. I looked down, and there it was: the runaway caliper bolt, smirking up at me from the garage floor. Turns out, my too-long coveralls had rolled-up cuffs that doubled as a secret bolt hideout. The little rascal had slipped in there, silent as a ninja, drowned out by my blaring tunes. Thanks to my wife's impeccable dinner timing, I was saved from a full-blown garage meltdown. Mike in Ontario, Canada Share Your Story |
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 When I take my wife's loyal 1993 Ford Tempo out for a spin, I immediately feel the front drivetrain taking up some slack and then dragging the car forward. I can even feel a little torque steer coming from a front wheel if I really stomp on the gas pedal. Things have changed. Sitting behind the wheel of a car built this century, it is often difficult for the driver to recognize whether or not the vehicle is front wheel drive (FWD). Minimizing drivetrain noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) can be especially difficult with FWD because the front wheels have to both steer and move the car. The drivetrain is isolated from the rest of the vehicle by engine/transmission mounts, CV joints and other parts that are somewhat flexible, but having everything flexing in tandem may take some time, kind of like breaking in a new pair of boots. Car manufacturers worked hard to reduce the utilitarian feel of FWD, especially during the all-important new car test drive or break in. One easy way some car manufacturers reduced the NVH of older drivetrain designs was by adding a small weight to CV axle shafts. The weight of a rubber or metal donut affixed to the axle was intended to dampen subtle vibrations that the driver might feel through the steering wheel. Later cars achieved the same or better levels of NVH without the axle weights because new CV axle and/or drivetrain designs were inherently better balanced and less prone to NVH.  OE design CV Axle with vibration dampening weight donut (top) Newer design CV Axle for the same car that doesn't need vibration dampening weight donut Most replacement CV axles do not have obvious vibration dampening weights even if the original equipment (OE) axles did have the weights. The new replacement axles are better balanced through the use of new designs and materials and/or any needed extra weight is built into the axle shaft rather than tacked on as a rubber donut. The CV axle shafts in the RockAuto.com catalog are designed to fit that specific vehicle. Comparing the part photos in the catalog to the old part (OE or aftermarket) on the car is always a good idea, but in this case the presence or absence of a vibration dampening weight may not be important. Focus more on the rest of the photo (the inner and outer ends of the axle) and the part descriptions. The CV axle vibration dampening weights were usually intended to provide only a little more NVH refinement. It is unlikely that missing weights are responsible for significant unpleasant vibrations. Noticeable vibrations are more likely due to failing CV joints at the ends of the CV axle, worn transmission/engine mounts, worn wheel bearings or other problems that are allowing the drivetrain to move excessively. The OE weights sometimes do rust or rattle themselves loose. The driver may not notice if a weight has completely fallen off an axle but will likely notice some noise if a loosened weight is sliding around on an axle shaft. Tom Taylor, To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page. |
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This is my 1984 Nissan 300ZX that I restored over the past winter. My grandfather purchased it new in 1984. Ever since I was little, it was a dream of mine to own it. I even have pictures of me as a kid sitting on the hood. I remember being a teenager — he’d let me come over to his house to wash and wax it for him. He even let me take my date to prom in it. Fast forward to the present, and it’s finally mine. My grandfather moved into a nursing home, and one day he called me up and asked, “You want the car?” I honestly couldn’t believe my ears. Of course, I replied with a resounding "Yes!" When I got to his house to pick it up, it was clear the car hadn’t moved in years. The brakes were locked up, it was covered in an inch of dust, and it didn’t sound too healthy. After a couple hours of idling, some fresh gas, and a quick hose-off, it was time to hit the road. It quickly became obvious that this thing hadn’t received much (if any) maintenance in years. The rear end shifted around as we drove, the steering squealed with every turn, and keeping the car straight felt nearly impossible. To make matters worse, we had a two-hour drive ahead of us. I was bound and determined to get her home, so I gripped the wheel and braved rush hour traffic. It was terrifying at times, but I made it home. Originally, I had planned to just rebuild the suspension, but the more I tore into the car, the more it needed. There were multiple massive holes throughout the floor pan. I had no idea that all that separated my feet from the road was a bit of carpet. At that point, I decided that if I was going to keep this car for another 10+ years, I had to do it right. I replaced every bushing and completely redid the entire suspension system including ball joints and the inner and outer tie rods. I replaced the axles, and completely overhauled the brakes with new calipers, pads, rotors, and hydraulic lines. I also did a lot of bodywork and repainted the car. The calipers, pads, rotors, tie rods, catalytic converter, inner and outer tie rods, ball joints, air filter, fog light bulbs, transmission filter and gasket, shock and strut bellows, fuel filter, exhaust hangers, brake hoses and more all came from RockAuto. Parts for this car are becoming rare, but your website made it easy to find what I needed, and you had plenty of parts and multiple options to choose from. Michael in Pennsylvania |
 Most of us are familiar with F1 (Formula One) racing. What is FE racing? | |
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Your Hard Work Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! For submission instructions and tips for taking pictures of your car, please visit our Photography Tips & Submission Info page. Your Most Infamous Auto Repair Blunder Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. Please email your story to marketing@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto Hat if we publish your story. See the Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the RockAuto 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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