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RockAuto
is consistently affordable and reliable!
I purchase
hard to find late model oil filters
from RockAuto. They are always in
stock and at the best prices around!
Thank you,
Darrel in Michigan
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Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, email us with details. |
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Lubbock Dragway - Last Race
11/17/2012
Slaton, TX
e-mail
Christmas
Caring Car Show
11/17/2012
Waco, TX
e-mail
Hudson Motor
Car Southern California Economy
Run
11/17/2012
Ontario, CA
e-mail
Toys for Tots
Auto Show
11/17/2012
Trinidad, TX
e-mail
Somerville
Elks Charitable Trust
11/20/2012
Sommerville, NJ
e-mail
Ancient City
Auto Club Auto Show
11/28/2012
St. Augustine, FL
e-mail
Festivals
of Speed Orland Ritz-Carlton
11/30/2012
Tampa, FL
e-mail
Ponderosa
Speedway
11/30/2012
Stanford, KY
e-mail
Cedar Lake
Speedway
12/1/2012
Lake Elmo, MN
e-mail
2nd Annual
Toys for Tots Benefit Car Show
12/1/2012
Pooler, GA
e-mail
Pop Culture
Collectibles Fair
12/6/2012
Richmond, BC
e-mail
2012 Queen
Creek Christmas Car Show
12/8/2012
Queen Creek, AZ
e-mail
8th Annual
Free Car Show
12/8/2012
Dunn, NC
e-mail
Delta Miata
Club in Northern California
12/8/2012
Discovery Bay, CA
e-mail
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Your Gift Giving Decisions Just Got Easier!
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As
the holidays are rapidly approaching,
RockAuto would like to make your gift
giving decisions easier!
Do you know a special
someone that needs to replace his
or her squeaky brakes? Someone working
on a restoration project who would
be thrilled if given new molded carpet?
Or perhaps maintenance parts like
air filters or wiper blades that everyone
regularly needs but occasionally overlooks?
There is no need
to awake at dawn to chase down the
sales or deal with the commotion of
Black Friday crowds. RockAuto's prices
are stable and reliably low every
day of the year. Even if you have
no idea what parts or tools that your
special someone needs or would enjoy
the most, you can still make your
gift giving easy with a RockAuto Gift
Certificate that lets the recipients
have fun choosing exactly what they
want!
Gift Certificate
Purchase gift certificates with a
choice of currencies and amounts.
Have a paper certificate shipped to
you or directly to the recipient or
choose E-Gift.
E-Gift
Need a Christmas gift in a hurry?
E-Gift delivery is immediate and free.
Simply select Email as the shipping
option and your friends and family
will conveniently receive the gift
in their Inbox.
Purchase
a Gift Certificate today!
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Forum of the Month |
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Scion FR-S Forum.com is a community
forum dedicated to the Scion FR-S.
Join other members from all over the
world to discuss modifications, share
pictures, and make new friends. Membership
to ScionFR-SForum.com is FREE. Come
sign up and be a part of the Scion
FR-S buzz!
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 cynthia@rockauto.com.
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Repair
Mistakes & Blunders
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I
was 17 years old in 1972 and had my
first job working on cars in a small
repair shop. My boss was a good guy,
but we were so busy that he couldn't
watch me all the time. Anyway, one
day he turned me loose on a brake
job for a beautiful, red 1964 Thunderbird
convertible. I cleaned the backing
plates with care, rebuilt the wheel
cylinders, installed the brake shoes,
turned 3 of the 4 drums (one of them
did not have enough metal to machine
so it needed replacing), bled and
adjusted the brakes, then finally
washed the car. I was so proud of
my first brake job. I went to clean
my area when my boss called out to
me and asked how many new drums I'd
used on the T-Bird, to which I answered,
"One." Then he replied...
"Why do we have two drums left
on the work bench?" Oh Boy...I
had left a rear drum off!
My boss called the
customer and told her that I needed
to make an adjustment, and would be
right over to collect her car. I drove
it back to the shop, pulled the left
wheel off and there it was. Beautiful
new brake shoes and hardware...but
no drum! The Ford engineers saved
my butt and kept an old lady safe
that day. Designed on the backing
plates were stops to prevent the wheel
cylinder pistons from blowing out,
as they would have without a drum
to hold everything in place.
It all worked out
in the end. But, I was sweeping the
floor and cleaning tools for a few
days until everyone's confidence in
my abilities was restored.
Rick in Kansas
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 a while!). Please
email your story to flamur@rockauto.com.
Include your mailing address and if
you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt
(please let us know your shirt size)
or Hat if we publish your story. See
the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools
& Universal Parts 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! |
Automotive Trivia |
|
The
1968 Chevrolet Corvette offered which
new feature for the first time on
an American car?
A. Hydraulic-operated
hidden headlights
B. Eight-track tape player
C. T-Top, two piece detachable roof
panels
Answer
below
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Have
a Question?
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“The
Family Handyman” magazine’s
Rick Muscoplat answers a customer’s
question below about transmission
overheating at high altitudes. Is
heavier weight engine oil the best
solution? Rick’s answer is helpful
for all of us that have ever considered
using different engine oil than what
was recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
Tom Taylor
RockAuto.com
Q.
(Ricardo) I have a question concerning
oil viscosity. I've been living in
western central Mexico (8000 ft above
sea level) for the past 5 years and
in that time I've come across all
kinds of climates and altitudes. When
I originally came out here, I had
a 2003 Ford Explorer with a 4.6 V8
that called for 5W-20 motor oil. Ever
since the first day my truck was in
Mexico I always had problems with
the motor oil in my truck especially
when traveling up in altitude which
would result in an overheated transmission,
you could just feel that the truck
had no torque whatsoever... until
we started using 15W-40, which as
we all know is way heavier then the
5W-20 that it calls for.
My question is, why
does this make so much of a difference
in the engine? How is it possible
that putting a heavier weight oil
in your engine improves it to the
point that it feels like a completely
different car. I feel that the altitude
plays a key role here, please correct
me if I'm wrong.
P.S. I have tried
this on several cars now and I always
get the same results. Especially on
automatic cars.
A.
Ricardo: Car makers like 5W-20 oil
for two reasons. First, it flows faster
at startup. Since oil drains down
after shutdown, engine parts are most
susceptible to wear at startup. 5W
and even the newer 0W oils get lubrication
to those parts faster to prevent wear.
Second, lighter weight oils provide
less internal friction and that improves
gas mileage. Imagine how much energy
it would take to pump grease through
an engine compared to oil and it makes
sense that the engineers want as little
internal friction as possible.
On the flip side,
a heavier viscosity oil does a better
job of sealing piston rings against
the cylinder walls, so it can actually
improve compression and reduce blow-by.
But there's a limit to how much you
want to thicken oil. Multi-viscosity
oil became multi-viscosity because
of viscosity improver (VI) additives.
VI is a polymer (plastic-like) additive.
Here's a quick description
from an additive manufacturer (Afton
Chemical): "When viscosity improvers
are added to low viscosity oils, they
effectively thicken the oil as temperature
increases. This means that the lubricating
effect of mineral oils can be extended
across a wider temperature range.
When creating a viscosity improver,
a balance between the thickening efficiency
and shear stability of the polymer
is important. Higher molecular weight
polymers make better thickeners, but
tend to have less resistance to mechanical
shear. Lower molecular weight polymers
are more shear resistant, but do not
improve viscosity as effectively at
higher temperatures and have to be
used in larger quantities. Polymer
additives can also undergo thermal
and oxidative degradation, unzipping
back to smaller monomers, which reduces
their effect. The highest possible
degree of thermal and oxidative stability
is desirable in addition to the features
above."
A few decades ago
auto makers recommended 10W-40 oil.
You don't see that recommendation
anymore. Car makers discovered that
the quantity of polymer additives
required to get oil up to 40 created
other problems. In fact, they found
that the VI literally baked onto the
piston rings causing them to stick
in the lands. And creating the heat
of combustion cooked the VI on cylinder
heads, creating carbon buildup that
caused pre-detonation. As noted earlier,
since the VI additive is less shear
resistant, they don't stand up to
long term use.
In addition to the
VI issue, you've got heat dissipation
issues at higher altitudes. The thinner
air doesn't dissipate heat as well
and that affects the oil. Oil must
carry heat away from engine parts.
If it can't release that heat as quickly
the oil runs hotter. As oil heats
up, oil pressure drops. And lower
oil pressure reduces the quantity
of oil flow which results in even
more temperature buildup. So you can
see why a heavier weight oil is good
in those conditions. But there's no
free lunch here. You're paying a price
on the engine wear side of this story.
Use a heavier weight oil and you get
more internal friction, lower gas
mileage, less oil flow when cold,
greater chance of piston ring carbon
when you use 15-40. My advice? Install
an aux transmission oil cooler to
take the load off the radiator. That
alone will improve engine cooling.
(Find automatic
transmission oil coolers, oil cooler
line, connectors, O-rings, etc. for
your specific car or truck under "Transmission-Automatic"
in the catalog.
Tom)
Have a question about
a challenging car repair? Rick Muscoplat
is a former ASE Master Technician
who was also certified in Advanced
Engine Diagnostics (L-1). Currently
he writes the automotive section for
“The Family Handyman”
magazine. Rick has kindly offered
to answer some technical questions
from RockAuto customers. He cannot
answer all questions but will pick
a few that are likely to also be of
interest to owners of other makes
and models. If you have a repair question
for Rick then please send it to flamur@rockauto.com.
Be sure to include the year, make,
model and engine for the vehicle your
question is about.
Please note
Rick does not work at RockAuto. He
cannot answer questions about shipping
options in Europe, core returns, etc.
Accurate diagnosis of a remote vehicle
based on a single question is difficult
or impossible. Please view Rick’s
answers as simply ideas that might
help you better develop your own diagnosis
and repair strategy.
|
Brian's 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk |
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This
is my 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo
Hawk I purchased recently from the
second owner who purchased it in 1977.
It was in storage for most of the
time from 1977 to 2010 in Elkhart
Lake, Wisconsin. It has 80,000 miles
and I am the third owner. The long
and low design was new in 1962. Studebaker
was the American dealer network for
Mercedes in the early 1960s and the
Mercedes influence can be seen in
the Hawk.
It is a cool old
hot rod and a great cruiser. The Hawk
is powered by a Studebaker 289 cubic
inch engine with a T-10 4 speed transmission,
4 barrel carburetor, and a TwinTrac
Dana 44 differential (Studebaker's
version of a limited slip differential).
It is an uncommon car and always draws
a crowd when parked and comments when
driving. My sons and I enjoy driving
it around town, to local car shows,
and to their school.
Updates to the car
include disc brakes, dual master cylinder,
generator to alternator conversion,
electronic ignition, seat belts, third
brake light, mag wheels, and radial
tires.
Studebaker parts
are sometimes hard to find. But RockAuto
supplied all the necessary parts to
completely rebuild the rear brakes
after the wheel cylinders went bad.
RockAuto also supplied the front springs.
They just happen to be the same springs
used for late 1990s Oldsmobile sedans.
Future plans include
fixing the rusty front fenders and
painting it the original Ermine White.
The Hawk was purchased
as a hobby during my chemotherapy.
All my friends know that I used a
deadly disease as an excuse to convince
my wife that I needed a cool old car.
Brian in Illinois
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Share Your
Hard Work |
Do
you purchase parts from RockAuto?
If so, RockAuto would like to
feature you & your car or
truck in our monthly newsletter.
New, old, import, domestic,
daily driver, trailer queen,
classic, antique, we want to
see them all! Please e-mail
flamur@rockauto.com
with your vehicle's history,
interesting details, your favorite
images, and what parts from
RockAuto you have used.
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Let
RockAuto Help |
|
Are
you organizing a car show or
other auto related event? From
goody bag stuffers to gift certificates...we
can help. We can even publicize
your event in our newsletter.
Just
send us an email
with information about your
show.
|
Automotive
Trivia Answer |
|
The
1968 Chevrolet Corvette offered
which new feature for the first
time on an American car?
A. Hydraulic-operated
hidden headlights
B. Eight-track tape player
Answer:
C. T-Top, two piece detachable
roof panels
Back
up to trivia question
|
© 1999-2012 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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