|
Good
idea for me to go to RockAuto
for my radiator! It got here
in great shape and right on time
when you said it would. I'm referring
all my friends to you, and checking
with you first on all future parts
for my 1998 Saturn.
You saved me
$50 this time!
Thanks!!!
Robert
in Florida |
|
Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details. |
|
|
Frank
Maratta's Show of Dreams
2/5-2/7/2010
Middletown, CT
website
6th Annual
Cars for a Cure Auto Show
2/5-2/7/2010
Lake Mary,
FL
website
Motoring
Thru Time
2/6/2010
Phoenix,
AZ
e-mail
3rd Annual
Classic Car Show Lunch
2/6/2010
Cape Coral,
FL
e-mail
2nd Annual
Car & Bike Show
2/6/2010
St. Petersburg, FL
e-mail
All Pontiac
Indoor Swap Meet
2/7/2010
Columbus,
OH
e-mail
The David
Calleja Memorial Car Show
2/7/2010
Victoria,
Australia
e-mail
Dr George
Memorial Car Show
2/13/2010
Palm Desert, CA
website
Mustangs & Muscle Cars
2/13/2010
Mesa, AZ
e-mail
2010 Super
Convention & Car
Show
2/18/2010
Manteca, CA
e-mail |
|
|
Easy DIY Project |
|
Have
you noticed that your Lift Supports
may need replacing with
all the snow and ice
building up on your trunk lid, hatch
back, hood, etc? Did your lift
gate try to close in on you when
you were loading your groceries into
your Minivan? Are you holding up
your hood with one hand and checking
the oil with the other?
Well, what are you
waiting for? RockAuto carries several
lines of
Lift Supports including ACDelco, Monroe, Rhinopac, Sachs, StrongArm and Tuff
Support.
- Lift Supports
are easy to install, which can
save you money by making
it a quick do-it-yourself project.
- New Lift Supports
will prevent back strains as they
make
it easy
to raise
and lower heavy
hoods, rear hatches, and tailgates
by hand.
- New Lift Supports can also save you lots of unnecessary and unwanted hassle by providing consistent, smooth operation.
From
Acura to Yugo,
RockAuto has your Lift Support!
Don’t delay, take
a look in the Body-Exterior category
of
the RockAuto
catalog and get the
Lift Support you need today!
|
Forum of the Month |
|
PontiacRegistry.com is
an internet based Pontiac Club for
ALL Pontiacs and ALL Pontiac
lovers, building “The single
largest source of Pontiac information,
services, and entertainment in the
world.” The web site includes
forums, an on-line magazine with
over 600 articles, a worldwide
Pontiac car registry, vintage ads,
vintage test reports, and much more.
Additionally,
PontiacRegistry.com is proud to support
Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation
for the prevention of childhood cancer
by matching member donations.
Join PontiacRegistry.com,
and join the growing group of Pontiac
hobbyists
who are working to preserve and
share the rich history and heritage
of
these great automobiles.
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 |
|
A
friend of mine visited a car wash
after we had just upgraded the
exhaust system on his 1991 Dodge
Spirit R/T. The exhaust caught
on the wheel positioning guides
for the automated carwash, pushing
an exhaust clamp into the
gas tank and puncturing it. In
a matter of a few miles he went
from a full tank to barely
making it up his driveway before
running out of gas.
My friend had just
purchased a MIG welding setup, so
we decided to
fix the hole by welding it shut.
We removed the gas tank, filled
it with water as much as possible
using a garden
hose, and rinsed it
carefully. We couldn't fill it completely
with water due to the positioning
of the fuel filler neck, but figuring
we
were
safe, we settled down on his front
lawn to weld the hole shut.
As soon as he pulled
the trigger on the welding torch
there was a
sound reminiscent of a fighter jet
blasting overhead just over the treetops.
I had been standing, but when the
noise stopped, I was laying on my
back and couldn't recall how I'd
gotten there. My friend was also
flat on his back, welding torch still
in hand, looking stunned. His neighbors
came outside and were all looking
around wondering where the thunderous
noise had come from.
Apparently the small
space in the tank that was not full
of water had
sufficient fumes in it to ignite
causing the explosion. The 16 gallon
gas tank had emptied itself completely
of water in a fraction of a second,
leaving only steam wafting out the
filler neck hole. It had also doubled
in size, expanding like a balloon,
but fortunately hadn't blown to pieces.
We avoided any injury beyond the
ringing in our ears and wounded pride.
Needless to say he bought a new
gas tank and we never attempted to
weld a gas tank again.
Matt in Washington
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!
|
Icy Roads and Bent Control Arms |
|
It
is the season for icy roads and
bent control arms. This year there
was ice in Miami! Sliding into
something and hurting the car’s
body is always a worry, but the
wheels and suspension might actually
be at the greatest risk for damage.
My nephew, a
junior in high school, slid his ’95
Nissan Altima into a curb. Bumping
a curb did not
seem like a big deal until he tried
to drive home. He was relieved to
see the wheel was not damaged. Instead,
the force of the impact was transferred
to the suspension, especially the
control arm. On this typical front
wheel drive car, the control arm
(transverse link) is the large, horizontal
Y shaped part that connects steering,
wheel hub, sway bar, and chassis
together.
The control
arm bent and the sway (stabilizer)
bar link attached to
the control arm broke. With my brother’s
help, my nephew replaced the control
arm (Dorman) and link (Beck/Arnley).
The only special tool needed was
a pickle fork (ball joint separator
found under Extras in the RockAuto.com
catalog) to separate the ball joint
on the control arm from the steering
knuckle. They also had to use a cutting
wheel to cut the very rusty castle
nut off the ball joint.
The car still did not seem quite
right when they sat it back down
on the ground. They discovered the
strut was also bent. That makes sense.
The control arm is the horizontal
connection to the wheel hub while
the strut is the vertical link. To
avoid disassembling the rusty and
bent strut, they got a set of Monroe
Quick-Struts which come pre-assembled
with new bearing plates, coil springs,
boots, etc.
It was mighty cold in Wisconsin,
even in the garage, so they took
the Nissan to a repair shop to have
the Monroe struts from RockAuto installed
and a front wheel alignment. After
installing the struts, the shop discovered
they could still not get the wheels
aligned. Back home the car went.
My nephew tracked down a replacement
cast iron steering knuckle/spindle
at a junkyard in Illinois and RockAuto
delivered new wheel bearings and
seals (Beck/Arnley). The car went
back to the shop and the front wheels
were successfully aligned.
Using low cost parts from RockAuto
and doing much of the work themselves,
the total labor and parts cost was
still nearly $1000. That is not much
less than what my nephew paid a neighbor
for the car! Luckily the struts and
probably the wheel bearings were
worn out and in need of replacement
anyway. Plus it was a great father/son
bonding experience.
Ironically, my nephew should have
hoped to see a bent wheel after he
hit the curb. The accident would
have cost much less if the wheel
had been weaker and the suspension
stronger. An OEM alloy Nissan Altima
wheel from RockAuto would have been
just $140.69 including shipping.
Even a new bumper cover would have
cost less than $150 including shipping.
I am not sure
what the moral of this story is
other than in icy weather
be sure to worry as much about the
chassis side of your car as you do
the body side. Or maybe if my Nephew
had been driving my brother’s ’77
Lincoln then it would have been the
curb rather than the car that needed
repairing!
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com |
Dewey's 1950 Plymouth Business Coupe |
|
You
guys at RockAuto
help me keep my Baby rolling!
Living
here in Belize, Central America,
parts for a 1950 Plymouth are impossible
to find. In fact, parts for anything
are just about impossible to find.
Most recently RockAuto has supplied
me with a water pump and
a fuel pump for my Plymouth.
My Business
Coupe is the oldest
running car in this country. I
have owned it since 1993, and it
is a daily driver.
Thanks,
Dewey |
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.
© 1999-2010 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.
|
|
|