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I
just wanted to say Thank You to
RockAuto for the parts that
have been supplied for my 1978
Mercedes SE.
I had been having
such problems sourcing parts
here in England for it, so much
so that
I had almost given up on its
restoration. I am slowly working
my way towards
getting it back to the beautiful
old car it once was.
I really
have appreciated the parts and
the help (efficient and friendly)
that have come my way via RockAuto.
Thank You,
Roy
in the UK |
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Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details. |
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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 |
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A New Year’s Resolution |
|
Here
are some ideas and rebates to help
you keep those new years resolutions
regarding car maintenance and repair.
- Do-It-Yourself
tasks like changing your struts
is easier
with Quick-Struts from Monroe.
Monroe Quick-Strut units include
all the
components required for strut replacement
in a single, fully-assembled unit.
They feature a pre-assembled replacement
bearing plate, upper and lower
spring isolators, upper spring
seat, coil
spring, boot kit, and a premium strut.
- Do
you have slapping, screeching,
or vibrating wiper blades?
Purchase two Bosch ICON Wiper
Blades and receive $15
back by mail-in rebate.
- Is your
cabin air filter covered in dust,
dirt,
and debris?
Purchase an ATP Premium Cabin
Air Filter and get $5
back by mail-in rebate.
- Are
your brake pads worn and need
to be replaced?
Get up to a $30
rebate with the
purchase of two sets of qualifying
Bendix
premium brake pads or shoes.
RockAuto
can help you keep your resolution
with
our easy to use catalog! Do not forget
to check the promotions
and rebates page
often to find the most current rebates
available to help you save even more
on RockAuto’s every day low
prices!
|
Forum of the Month |
|
The Turbo
Diesel Register (TDR)
is a forum dedicated solely
to the owners of the Dodge/Cummins
Turbo Diesel pickup. At the TDR
you’ll find pages of technical
tips, maintenance basics, product
evaluations, owner feature stories,
industry news, vehicle history
and development news, and much
more. TDR is not only a fun community
to be a part of; it’s a place
to gain knowledge and a better
understanding of your truck.
Visit and subscribe to TDR today!
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 |
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When
I was in high school, a friend and
I decided to take a weekend trip
up to his parents cabin. We were
in
his Volkswagen beetle (a “Baja” type
with an open engine bay). As we were
tooling along up a slight grade,
the car started losing power and
slowing down. We rolled to a stop
onto the shoulder and got out to
see what we could see. At this time,
the sun was very low on the
horizon and light was fading fast,
so we couldn’t see much. My
ever resourceful best friend remedied
that situation by pulling a disposable
lighter out of his pocket, and proceeded
to kneel down and get right up close
to the engine with the open flame,
looking for some obvious flaw to
fix. As I stood there, looking over
his shoulder, I remarked something
to the effect of “Do you smell
gas?” An instant later, there
was a loud WHUMP! sound, and I swear,
the engine case looked like
it expanded slightly, and a flash
of light was visible from every crack
and seam of the engine. Now my best
friend had a new look; slightly singed
eyebrows and hair.
After hitching
a ride back home, borrowing my
dads van, and towing
the bug back, we found the problem.
The rubber gasket of the mechanical
fuel pump had ruptured, and, since
the bug had an additional aftermarket
electric pump installed, fuel had
been dumped into the crankcase
in a significant quantity. Add an
open
flame and two clueless High School
kids to that and fun soon begins.
I
learned two lessons that day: keep
open
flames away from engines,
and stand well back when my best
friend tries to “fix” something.
Terry in Arizona
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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Much Easier than Expected |
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It
is such a great feeling when a dreaded
repair turns out to be much easier
than expected. It is even better
when the repair requires me to add
a cool tool to my garage!
In November,
spots of power steering fluid started
showing up on the ground
below my ’89 Ford Crown Victoria
Country Squire. I hoped it was just
a bad hose, but the leak was coming
from around the pump’s pulley
shaft. Unfortunately, the pulley
covers up the bolts holding the pump
on. It is necessary to pull the pulley
off the shaft while the power steering
pump is still in the car. I figured
I would have to remove the radiator
shroud and maybe the engine fan to
have any chance of getting at the
pulley. Then I expected a knuckle
busting battle to get the pulley
off and back on. I mumbled bad words
about the Ford engineers that made
an easy job hard by hiding access
to those bolts.
I got a remanufactured
A-1 Cardone power steering pump
and a K TOOL
Part # 70300 “Pulley Puller
and Installer Set” (found under “Extras” at
RockAuto.com) and stuck them in the
garage near the Crown Victoria. I
hoped their presence might scare
the leak out of the old pump. Instead,
the leak got worse.
In December my parents were going
to be watching my kids and shuttling
them around in the Crown Victoria.
It is bad enough to be spewing power
steering fluid into the environment,
but it is even worse to hand your
parents a bottle of power steering
fluid along with the keys to your
car. The Crown Victoria has been
a very reliable vehicle. It only
breaks down when my relatives are
in it. For my sister, the car needed
a new distributor. For my brother
it was a new starter, heater core,
and headlight switch (all on one
short weekend trip!). Both started
out in the car and ended up on a
city bus. The last thing I needed
was to give the family another reason
to snicker about my beloved old station
wagon.
I bit the bullet and started the
repair. K TOOL 70300 was designed
specifically to pull off and press
on power steering and alternator
pulleys. The tool set includes a
nut, bearing, washers and bolts that
cleverly fit together and get the
job done. It was not necessary to
remove the fan shroud. It took a
lot of turns of the nut, but the
pulley pulled off the old pump and
pushed on to the new pump with no
fanfare at all.
A big thanks to K TOOL and A-1 Cardone
and I take back most of the curses
I directed at the Ford engineers.
After all, the original pump did
last for twenty years and over 200K
miles! It also is a bit of an engineering/machining
miracle that the steel pulley presses
onto the steel shaft without needing
any additional keys, bolts, etc.
to hold it on.
The entire repair took about an
hour and my parents drove the Crown
Victoria all over town. Maybe I should
be more pessimistic about every repair
I do, because I sure do enjoy pleasant
surprises!
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com |
Clint's 1969 Dodge Superbee |
|
Hi,
This car has
a great history. It was bought
by my late father from
a junk yard in Alabama, and then
trailed home to Fort Worth, Texas.
He spent many days rebuilding the
engine, floors, quarter panels, and
the trunk until he passed away. He
left the car to me so I went down
to Texas and hauled it to Canada.
My father also used RockAuto parts
which is how I was turned on to the
website. Some of the parts he used
in the restoration from RockAuto
include a Wiper motor, Washer pump,
Heater core, Battery cables, PCV
valve, and a Brake light switch.
My most recent purchase included
wiper arms and floor mats – the
small things that make my car look
original.
I now too
spent many days working on the
car. Body prepping, painting,
working on the exhaust, troubleshooting
electrical problems, and fixing leaks
occupies much of my time. Anyway
here it is today, not complete (are
they ever) but in show condition.
I would love for you to show your
audience an old man's finished dream.
Clint in Ontario Canada |
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.
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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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