"Do-It-Yourselfer" Father's Day

Father’s Day is rapidly approaching. Have you thought about what to get your "Do-It-Yourselfer" dad? Here are a few things to look for on a father's vehicle that may need replacing but might be getting overlooked. Help dad freshen up his ride this Father’s Day with assistance from the RockAuto Catalog!

Headlamp Assemblies: Yellow, crazed, bleary-eyed headlamp assemblies make a car look old and tired. Instantly roll back the years and make the vehicle safer to drive by giving dad a new set of headlamp assemblies. Headlamp assemblies for some vehicles can be expensive but many are not. For example, headlamp assemblies for the following vehicles start at around $25: 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis, 2000 Toyota Camry and the 2000 Chevy Silverado. (In the RockAuto catalog under "Body-Exterior.")

Hood, Trunk or Hatch Lift Support: Does dad have trouble keeping the hood, trunk or hatch open when the weather is cold or when the worn out lift support struts just decide to act up? Protect dad's head, back and pride by getting him a new pair of lift supports. Many cost between $10 and $20. (Body-Exterior)

Dash Board Cover: A dash cover can protect a good dash or conceal a dash that is cracked, faded or stained. Dash Designs dash board covers exactly fit specific vehicles and they come in a variety of materials and in fun new or original colors. Quickly freshen up dad’s interior for typically less than $30. (Body-Interior)

If you are just not sure what to get your father, a RockAuto Gift Certificate will let your car enthusiast choose the parts or tools he needs. They are available for any amount, are easy to purchase and even easier to use.

Gates Non-Automotive Belts

Need a belt for your lawn mower, table saw or A/C unit this summer? RockAuto has many Gates belts available to get your non-automotive equipment running like new again. As an added bonus, many of the belts are Wholesaler Closeout parts allowing you to save even more on RockAuto's reliably low prices.

Find the non-automotive Gates belt you need, displayed in the catalog by size, under the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab in the "Belt Drive" category.

Forum of the Month

Titan Talk is a group of Nissan Titan enthusiasts. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to start new topics, reply to conversations, privately message (PM) other members and more. From towing and hauling, to electrical and wiring, to wheels, tires and brakes and so much more, you will find a topic to learn from or a place to share your experience and knowledge. Registration is fast, simple and free. Join our community today and become a part of our Nissan Titan Family!

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.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Way back in 1969 I purchased my first car - a 1959 MGA roadster. Of course it had the old style ignition points (remember those?) and I was eager to give it a tune-up to get "maximum performance." I was pretty pleased with myself for getting the points set just right and buttoned everything back up, expecting the four-banger to roar to life. But instead, it just cranked & cranked and did not start! I re-set the points over & over while thinking, "I must just be a few thousandths off the mark." And I was beginning to doubt my future as an exuberant "newbie" DIY'er.

Finally, after repeatedly trying to figure out where I went wrong, I noticed that the points lead was not separated by the insulating nylon washer! A final re-assembly and points adjustment and then success....it fired up! It was a hard-learned lesson of patience & perseverance, but one that I never forgot even all these years later. I still enjoy doing some of my own light mechanical work, but I'm glad that the old points have been replaced by something more reliable!

Gary in Nebraska

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 e-mail 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

Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) systems were first used:

A. on tank engines built by Cadillac during World War II. A closed PCV system kept water out of the crankcase when the tanks forded streams.
B. on Formula One race cars built by Alfa Romeo in 1952. All Formula One cars were required to have PCV systems beginning in 1955 to help keep oil residue off of racetracks.
C. on the engines powering Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport planes beginning in 1958. A PCV system enabled the planes to fly at higher altitudes without depleting engine oil.

Answer below

An Exception to the Rule

For many car repairs, it is usually easier and ultimately cheaper to replace the entire assembly rather than individual components. Power windows are an exception to this rule. Removing and replacing the entire window regulator assembly is often much more difficult than replacing the individual, smaller, easily accessible parts most likely to fail.

Before assuming the worst when a power window stops working, check to see if RockAuto’s manufacturers offer new power window motors, gears, window guides or other relatively small power window parts for your vehicle. If the aftermarket manufacturers decided to make replacement parts then that indicates the original parts failed frequently. The little heart icons next to popular parts in the RockAuto catalog can be used to identify the parts other owners used to successfully solve the same problem.

This spring, a plague swept through the power windows in my 1990s Ford products. One power window in my wife’s Tempo and both windows in my son’s Lincoln Mark VII stopped working. We could hear the power window motors running, but the windows did not go up without a lot of help from our hands. Friends found it strange when we talked to them through the Lincoln’s open sunroof rather than an open window.

We greased the linkages and slides on the power window regulator, but nothing seemed bound up. RockAuto’s manufacturers do not even make new, complete window regulators for these Fords so they must usually last for the life of the car. RockAuto has lots of replacement power window motor choices for our Fords, but I saw power window motor gears were available too. ACDelco, Cardone, Dorman and VDO all make replacement gears. It was a sure sign that the original gears both fail frequently and are replaceable. A little heart next to the Dorman gear indicated lots of other owners had purchased that part. It seemed logical that a motor that runs but does not move anything is likely to have a gear with its teeth stripped off.

I decided to give new power window motor gears a try. It turned out that the gear teeth were actually not stripped. On 1960s through 1990s Fords and Lincolns, a metal worm gear on the motor mates with teeth on a plastic gear. There is a triangle shape molded into the center of the plastic gear. Another metal gear fits into that triangle and three small plastic drums, “window regulator gear plugs,” keep it in place. The metal gear is what connects with the big half-moon shaped gear on the window regulator. It is the plastic gear plugs that disintegrated from age and likely from buffering the torque transferred between gears.

The replacement Dorman gear included better than original gears and plugs. My family’s window plague was quickly cured with nine plastic plugs rather than three new window regulators. Replacing the entire power window motor would not have been any more difficult and new motors are relatively inexpensive for these Fords. But with three windows to fix, we still saved at least $60 and had fun seeing how these interesting gears fit together.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Hello,

I am an Italian mechanic with a passion for American cars! This is my 2002 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning I purchased from a US soldier stationed here.

This truck has some aftermarket performance parts (exhaust, ECU, wheels) but many more direct fit OE parts like filters, brake pads, spark plugs and suspension components from RockAuto, everything needed to keep it running well.

I have many friends with new and old American cars and trucks. They buy everything from RockAuto!

Fabio in Italy

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