Power Steering Pump manufacturers always recommend replacing power steering pressure and return hoses when replacing the power steering pump. Hoses can degrade internally, contaminating the power steering system and putting undue pressure on the new pump, which can affect steering quality and longevity of the pump. RockAuto now offers Edelmann Power Steering Pump & Hoses Kits for select vehicles. These kits include a new, not remanufactured, pump, all pressure and return hoses, an in-line power steering filter and two quarts of power steering fluid, to ensure a contaminant free repair.  INSTANT From now through December 14th 2023, Edelmann is offering a 10% instant rebate | |
on all Power Steering Pump & Hoses Kits for RockAuto customers. Simply add these kits to your shopping cart in the
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 My son bought a used BMW 5 series several years ago. When it was time to replace the front brakes, we each took a wheel to replace the pads. My son and I always do our own brakes. Everything came apart easily. We each installed our respective pads, reassembled everything and went out for a road test. We immediately heard scraping sounds when the brakes were applied. We continued the road test thinking that the pads were bedding in, but they did not get any better. Figuring something was wrong, we gingerly drove back home. Upon inspection of the brake pads my son replaced, I saw that they were installed backwards! He thought he would never hear the end of his dad picking on him for installing brake pads incorrectly. We re-installed the pads and went for another road test, but there was still a scraping sound! Back to the garage... We checked the brakes we just fixed and they were fine. We took the other wheel off (the one that I was working on), and believe it or not, those pads were on backwards too! We each worked independently and both made the same silly mistake!Tom in Tennesee Share Your Story |
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 Keeping the rear axle centered has always been a challenge for vehicle manufacturers. The axle needs to be able to move so that the vehicle's suspension can do its job, but too much side to side (lateral) axle movement may make the vehicle feel less stable. Typically, steel arms and linkages with bushings at each end are bolted to the axle, the chassis and/or each other to control axle movement. There are many different rear suspension designs (Panhard bar, Watt's linkage, 4-link, 5-link...) intended to optimize axle movement for particular types of vehicles (sports car, luxury vehicle, work truck, off-road...). Ideally, stress is evenly distributed over all the control arms and linkages so that the bushings wear slowly and evenly as the miles pile up. The turn-of-the-century Jeep Grand Cherokee (1999-2004) and first Jeep Liberty (2002-2007) used a less common design to keep the rear axle centered. There are conventional lower control arms at each rear wheel and a single boomerang-shaped upper control arm centered over the differential. The two ends of the boomerang are bolted to the chassis (through bushings). The center of the boomerang is connected to the center of the axle with a ball joint.  Jeep Liberty (left) & Grand Cherokee (right) boomerang-shaped rear upper control arms Especially at the front of the vehicle, it is not uncommon for some control arms to use ball joints rather than bushings. Unfortunately, it turned out to be cruel and unusual punishment to make a single, lonely ball joint struggle to keep a heavy vehicle's axle correctly aligned. The Jeeps' original equipment (OE) upper rear control arm's ball joint and bushings wear out relatively quickly. The driver may hear/feel clunks as the control arm and axle move excessively. A clunking upper rear control arm should be replaced as soon as possible. With any suspension design, one worn-out bushing or ball joint can put more stress on other parts (control arms, wheel hubs, shock absorbers...). Replacing a Jeep's "boomerang" upper rear control arms can be a DIYer job. Difficulty depends on how rusty and frozen in place suspension mounting bolts are and how agile the DIYer is moving around under the vehicle. (I am so lucky to have a car lift.) Follow the instructions in your vehicle's repair manual (found under "Literature" in the RockAuto.com catalog). Find control arms, bushings and ball joints for your specific vehicle under "Suspension." 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 wife’s 1966 Mustang that has been in her family since the 1970s. Her siblings used it for school, and all of them got their licenses in this car. Once her youngest brother acquired it, he eventually had the bodywork and paint redone. It was originally Ivy Green Metallic, but he decided to have it painted in another 1966 color, Candy Apple Red, as their mom loved red as well. Eventually life took over, so the Mustang was not driven and sat in the family garage for 25 years! My wife acquired it, and in 2020 when Covid hit, I was out of work for two months so I had time to work on the old pony and get it roadworthy. It needed a lot of TLC, but thankfully it had been in a garage protected by a high quality cover, and luckily the old paint only needed a good wash and wax. It’s now on the road but only in good weather I got many parts from RockAuto to facilitate this project, including a dual master cylinder, all four wheel cylinders, transmission mount and many seals. My whole family uses RockAuto for all our vehicles. We all agree that RockAuto is the perfect blend of great parts from many manufacturers, excellent prices and quick shipping, so thanks for that! Clem & Renee in Massachusetts |
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