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I've
been buying parts from RockAuto
for several years now, and after
comparing the prices at national
"the big box stores",
and other national on-line firms,
there is *NO* comparison in "The
Rock's" parts availability,
quality of name brand items and
customer service.
In addition I've
yet to find overall prices (even
including shipping costs in the
bottom line) cheaper from anyone
else!
Mark in Ohio
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Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, email us with details. |
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Holland Motorsports Complex
11/18/2011
Holland, NY
e-mail
Lake Area
Cruisers 11th Annual Rod Run
11/18/2011
Jasper, TX
e-mail
Cars vs Cancer
11/19/2011
Carolina Beach, NC
e-mail
Koss Motorsports
Car Show
11/19/2011
North Charleston, SC
e-mail
Koss Motorsports
Car Show
11/26/2011
Charlotte, NC
e-mail
Carolina Collector
Auto Fest-Fall
11/30/2011
Hillsborough, NC
e-mail
Marble Falls
Noon Lions Club Show n Shine
Car Show
11/30/2011
Marble Falls, TX
e-mail
24th Annual
Fall Carolina Collector Auto
Fest
11/30/2011
Raleigh, NC
e-mail
1st Annual
Toys for Tots Benefit Car Show
12/3/2011
Cochran, GA
e-mail
Toys for Tots
Car Show
12/3/2011
Ridgecrest, CA
e-mail
Delta Miata
Club in Northern California
12/3/2011
Discovery Bay, CA
e-mail
Tilted Kilt
Anniversary/Christmas Car Show
12/10/2011
Orlando, FL
e-mail
7th Annual
Free Car Show
12/10/2011
Dunn, NC
e-mail
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Your Gift Giving Decisions Just Got Easier!
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Why
deal with the commotion of Black Friday
crowds at the mall? Everybody needs
something for their car or truck.
A RockAuto Gift Certificate lets the
recipient choose replacement parts
like brake pads or fuel filters; restoration
parts like a headlamp lens or new
carpet; or fun parts like a tachometer
or seat cover. A gift certificate
from RockAuto makes an ideal gift.
RockAuto now offers
gift certificates in foreign currencies
for the convenience of our international
customers! When using the certificate,
the amount of their order will be
deducted from the remaining balance
in the certificate's currency (using
the order date's currency exchange
rate).
Gift Certificate
Purchase gift certificates and have
them shipped directly to you or the
recipient. Choose a shipping method
in the RockAuto shopping cart.
E-Gift
Need a Christmas gift in a hurry?
E-Gift delivery is free. Simply choose
e-mail as the shipping option in the
RockAuto shopping cart and your friends
and family can receive a great gift
via e-mail!
Click
here to purchase a Gift Certificate
today!
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Forum of the Month |
|
SubaruOutback.org
is a website dedicated to all things
Subaru Outback and has many features
to make your experience enjoyable.
With thousands of discussion topics
and knowledgeable members you are
sure to get the answer you are looking
for! Register today for free so you
can take advantage of all the features
that are offered.
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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My
mother-in-law had a 1985 Oldsmobile
Firenza sedan that needed new brake
pads. I offered to put them on for
her to save her some money and to
better my relationship with her. I
took the car to my house where my
old garage had two sliding barn door
type doors. I closed the doors to
work on the car as it was a chilly
day. After I got the brake pads on
I wanted to move the car forward in
the garage a little bit. Luckily I
had backed the car into the garage
because, when I put it in drive to
pull up, I realized it had no brakes!
I had forgot to
pump the brake pedal before starting
the car to get the pads close to the
rotors! The car went into my heavy
garage door, lifted it up over the
hood, over the roof, across the trunk.
I was completely outside the garage
before it stopped. Calling my mother-in-law
to tell her what happened was one
of the hardest things I ever had to
do. I had a friend with an auto body
shop who buffed out many of the scratches,
but some remained. A chance to impress
my mother-in-law was gone!
She never asked
me to help with her car again and
I am too embarrassed to offer again.
At least now I always remember to
pump the brake pedal as soon as I’m
finished installing new brake pads
on my own vehicles. I learned a simple
lesson the hard way.
Scott in Pennsylvania
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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Automotive
Trivia |
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The
first V6 engine powering a passenger
car in N. America was the...?
A. 171 cid (2.8L)
in the 1974 Mustang II and Mercury
Capri.
B. 198 cid (3.2L) in the 1962 Buick
Skylark and Buick Special.
C. 235 cid (3.8L) in the 1960 El Camino.
Answer
below |
A Worthwhile Investment
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Last
weekend I changed the fuel filter
on my wife’s ’93 Ford
Tempo. It was a Motorcraft filter
that had been on the car for slightly
more than 30,000 miles. With the old
fuel filter in my hand, I wondered,
“How does this filter look inside?
Is it full of dirt? Is it just an
empty can?"
Tearing open a used
gasoline fuel filter is dangerous
and not something to try at home.
But I am a highly trained engineer
and if things went awry then I would
at least have a story for the Repair
Mistakes and Blunders section of the
newsletter. I let the filter dry out
for a couple of days and then unsuccessfully
tackled it with advanced tools including
a can opener, a vice and several types
of pliers.
Motorcraft makes
their filter cases out of “300-series
stainless steel.” “Connector
and support washers are brazed for
enhanced durability and strength.”
That is great news if you want a filter
that keeps its shape under pressure
and does not corrode, but it sure
made it hard to get inside.
An improvised “flame
test” using a votive candle
and distance determined a spark might
not ignite the filter. Wearing protective
clothing and face mask, I gingerly
sawed the filter open using a hack
saw with a fresh blade.
The filter case did
indeed have filter material inside.
As you can see from the before and
after 30,000 miles photos, the filter
did collect foreign particles. The
ring of mangled filter material and
splinters of shiny stainless steel
resulted from my rough disassembly,
but there is a also a layer of black
grime coating all the filter pleats.
The dirty white rag patch in the photo
was rubbed along the fold of one filter
pleat.
My wife drives the
Tempo nearly every day and fills it
up with gas at reputable gas stations
once a week. The gas stations have
filters on their pumps. Somehow stuff
still made it to the car’s fuel
filter. My do-it-yourself lab is not
advanced enough to analyze the black
grime. I am guessing it is tiny bits
of hose, gaskets, plastic, metal etc.
from the fuel system and a variety
of dirt. Think of how many times that
the gas station pump nozzle is shoved
into the fuel tank filler tube over
30,000 miles. A couple of foreign
particles probably slip in with every
fill up.
Those foreign particles do not have
to be big to clog up a modern fuel
injector. The Motorcraft filter removed
90% of particles 20 microns or larger.
A grain of sand is around 200 microns.
A typical human hair is about 90 microns
wide. All very small, but a fuel injector
nozzle orifice might only be 100 microns.
I will think about stray 90 micron
eyebrow hairs the next time I pump
gas.
I luckily did
not suffer any injury from my research
and now feel comfortable that a new
$8 fuel filter was a worthwhile investment
in the Tempo. This time I installed
a Fram filter, which I probably will
not be cutting open after 30,000 miles.
RockAuto has fuel filters with transparent
cases to fit my old 4-barrel carburetor
equipped Chrysler. I might install
one of those in case I ever again
get the urge to see fuel filter grime.
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
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Peter's 1956 Ford Consul |
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Hi,
I thought you might
be interested in an English hot rod.
The car is a 1956 Ford Consul sedan
originally fitted with a 1500cc engine
and a three speed gearbox. It now
has a 4.6L V8 and 5 speed gearbox
from a 2000 Ford Mustang. It also
has a narrowed 8 inch Ford rear axle
and 15 inch Torque Thrust wheels.
Stopping is taken care of by front
and rear disc brakes sourced from
a Mercedes C-Class, and it has a full
leather interior from a 5 Series BMW.
The engine was rebuilt using parts
from RockAuto.
The service is excellent
and, even with shipping and import
duties, parts from RockAuto cost less
than from UK suppliers!
Regards,
Peter
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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, 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, and what
parts from RockAuto you have
used.
|
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
first V6 engine powering a passenger
car in N. America was the...?
B. 198 cid
(3.2L) in the 1962 Buick Skylark
and Buick Special.
Back
up to trivia question |
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LLC - Madison, Wisconsin USA. RockAuto
name and logo are registered trademarks
of RockAuto, LLC. Manufacturer names
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are trademarks of their respective
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