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I
went to several national automotive
supply chain stores in two different
towns looking for a simple air cleaner
cover hold-down clip, but no one
had them.
I found the part
I needed on RockAuto.com, ordered
it, and three days later I had it
in my hands - even with standard
shipping.
RockAuto rocks!
David in
Arkansas |
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Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, email us with details. |
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All Generations Monte Carlo Meet
11/6/2010
Havana, FL
e-mail
CCMC Corvette
Show
11/6/2010
Ocklawaha, FL
e-mail
Viva Alfa
Romeo Car Show
11/6/2010
Winter Park, FL
e-mail
AAF Tank Museum
7th Annual Indoor Car Bike Show
11/6/2010
Danville, VA
e-mail
Quilt Trails
Road Rally
11/6/2010
Burnsville, NC
e-mail
Salute to
Veterans Open Car Truck Bike
Show
11/13/2010
Montgomery, AL
e-mail
2nd Annual
SoCalROC Show-N-Shine
11/13/2010
Riverside, CA
e-mail
Nam Jam Fall
Car Show
11/13/2010
Tucson, AZ
e-mail
Jeeps in the
Vineyard '10
11/14/2010
Trenton, NJ
e-mail
22nd Annual
Pasco Bug Jam
11/14/2010
Dade City, FL
website
St Petersburg
Yacht Club Vintage Motor Classic
11/14/2010
St Petersburg, FL
website
37th Annual
Turkey Run
11/28/2010
Daytona Beach, FL
e-mail
Rhino Crusin
Car & Bike Show
11/30/2010
Queen Creek, AZ
e-mail
Mopars and
AMC's In the Park
12/5/2010
North Port, FL
e-mail
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See Better & Drive Safer |
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The
clock is going to be rolling back
an hour in many places with the daylight-savings
time change. It is getting darker
earlier and many of us have winter
storms to look forward to. It is a
great time to check that all headlight
bulbs are working.
Many late model vehicles
have daytime running lamps. Even if
you are enjoying summer in Australia,
do not forget to verify that the running
lamp bulbs are not burned out. Look
under "Electrical-Lamp &
Socket" in the RockAuto.com
catalog for all the replacement
bulbs available for your specific
car or truck. Choose Standard Replacement
style halogen bulbs by ACDelco, GE,
and Wagner or switch to Improved Visibility
bulbs that are bluish or brighter.
Look under "Body-Exterior"
if your ride had a rough summer and
you need an entire headlight assembly
rather than just a bulb. Make it easier
for you to see and your vehicle to
be seen!
Speaking of visibility,
now is also the time to check your
windshield wipers. The wiper blades
may have dried out over the summer
and could be ready to fall to pieces
the first time they freeze to the
windshield. Take a look under "Wiper
& Washer" at RockAuto.com
to see the wiper arms and wiper blades
made for your car by Anco, ACDelco,
Bosch, Motorcraft and Trico. For many
vehicles there are winter blades designed
specifically for snow and ice. Wiper
motors by A1 Cardone are also found
under “Wiper & Washer”
if your vehicle’s wiper motor
is failing to park the blades. |
Forum of the Month
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Wranglerforum.com
is a leading online community where
Jeep Wrangler enthusiasts talk shop
on everything from aftermarket accessories
to trails. No matter if your thinking
about owning a Wrangler, just got
one, or are on your 10th, Wranglerforum.com
is the place to get all your questions
answered. We offer discussion on all
models from 1987 to present as well
as early MB and CJ models 1941 to
present. Stop by and sign up for your
free membership today and start connecting
with other Jeep owners.
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.
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Repair Mistakes & Blunders
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I
was doing the final assembly of a
newly rebuilt engine for my 1983 Dodge
Shelby Charger that I race with the
Sports Car Club of America in the
Improved Touring B class. I had finished
putting the cooling system back together,
and checking all the hose clamps.
When I filled the radiator, I noticed
a leak from the engine. When I tracked
it down, the water was coming from
the thermostat housing. So I drained
the radiator, pulled the thermostat
and reapplied the gasket sealer. Waited
a while to let the sealer set, filled
the radiator again, and……leaking
again. Thinking the gasket was bad,
I replaced the gasket and sealer,
and……still leaking. Two
more gaskets, and one day later, same
thing. Only this time I notice that
the whole thermostat housing is loose,
even though all the bolts are torqued
to specification. Closer inspection
showed that the top was tight and
just the bottom was loose. I went
ahead and tightened down the bolt
again. Same result. Tighten down the
bolt one more flat. Still leaked.
So I backed out the
bottom bolt to look at it. That particular
bolt also locates the oil dip stick
tube and has a nut in the center and
threads on both ends. Turns out that
the threaded portions were not the
same length, and I had been putting
the long end into the head and it
was bottoming out before securing
the thermostat housing. I reversed
the bolt, tightened to spec, and sure
enough, the thermostat housing did
not leak anymore. Two and a half days,
missed the PDX and my qualifying session
on Saturday morning, just because
the bolt was put in backwards!
Bill in Ohio
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! |
Automotive Trivia
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Heavy
duty diesel engine manufacturers met
2010 EPA emissions regulations primarily
either with selective catalytic reduction
(SCR) and associated urea tanks and
plumbing or with what other technology?
A. O2 Reactive Nitrogen
Neutralized Carbon Filtration (O2RCF)
B. Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR)
C. Pressurized Pre-Soak Sulfur Sinking
(PRESS)
Answer
below
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An Additional Diagnostic Tool
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The
EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) valve
meters the amount of exhaust gas flowing
through the intake back into the combustion
chamber. At first glance EGR seems
like bad news for cars and ineffective
pollution control. Keep a little exhaust
from going out the tailpipe by rerouting
it back into a wheezing, dirty engine?
When EGR was first tacked onto cars
in the 1970s, engines did sometimes
stall, stutter, and wheeze because
EGR was controlled by only primitive
vacuum systems. Send in too much exhaust
at idle or during acceleration and
the engine balks.
EGR was never intended
to simply hide some exhaust by pumping
it back into the engine. Injecting
exhaust gas is actually a convenient
way to lower temperatures in the combustion
chamber. Lower temperatures mean less
air pollution causing nitrogen oxide.
Lower combustion
chamber temperatures also reduce the
likelihood of engine damaging detonation
or knock. Ignition timing can be advanced
further and higher compression ratios
are possible. EGR has become an integral
part of engine tuning and design.
The vacuum hose spaghetti has been
replaced with an Engine Control Module
using input from sensors to precisely
open and close the EGR valve.
Some engines use
dedicated EGR sensors and solenoids:
EGR Pressure Feedback Sensor, EGR
Position Sensor, EGR Vacuum Solenoid,
etc. while other engines control EGR
relying on input from multi use sensors
such as the Oxygen Sensor, Knock Sensor,
Manifold Pressure Sensor (MAP), etc.
An EGR related diagnostic
trouble code is not something that
should be ignored even if there are
not yet any obvious drivability problems.
An engine compensating for an out
of control EGR system might quietly
knock, hesitate, damage other parts,
and fail emissions tests.
EGR trouble codes
could indicate a failing EGR valve,
but it might also indicate one or
more dying sensors. The RockAuto.com
catalog can be an additional diagnostic
tool. Look for parts in bold print.
Those parts are most commonly sold
and may be what other owners have
used to fix the same problem. If there
are many manufacturer choices, Airtex,
Standard Motor Products, etc. for
a part then that might be another
indication the original equipment
part was failure prone and replacements
are in high demand.
For example, since
the 1990s, Ford has used an EGR Pressure
Feedback Sensor to measure the exhaust
gas pressure before and after the
EGR valve. Exhaust gas creates a harsh
environment and the sensors fail on
some vehicles. When my sister-in-law’s
Ford Focus started having EGR problems,
she found the Pressure Feedback Sensor
in bold print in the RockAuto.com
catalog. That was a signal from
other Focus owners! Replacing that
sensor fixed the EGR problem.
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
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Frank's 1965 Cadillac DeVille Convertible |
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I
bought this 1965 Cadillac DeVille
Convertible back in 2001 for our honeymoon.
We drove it the way it arrived (unrestored)
from Aberdeen all the way down to
Spain and back. Returning back home
after having driven 5000 miles, the
car had lost power steering fluid,
transmission fluid, etc. etc. The
plan was to "only" replace
the rubber parts, as these had suffered
the most being an original Colorado
car. However, as with all these projects,
once you start taking things off,
you cannot stop, and to make a long
story short, I ended up with a mere
shell of the car. I have had every
nut and bolt of this car in my hand,
and it has taken me 4 years to complete
the restoration! I am now running
the car in, fixing all the little
problems that come up.
The last part I have
replaced using RockAuto was the brake
master cylinder. I was very impressed
with the speed of delivery, and above
all the price of the unit. With hindsight,
I should have replaced the master
brake unit straight away.... With
the new master brake cylinder installed,
the car's brakes work like new again,
and I ended up on the dashboard during
the first brake test!
Frank in Aberdeen
Scotland
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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.
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