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Over
the past year I have ordered four
or five times from you and you
have been absolutely outstanding
in every way shape and form. Your
customer service is without equal.
To put it bluntly, local merchants
in my area have no one to blame
but themselves for the lost business..
Maybe I should
send a few of them to work for
you and you could teach them a
few things about customer service.
I have friends that have said the
same thing about the service we
get from our Southern neighbors.
Greg,
Yellowknife NT, Canada |
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Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details. |
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Big
River Classics 11th Annual
Show & Shine
3/26-3/27/2010
Vicksburg, MS
website
4th Annual
SkillsUSA Car Show
3/27/2010
King George, VA
e-mail
4th Annual
March Madness Car Event
3/27/2010
Clarksville, TN
e-mail
3rd Annual
Early Bird Car/Truck Show
3/28/2010
Gladewater, TX
e-mail
South Jersey
Region AACA Car Event
3/28/2010
Woodstown, NJ
e-mail
ABWA Relay
for Life Car Show
3/28/2010
Thibodaux, LA
e-mail
Red River
Street Rods 37th Annual Rod
Run
4/9/2010
Shreveport, LA
e-mail
Dixieland
Cruisers of Savannah 22nd Annual
Open Car Show
4/9-4/10/2010
Savannah, GA
website
SoCalRoc-10
Year Anniversary Celebration
4/10/2010
Riverside, CA
website
Corvette
Owners Club of Houston-Charity
Corvette Show
4/10/2010
Houston, TX
e-mail
Roddin' On
The River
4/15/2010
Fort Mohave, AZ
e-mail
18th Annual
All Mopar Swap Meet
4/17-4/18/2010
Wooster, OH
website
Extraordinary
Fantasies-Car Show
4/17/2010
Manhattan, KS
e-mail
1st Annual
Aggreagates USA-Relay for Life
Car Show
4/17/2010
Macon, GA
e-mail
3rd Annual
Car Show-Benefits American
Cancer Society
4/17/2010
Salisbury, MD
e-mail
Cruising
for a Cure IV
4/17/2010
Lincolnton, NC
website
All Mopar
Swap Meet and Car Corral
4/17-4/18/2010
Dalton, OH
website
2nd Annual
Car Show & Swap Meet
4/25/2010
Heber Springs, AR
e-mail
Benicia Classic
Car Show
4/25/2010
Benicia, CA
website
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Royalty Rotors & Brake
Pads |
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Royalty
Rotors and Brake Pads are now available
at RockAuto.com. Royalty Rotors pride
themselves on having over 30 years
experience of CNC manufacturing in
the aerospace and automotive industries.
They offer a large selection of slotted
and cross drilled rotors for nearly
every vehicle make and model. Royalty
Rotors offer a limited lifetime warranty
on all their rotors.
The following are
features and benefits of Royalty
Rotors and Brake pads:
Slotted & Cross
Drilled Rotors
•Cross Drilled-Degasses brake pads and decreases rotor heat.
•Curved Slot Design- Deglazes brake pads, reduces fade, and minimizes brake
dust.
•Silver Zinc Plating- Prevents rust and corrosion. Greatly improves appearance.
Royalty
Ceramic Pads
• Ceramic formulation
• High performance applications
• Extreme bite
• Shorter stopping distances
• Extend life of rotors
• Quiet braking with no squeal
• Eliminates most brake dust and debris
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Royalty
Semi-Metallic Pads
• 100% asbestos free formula
• Semi-Metallic formulation
• More bite
• Shorter stopping distances
• Extended life of rotors
• Noise-free braking
• Minimal brake dust
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Find these brake
parts and more in the "Brake/Wheel
Hub" category of the RockAuto
catalog.
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Forum of the Month |
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Team
ZX2 is the largest Ford Escort
ZX2 forum on the web. Team ZX2
has everything you could ever hope
to know about the ZX2. There are
plenty of members that just sign
up to get help fixing their car
and end up staying around for the
conversation. There is also a very
extensive knowledge base with topics
like: How to change your timing
belt, How to remove/install your
transmission, How to paint your
car, and much more. There is even
have a section for non-ZX2 owners
where they can also show off their
cars.
Come join today! Your
first stop should be the Newbie section.
There you will find a "Welcome" thread
that contains most of the first timer
questions. Also, check our Photo
section and post your ride there.
We even have a Vidz section where
you can see V8 swapped ZX2's and
Zetec powered low 11 second ZX2's.
One of my favorite sections is the
Forced Induction section where you
can ask all of your boost related
questions. Yes, we put turbo's in
Escorts. The site is free and even
our knowledge base is open to guests.
You don't have to register to view
our site but I'm sure you will once
you see what we offer.
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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While
in college, I purchased a new 1971
VW Karmann Ghia. Within a few years
I was married and we had purchased
our first house. With money being
tight, I decided that oil changes
and tune ups were a way I could save
money. The VW required periodic valve
adjustments to keep the valves from
tightening down and snapping a stem
and ruining the engine. The procedure
was to remove the valve cover and
start with the number one cylinder,
turn the crankshaft to top dead center,
then use a feeler gauge between the
rocker arm and valve stem. Then unlock
the nut, adjusting to proper gauge,
and re-lock nut. Move to next cylinder,
turn crankshaft, and repeat. After
doing all four cylinders, I cranked
the engine. You wouldn't believe
the awful sound! It sounded like
a stem had broken and ruined the
engine.
With tail between
legs, I took it to the dealer mechanic,
prepared for a new engine but never
telling the service advisor what
I had done. I simply said it was
making an awful noise. When I picked
up the car, the service advisor said
they had adjusted the valves that
someone had been messing with. I
never fessed up, but you can bet
I learned the proper way to adjust
the valves!!!
Gary in Georgia
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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Compare
the cost of a shopping cart full
of parts (starter, radiator, turn
signal switch, etc.) for the 2001
Cadillac Deville DHS 4.6L with a
shopping cart of similar replacement
parts for the cars below. Which vehicle's
parts cost more than the Cadillac's?
A. 2001 Chevrolet
Metro LSI 1.3L
B. 2001 Acura Integra LS 1.8L
C. 2001 Lincoln LS 3.9L
D. 2001 Volkswagen Beetle 2.0L
E. all of the above
answer:
A (source is RockAuto
Repair Index)
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Happily Delay Piano
Practice |
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My
eight-year-old daughter got rid
of the hillbilly car alarm on my
wife’s Ford Tempo! For a
long time one of the power door
lock solenoids had been making
a screech just like a car alarm
does when activated. The noisy
lock solenoid finally lost the
oomph to move the lock linkage
and it was time to replace it.
My daughter was
involved in every step of the repair.
She watched the threaded rod on the
old solenoid spastically twitch.
She pulled off the wiring harness
plug. She chose the correct length
rod to install on the new Dorman
door lock solenoid and used pliers
to help me put it together. She guided
the little rubber clips on the new
solenoid into the mounting bracket.
She lubricated the lock, window gears,
and door latch. She helped line up
the door panel fasteners. She demonstrated
the new door lock solenoid to her
mom.
Involving children
in car repairs has many benefits.
They learn a car is a bunch of interesting
systems rather than an impossibly
complicated black box that should
be feared. They use hand tools. They
learn to deal with frustration, solve
problems and correct mistakes. They
take pride in a job well done. They
get to spend time with mom or dad.
Especially with
young children, choose the right
repairs to help set the kid up for
success. The door lock solenoid repair
was perfect. We could do it comfortably
in a warm garage. My daughter had
spent many miles next to that door
and she was curious to see what was
inside it. I loosened the various
clips in advance so she would not
have any trouble taking things apart.
She felt important when only her
small hands could reach parts dropped
inside the door. I also started the
repair at a time of day that enabled
my daughter to happily delay piano
practice for a few minutes.
Some other repairs
that are great for young kids on
most car models include replacing:
•taillight and headlight bulbs.
•cabin and engine air filters.
•throttle position sensors, pcv valves, and other relatively clean and
accessible parts.
•support struts for hatch, trunk, or hood.
•license plates or renewal decals.
•lug nuts.
•windshield wiper blades.
But even messy,
rusty, or complicated repairs can
involve children even if they only
hold a flashlight and pass a wrench
or two.
My daughter took the broken door
lock solenoid to school for “sharing”.
Her class found it to be an interesting
break from the usual parade of stuffed
animals. My wife’s Ford has
three more doors. There will probably
be more opportunities for my daughter
to hone her door lock solenoid replacement
skills! (Find door lock solenoids
under "Body-Exterior" in
the RockAuto.com
catalog.)
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
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Mark & Son's
1991 Ford Explorer |
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In
1991 my wife purchased a first generation
Eddie Bauer Explorer. At the time
she wasn't my wife. I met her while
working in the service department
of a Ford dealership. We married
and the Explorer racked up over 185,000
miles of memories. My wife and I
couldn't part with it for sentimental
reasons, so it sat on the side of
my mother's house for four years.
Our son is
approaching his driving years so
he and I decided to overhaul the
Ford as a father and son project.
We kept ordering parts from RockAuto
little by little and took the opportunity
to spread our rebuilding job over
two years. Last week, the Explorer
took the highway once again and
it is waiting for my young adult
to get his license. We now both
share personal pride in our complete
Explorer overhaul.
Mark in California
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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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