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RockAuto Customer Wins Grand Prize in Raybestos Promotion!

Marc in Toledo won the Raybestos® Back To School Promotion & Sweepstakes after purchasing Raybestos brake parts from RockAuto. Marc wrote: “...filling out the promotional card was fast and easy and as a reward they sent me a $1400 (Dell) laptop. Thank you RockAuto!”

Congratulations Marc! Thanks Raybestos! Participate in the latest manufacturer offers by clicking the Promotions & Rebates button on the RockAuto home page or go directly to http://www.rockauto.com/lang/en/promo.html. Sign up for the RSS feed and receive automatic updates.

Forum of the Month

Ford Forums is a one-stop message board for anything and everything Ford. We have some of the most helpful staff members. Our community is growing on a daily basis. Knowledgeable members always want to offer the best advice for those seeking it. We want to make sure each user has the best possible experience on our forum. There are no bad questions when it comes to your Ford.

Visit our forum today and join one of the best Ford communities online! We welcome everyone with open arms. Signing up for our forum is quick and easy. So what are you waiting for? Visit www.ford-forums.com today and join our community!

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.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

I was finishing up replacing the intake manifold gasket on my 2000 Pontiac Montana. It was getting really late, so I decided to get up early the next morning before work to finish the job.

Out in the garage at 6:30 AM, I was reaching back behind the engine to put in a bolt that holds the plenum. The bolt was about 1-1/2" long. I felt around (you can't see anything on the back side of a minivan engine), put the bolt in the hole, and tightened it down to the correct torque.

A few minutes later, I was installing the coil pack on the back of the plenum when I realized that the bolt I installed earlier was in a hole meant for the coil pack. I removed the bolt, put it in the correct hole in the plenum, tightened it down and went about my business putting everything back together.

When I started the van, it ran perfectly...for about ten seconds...then, "BANG...BANG...BANG". The worst noise I had ever heard. The engine shook violently with every bang. I couldn't figure out what could possibly have gone wrong, so I had the van towed to a local repair shop. The mechanic tore into the engine and found a wad of aluminum about the size of a piece of chewing gum in cylinder # 4. When I had put the 1-1/2" bolt in the wrong hole, it bottomed out in the plenum (I swear I never felt it) and broke off a chunk of aluminum that got sucked into the cylinder, gouging up the walls, and bending a whole bunch of expensive stuff in the process. Rather than rebuild the old engine, we opted for a nice remanufactured one. The mechanic assured me it could happen to anybody, but my wife doesn't agree. From now on, she questions the wisdom of me doing anything more complicated than adding wiper fluid. Make sure you put the right bolt in the right hole!

Guy in Ohio

Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes. 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. 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!

I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now!

Repair manuals from the factory, Chilton, and Haynes are invaluable for most repairs. Use their instructions and photos for diagnosis, removal, and installation.

The problem is that those manuals are researched and written when the cars are new. Some parts like shocks, heater cores, valve cover gaskets, alternators, brake pads, etc. always eventually need replacement and so they get thorough coverage in the manuals.

Unfortunately, there are many model year specific problems that crop up five, ten or twenty years down the road. The repair manual authors have no way of predicting those problems and the manuals would be a foot thick if they covered every possibility. The thermostat housing on most cars lasts the life of the vehicle, but on the Ford Focus it often fails in just a few years. Most car owners never need to think much about their exhaust manifolds, but exhaust manifolds are a problem for owners of certain Honda Civic model years.

I used to put handwritten notes in my repair manual after finishing a repair with that, “I wish I knew then what I know now” feeling. Now I make notes in the RockAuto Part Advice Wiki. Most often replaced parts like that Focus thermostat housing are highlighted in the RockAuto.com catalog and every part listing has a Wiki page (look for the ) where people can save their repair notes. Tips on the tools used are especially helpful when the service manual only says something like “use GM Tool A123”. Next time I do the repair, I just click on the in the RockAuto catalog to see my notes and tips from others.

Here are some examples of the repair notes stored in wiki.rockauto.com.

1958 CADILLAC 365cid Oil Pan Gasket: …the pan IS removable with the engine in the car. The idler arm has to be unbolted from the frame (two bolts...machine thread, be careful…

1996 GMC YUKON 5.7L Intake Manifold Gasket: …when everything is done, be prepared for your "Check Engine" light to be lit...if you have a scanner, it will show up as a cam sensor alignment error, but it is the distributor that is off, not the sensor...

1989 Dodge B350 5.2L Rocker Arm: …the important thing to remember is roller cam engines will have a 6.75" (or so) push rod. 1989 is hollow, the rockers are oiled through them, and the 1988 is NOT, but they are still 6.75" long. The flat tappet push rods are 7.5" long and are solid…

2000 Ford F-250 7.3 L Diesel Ball Joint: …I made a install tool for the axle shaft seal by taking a 1 1/4 pipe flange and grinding it down…

1998 Subaru Legacy Outback 2.5L Strut Assembly: …put the top gasket in place, try to line up the end of the spring with the end…

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

I am a college student at Georgia Tech and have spent the last 21 months building a Lotus 7 replica out of an '84 Toyota Celica. Everything on the car has been designed and hand fabricated by me, from the frame, to the suspension, to the bodywork. The 2.4L 22RE engine, drivetrain, and many smaller parts (such as the headlight buckets and gauge cluster) came out of the Celica. I received the Celica in barely running condition and have used many RockAuto parts (Brake Master Cylinder, Brake Pads, Brake Caliper Repair Kits, Clutch Master Cylinder, Clutch Alignment Tool, Engine Rear Main Seal, Speedometer Cable, Sealed Headlights, PCV Valve,Timing Chain Kit, and Throttle Body Gasket) to fix and upgrade it.

I have found it to be much more pleasant and cheaper to order parts from RockAuto than to go to local parts store. It usually takes a couple of trips to one of those stores before the counter person can select the right part AND manage to get the correct part off the shelf, and that is IF they have anything in stock. I really love RockAuto. The prices are great, the service is great, and the website and newsletter is great (I look forward to reading the "blunders" section the most).

Andrew

Share Your Hard Work
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