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I had to write
to tell someone (or everyone at
RockAuto) thanks for stocking
a part that no other auto parts store stocks. The dealer had stock, but the
price was outrageous at $118.00 each...
...I checked
the web, called at least 15 auto
salvage
places in
my city, and checked the dealership
to locate used or new parts only
to be
disappointed by no stock or price.
Well, that was until I checked
RockAuto.com. To make a long story
short, I fixed an overheating
problem and
put everything back to together
with the Inner Fenders from RockAuto.
Thanks a million!
I'm sold! I guess you guys do carry "All
the parts your car will ever need" and
definitely at the best prices I
have seen!
Whenever I
need
a part for one of my vehicles in the future, I'll always check out
RockAuto.com first!
A very satisfied
customer! Ernest in Arizona |
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Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details. |
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21st
Annual United Fire & Rescue
Car Show
8/8/2008
Hammond,
WI
email
Yellow Rose
Classic Car Show
8/9-8/10/2008
Grand Prairie,
TX
website
16th Annual
Fabulous Fords Forever All
Ford Show
8/9/2008
Tullahoma,
TN
email
Packey Webb
Mustang & Ford
Car Show
8/9/2008
Wheaton, IL
email
Summer Super
Show
8/9/2008 Alton, IL
email
Kingdom Cars
& Crafts
8/9/2008
Sheboygan,
WI
email
18th Annual
Falcon Club of America Pacific
Regional
8/15-8/16/2008
Salem, OR
website
5th Annual
Cool Northern Nights on the
Coast
8/16/2008
Crescent
City, CA
website
Lubbock Mustang
Car Show
8/16/2008
Lubbock,
TX
email
7th Annual
American Iron Car Show
8/17/2008
Pleasant Hill,
CA
email
Skykomish
Show n Shine
8/23/2008
Skykomish,
WA
website
Still Cruisin'
Car Show
8/23/2008
Staples,
MN
email
3rd Annual
Midtown Car Show "Classic
Meets Custom"
8/24/2008
Elizabeth, NJ
email
BUG-A-PALOOZA
8/24/2008
Channahon, IL
email
PAWS Central
Park Moto Expo
8/24/2008
Washington,
IA
email
International
Mustang & All Ford Stampede
8/31/2008
St.
Lake City, UT
website
Pride &
Joy Car Show
8/31/2008
Yorkville,
IL
email
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RockAuto Now Has
Wiring Harnesses |
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Factory
Fit® is
American Autowire's OEM and restoration
division offering
all you need for your GM
project - Wiring Harnesses, Switches,
Battery
Cables, and Spark Plug Wire Sets.
Selection
Factory Fit® has a huge selection of OEM wiring harnesses and parts built
to demanding specifications that are sure to please any restoration enthusiast
or concourse judge.
Speed
Factory Fit® wiring harnesses are built using OEM blueprints and original
GM parts, assuring you a "plug and play experience". Save time and
money!
Specific
Manufactured for the discriminating restoration enthusiast. Factory Fit® ensures
you have the correct wiring, connectors, clips, lamp sockets, tapes, and more.
Also included in the Factory Fit® line are OEM harnesses
that include standard modifications such as internal regulator, one-wire alternator,
HEI, and more.
Dedication to the details gives you the right fit every time.
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Forum Of The Month |
|
Nine
years ago, I had a problem with my
Lincoln Mark VIII, and tried to find
a
solution on the Internet. Sadly, there
were very few resources for a Mark
VIII owner, so I decided to start a
website for other owners who might
be in
the same boat, and so was born www.markviii.org.
Since then, our
community has grown to nearly 10,000
members,
and we pride ourselves on being the
best
source of information for troubleshooting
and repairing these unique luxury
sports coupes. We have a very active
community, that is helpful, polite,
and knowledgeable, which has made
us the most popular Mark VIII website.
Another important element has been
to provide less costly alternatives
for
repairs and parts, and RockAuto has
been a great resource for our users.
Our members enjoy a nice discount,
easy to use website, and reasonably
priced, quality parts. Thanks RockAuto,
for helping the markviii.org community keep these cars on the road! Calvin Louie
Site Admin/Owner
www.markviii.org
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 enjoying a Hawaiian style cook-out
in my backyard, complete with my
grass skirt and coconut shell bra
when one of my guests screamed that
someone was just hit by a car in
front of my house. The sight of me
sprinting across the yard must have
been a sight to see.
It turns out my
neighbor was working on the transmission
of his Ford F-150
pickup in his driveway across the
street. He was underneath the truck
lying on a creeper and neglected
to engage
the emergency brake or chock the
wheels. When he disconnected the
drive shaft universal joint, the
truck began rolling down the driveway
with him underneath grabbing the
frame rails for dear life and trying
to stop the truck by dragging his
feet.
The
truck passed over his sidewalk
and down the apron,
I don't know
how he wasn't crushed. To make
matters worse, parked across the
street directly
behind him was a classic Corvette
belonging to one of my party guests.
Lucky
for my guest, the truck veered
off
missing the Corvette by literally
only a 1/4", jumping the curb
and coming to rest on my next door
neighbor's lawn after taking out
a mailbox post. All my
guests saw was a guy under a moving
truck as it hit the curb.
My neighbor
emerged from under the truck with
only a bruised ego and
not a scratch on him. Lucky I had
plenty of friends on hand to push
his truck back up the driveway
before my neighbor decided to call
it a
day and join my party! Jeff in New Jersey
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!
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Tech Tip: Don’t
Shoot The Messenger! |
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Oxygen
sensors are an automotive equivalent
of the “usual suspects” rounded
up by police in the movie classic Casablanca. When the “check engine” or “service
engine soon” light appears, it’s usually the O2 sensor that gets
the blame.
Sometimes, unfairly.
An oxygen
sensor’s job is
measuring the proportion of oxygen
to unburned fuel in the exhaust and
transmitting that information to
the engine computer. The O2 sensor
is the messenger that tells the computer
whether the engine is running rich
or lean. The computer uses that data
to adjust spark timing and fuel delivery.
The computer’s objective is
achieving the “stoichiometric
ratio,” the ideal mix of fuel
and air at which all fuel is burned
and no oxygen remains. That’s
the ratio that gives maximum economy
and lowest emissions.
When the engine computer misses
the stoichiometric target by too
much and for too long, it sets a
diagnostic trouble code and turns
on the dreaded warning light.
This doesn’t
always mean there is something
wrong with the
oxygen sensor. Any engine problem
which affects fuel delivery or air
flow can eventually trigger a trouble
code based on O2 sensor data.
For example,
a leaking intake manifold gasket
will not be spotted by the
sensors monitoring air flow into
the engine, because that leak is
downstream of the sensors. So, the
engine computer cannot adjust fuel
delivery to compensate for the additional
airflow caused by the intake leak.
But, that leak will cause excess
oxygen in the exhaust and O2 sensor
data will trigger the warning light,
even though the O2 sensor is not
the problem. Similarly, a leaking
fuel injector can deliver more fuel
than the engine computer intends,
causing a rich condition first detected
by the O2 sensor. The underlying
problem can even be in a different
sensor, such as a dirty air flow
sensor which underreports the amount
of air going into the engine.
Of course,
the problem can be the oxygen sensor
itself. Oxygen sensors
live in the exhaust, which is not
a very clean environment. Eventually,
an oxygen sensor’s ability
to transmit data may deteriorate
to the point that it is no longer
an effective messenger. That, too,
will trigger the warning light.
Whatever the diagnosis, the repair
should always begin with the same
first step: a visit to the RockAuto.com
catalog to get the parts you need
to fix it right!
Ralph Kalal,
RockAuto.com
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Lewis & Clark Road
Trip |
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My
family stood transfixed in front
of the train station in Dayton, Washington.
The beautifully restored and preserved
Dayton Depot was built in 1881, but
what had caught our attention was
the dust devil swirling across the
street about a block away. How had
a thirty-foot tall, mini-tornado
of debris managed to find its way
from the surrounding desert all the
way to the heart of green and carefully
manicured Dayton?
We watched
as the dust devil turned and
meandered towards us. It made
a direct hit on our Ford Country
Squire station wagon and paused
long enough to swoosh its load
of junk through the five open windows
before heading on its way. How
exciting, the kids were thrilled!
The cooler’s cord would not
plug into the cigarette lighter
socket because it was full of leaves!
We were on a family vacation tracing
the route of Lewis and Clark. Instead
of boats and canoes, we were riding
in an artificial wood bedecked
station wagon. Rather than discovering
new species and routes we were
proving that the family road trip
is still the same blend of fun
and trauma it was when I was one
of the kids jammed in the back
seat about thirty-five years ago.
Every occupant
of the family station wagon was
in a completely different
world. My wife was enjoying the
fruits of her carefully planned
itinerary. The educational stops
and hotels were ticked off flawlessly.
My ten-year-old son was wondering
if he should have bought the souvenir
at the last stop or if there would
be something better to buy down
the road. My six-year-old daughter
was remembering previous hotels’ pools
and wondering what pools in Oregon
would be like. My four-year-old
daughter was busy collecting a
mountain of rocks and a bag full
of bird feathers.
I was patting myself on the back
as the old Ford I repaired and
maintained with parts from RockAuto
zipped through lonely, scorching
desert and hauled us up steep mountains.
I enjoyed driving smooth, deserted,
twisting roads that I thought only
existed in new car ads. I wondered
if I would ever get to drive those
roads in a sportier car.
The hotels
seemed nicer than hotels from
childhood memories. I don’t
remember ever getting free breakfast
or having a sofa bed for the third
kid. The fast food lunches seemed
a little less leaden too. Gas was
expensive. A few more picnic meals
than usual saved enough money to
pay for the pricier gas.
The atmosphere
in the car was just the same,
but with a little
less wind noise. Thirty-five years
ago I had a back seat role and
this time around I was in the drivers
seat! At the end of the day the
kids had the same “she’s
touching me!” sort of hysterics
and my wife and I made the same
empty threats: “you had better
not make me pull this car over!”.
I will treasure the memories and
I hope my kids do too.
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
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Roy's
1964 Buick Riviera |
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Hi!
Thank You RockAuto!
You've helped an old 1964 Riviera
with many
new parts. Everything had a
perfect fit and installation
was painless. Looking forward to
finishing the Riviera this spring
and ordering more parts. Thank you
so much from the cold north!
Best wishes,
Roy in
Norway
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Share Your
Hard Work
Do you purchase
parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto
would like to feature you and your
vehicle in our monthly newsletter.
Please email flamur@rockauto.com with
details.
© 1999-2008 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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