See Better & Drive Safer

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

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.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

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

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

An Additional Diagnostic Tool

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

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

Share Your Hard Work
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