RockAuto.com RockAuto February Newsletter

RockAuto Home

Parts Catalog

Customer Service

Privacy Policy

Newsletter Archive

E-mail Subscription

RSS Feed

 

Another Happy Customer!

Have used RockAuto for years - Consistently Great!

RockAuto customer support, website and pricing has never ceased to surprise me! I have saved hundreds (if not thousands) on parts, and even more on service by taking care of much of my own vehicle maintenance. I am always telling other DIYers about this company!

David in Tennessee

 

Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, e-mail us with details.

APD Cops Rodders Car Motorcycle Show
2/23/2013
Acworth, GA
e-mail

2013 SRCHS Car Show
2/23/2013
Loxahatchee, FL
website

GPAX Annual Show
2/23/2013
Toms River, NJ
e-mail

Burlington Area Car Club
2/23/2013
Union Grove, WI
e-mail

2013 Le Bellezze d'Italia
2/23/2013
Phoenix, AZ
e-mail

Frostbite 2013
2/23/2013
Lenexa, KS
e-mail

Bay County Car Club 4th Annual Car Show
2/23/2013
Youngstown, FL
e-mail

Benefit for Remi Roussels
2/23/2013
Denham Springs, LA
e-mail

BSA Troop 132 4th Annual Car Show
2/23/2013
West Palm Beach, FL
e-mail

Winter Swap Meet
2/24/2013
Norwood, MA
e-mail

Summer City Rumble
2/24/2013
New South Wales, Australia
e-mail

Buick Car Show for New Hopes Charity
2/24/2013
Orlando, FL
e-mail

Memorial Festival & Car Show
3/9/2013
San Antonio, TX
e-mail

Tobacco Road Cruisers 2013
3/9/2013
Richlands, NC
e-mail

Carolina Motor Madness
3/9/2013
Fort Mill, SC
e-mail

Quail Run RV Resort Cruise In
3/9/2013
Delray Beach, FL
e-mail

Mid Florida Tech Auto & Truck Show 5th Annual
3/9/2013
Orlando, FL
e-mail

Camp Amigo Car Show
3/9/2013
Jacksonville, FL
e-mail

Panther City Vintage Gathering Swap Meet
3/10/2013
Arlington, TX
e-mail

Lions Club of Seattle Beach 2nd Annual Car/Truck & Motorcycle Show
3/10/2013
Satellite Beach, FL
e-mail

Ultimate Dubs
3/10/2013
Cerrigydrudion, UK
e-mail


RockAuto Now Offers Glass!

Find glass sold under the Various Mfr brand in the "Body-Exterior" category of the RockAuto catalog

RockAuto now offers a huge selection of glass! Are you in need of a new vent window for your 1997 Ford F-150? Do you have a crack in the windshield of your 2006 Honda Element? Is the door window glass shattered on your 2008 BMW 135I? Is the windshield on your 1970 Chevy Impala pitted and crazed with age?

RockAuto Now Offers Glass!

Our complete glass listings include:

  • Windshield Glass
  • Door Window Glass
  • Outside Mirror Glass
  • Quarter Window Glass
  • Rear Window Glass
  • Side Window Glass
  • Sunroof Glass
  • Vent Window Glass
Find glass for your specific vehicle under the "Body-Exterior" category of the RockAuto catalog. Windshield and molding removal tools are available under the "Tools and Universal Parts" tab.

 

 

FCS Strut Assemblies

See what we have from FCS

RockAuto now offers FCS Strut Assemblies. Entirely new strut, spring, mounts, bellow, seats, and other components make these complete assemblies safer, faster, easier, and often less expensive to install than parts purchased individually. The FCS Strut Assembly is engineered to meet and exceed OE quality. The components and valving are designed specifically for each domestic or import car, truck, van, minivan or SUV application. The precisely calibrated valving combinations are individualized for each application to best achieve OE ride and feel.

Each unit is tested on key measures and manufactured using reliable designs and repeatable production methods. NOK seals, highly-polished chrome rod finish, high performance shock oil, and an OE-type piston ensure first-class quality for each unit.

Assembly Includes:

  • MacPherson Strut: With NOK seals, mirror-finished, hard-chrome piston rod, and Japanese oil (to ensure a great seal, long life and consistent damping over a wide range of temperatures).
  • Coil Spring: 20% of production factory-checked for OE compression levels. Electrostatic coating for optimal corrosion resistance.
  • Bearing Plate: From same supplier as Monroe. Endurance tested under extreme load to ensure optimal performance & long life.
  • Boot Kit & Bumper: Bumper molded from urethane rubber for long life. Absorbs harsh, damaging road impact and noise for quieter driving.
  • Upper Spring Seat: Absorbs harsh, damaging road impact and noise for quieter driving.
  • Upper and Lower Isolators: Ensures spring remains stable in all conditions.
  • Robust Brackets: Reinforced to ensure integrity and long life.

FCS Strut Assemblies

Find FCS parts in the RockAuto catalog under "Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assembly" in the "Suspension" category.

 

 

Forum of the Month

CRZ Tuners

CRZ Tuners is a forum dedicated to the Honda CRZ. Join other members from all over the world to discuss modifications, share pictures, and make new friends. Membership to CRZTuners.com is FREE. Sign up and introduce yourself!

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 cynthia@rockauto.com.

 

 

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Ouch!

In the summer of 1970, I was 18 years old and the proud owner of a well maintained, 100,000 mile 1956 Chevy Belair that an elderly gentleman down the block sold me for $150. I had a job at a local gas station fixing flats, changing oil, and pumping gas. Having a lift available, I decided to dive right in to learn the ropes of auto repair. So I rebuilt the straight 6 engine (it smoked a little but otherwise ran like a champ), installed new tie rod ends and wheel bearings, dressed up the interior with new seat covers, and finally repaired some rust around the headlights and the rocker panels. After all this work, the car looked great.

That fall, my best friend and I decided to take it on a four hour ride from South Jersey to visit his uncle in Woodstock, New York. The night before we left, I decided to give the '56 one last go over before the epic journey. I was in a rush to get home and pulled it into one of the bays to change the oil and check the battery and radiator. Everything looked good. I threw some tools on the rear floor (just in case a belt or hose would give out) then jumped in the car to back out and close up for the night. I checked the rear view mirrors and all was clear.

As I backed out, though, I heard an excruciating "CRUNCH"! I thought maybe I'd run over some oil cans. I only wish I had...

When I got out of the car, I found I had left the rear passenger door open! As I backed the car out, the open door caught on the side of the bay wall. It peeled back like the tab on an old can of soda. I was sickened. I pushed it back in the right direction, hoping it would somehow magically spring back to its original shape. But all it managed to do was leave about a six inch gap between the latch and the door jamb. The next day, my friend and I drove to Woodstock with duct tape holding it together. I couldn't afford a new door that the local junk yard was willing to sell for $40. So I drove it the entire school year, including to the senior prom, with a rope holding the door (sort of) shut.

Mike in Pennsylvania

 

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 a while!). Please e-mail your story to flamur@rockauto.com. Include your mailing address and if you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt (please let us know your shirt size) or Hat if we publish your story. See the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools & Universal Parts 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

Automotive Trivia

Beth, the driver of a blue 2010 Acura MDX slows down as she passes a silver 2010 Acura MDX parked on the shoulder with two flat tires. The TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) warning light in the dash of Beth's Acura suddenly illuminates. Beth says: "We must have driven over whatever flattened the tires on that silver car!" Beth's spouse, Antonio, says: "Do not worry. That silver car was an Acura like ours. Our car probably just picked up a flat tire warning signal from one of its TPMS sensors." Who is most likely right?

A. Antonio
B. Beth

Answer below

 

 

Heard the Click, but Still a Problem

RockAuto

Occasionally nothing happened when my wife turned the ignition key in her 1993 Ford Tempo. Repeatedly holding the key in the start position for about five seconds was the surest way to get the starter to finally turn on.

The culprit this time was the starter solenoid mounted on the inner fender near the battery. This Ford and a wide variety of other vehicles of many ages and brands have two starter solenoids. Turning the ignition key activates a small solenoid that sends power to the large solenoid mounted on the side of the starter.

I always believed hearing a “click” from the smaller solenoid when the key was turned meant the solenoid was working and any problem must be further down the circuit. I also thought of the solenoid as being like a light bulb. It either worked or it did not. I have occasionally swapped solenoids between my cars while trouble shooting starting systems. If the solenoid was not the problem then I sometimes have not bothered to swap the solenoids back. The Tempo’s starter solenoid was one I swapped from another Ford a year or two ago.

Now that starter solenoid was clicking but intermittently there was no connection between the solenoid’s battery and starter terminals. I decided to drill out the rivets holding the solenoid together to see what was going on. The parts of the solenoid are displayed in the photo. Turning the ignition key sends current through a coil of fine copper wire. The resulting magnetic field in the center of the coil forces a metal drum out of the coil which pushes a thin metal strip down on the battery and starter terminals, connecting the two. A spring returns the metal strip back to its starting position once the ignition key is released.

The parts of the solenoid

The “click” is the sound of the metal drum shooting out of the coil and into the metal strip. Every time the ignition key is turned and the metal strip connects the battery and starter terminals there are likely a few small sparks. This solenoid was probably working intermittently because that sparking had gradually transferred some of the metal from the brass terminals to the silver colored metal strip. Some metal also likely vaporized and soot collected. This left the strip of metal and the terminals with uneven and thus, unreliable contact surfaces. The transferred metal and the different heights and shapes of the contact surfaces on the strip of metal are visible in the photo.

The transferred metal and the different heights and shapes of the contact surfaces on the strip of metal

I now know my swapping of starter solenoids between cars was similar to that old joke where the hikers, soldiers, scouts, etc. get “new” underwear by swapping with each other. Over the years I have replaced the Tempo’s starter, main starter solenoid and ignition switch, but I was satisfied with the fender mounted starter solenoid in the middle of the circuit as long as it made a clicking sound. After taking this tired solenoid apart, I am now more likely to remember that a solenoid is an electromechanical device that will gradually and inevitably wear out. Connecting a new starter or ignition switch to an old starter solenoid is not much different from pairing a new distributor cap with an old, worn distributor rotor. Better late than never, my wife’s Ford now has a new Motorcraft starter solenoid, and I will not be swapping it out to another car in the family fleet. Find starter solenoids under "Electrical" in the RockAuto catalog.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

 

 

Eugene's 1991 Saab 900 SE
Eugene's 1991 Saab 900 SE

This is my prized 1991 Saab 900 SE Turbo Convertible. It was a special edition 900 model offered by Saab in 1991 that was limited to 299 Convertibles imported into the US with the special Monte Carlo Yellow paint and SPG body cladding. There were only 350 or so examples produced and distributed worldwide and even in 1991 it had a sticker price of almost $40,000. I bought this car from the original owner who e-mailed me through the Buckeye Saab Club website offering the car for sale in hopes it would end up in an enthusiast's possession who would restore it to its former glory.

I purchased the car in 2011 for $1500. It was in running condition with only 44,762 actual original miles but in the previous 11 years it was driven a total of 4,000 miles. The paint was very chalky and the suspension was in need of a lot of elbow grease and TLC. I went over the whole car top to bottom and rebuilt the suspension with parts from RockAuto (ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, brakes, bushings). I gave the car a full tune, flushed the radiator and transmission, and changed all the filters with parts from RockAuto.

Eugene in Ohio

 

 

Share Your Hard Work

Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to feature you & your car or truck in our monthly newsletter. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! Please e-mail flamur@rockauto.com with your vehicle's history, interesting details, your favorite images, and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

 

 

Let RockAuto Help

Let RockAuto Help

Are you organizing a car show or other auto related event? From goody bag stuffers to gift certificates...we can help. We can even publicize your event in our newsletter.

Just send us an e-mail with information about your show.

 

 

Automotive Trivia Answer

Automotive Trivia

Beth, the driver of a blue 2010 Acura MDX slows down as she passes a silver 2010 Acura MDX parked on the shoulder with two flat tires. The TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) warning light in the dash of Beth's Acura suddenly illuminates. Beth says: "We must have driven over whatever flattened the tires on that silver car!" Beth's spouse, Antonio, says: "Do not worry. That silver car was an Acura like ours. Our car probably just picked up a flat tire warning signal from one of its TPMS sensors." Who is most likely right?

A. Antonio
Answer: B. Beth (Most TPMS sensors have a unique serial number that is recorded by the vehicle's computer when the sensors are installed and programmed. Beth's car might pick up a faint TPMS sensor signal from another vehicle, but her car's computer would ignore the foreign signal after not recognizing the sensor's serial number. Find TPMS sensors and tools under "Wheel/Tire" in the RockAuto catalog.)

Back up to trivia question

 

 

 

 

© 1999-2013 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.