Dallas Automotive Restyling Spoilers

We are pleased to announce that RockAuto now offers Dallas Automotive Restyling (DAR) spoilers! Based in the US, DAR is a leading manufacturer of high quality rear spoilers world-wide. They have been a prominent player in auto restyling for over 20 years.

With an extensive product line, including spoilers for the latest 2015 models like the Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger, DAR is committed to being first to market with the best and highest quality spoilers. If you are repairing or customizing an older car, such as a 1989 Ford Thunderbird or 1991 Nissan 300ZX, don't fret - we have you covered there too!

DAR spoilers include everything you need, including paint matching. That's right, the final touch for any DAR spoiler is having their certified finishing department paint the spoiler with a PPG Automotive Refinish to match your vehicle's exterior, saving you money and time. With the addition of DAR Spoilers to the RockAuto catalog, you have the opportunity to buy high quality spoilers from a trusted source, resulting in a better spoiler with better paint in better time at a better price!

If you have been hoping to upgrade your vehicle with a factory-style spoiler or customize it with a high performance, aggressive look - without breaking the bank - look no further than DAR spoilers. You can find these in our catalog listed under the "Body" category.

Gabriel, KYB, Monroe and Rancho Suspension Rebates

Are you waiting for a manufacturer rebate to be offered before you replace your old shocks and struts? Maybe you are waiting for your favorite brand or a special offer from the one manufacturer who still builds shocks for your old car?

The wait may be over! Gabriel, KYB, Monroe and Rancho are all offering rebates this month. Get the shocks and struts you want!

Forum of the Month

Weekend Warriors Off-Road Expedition Unit of Winnipeg, Manitoba was formed on the basis of family oriented, fun, exciting, adventurous club runs. As an organization, we endeavor to provide socialization, knowledge, and family activities for club members.

The Weekend Warriors stand by the Tread Lightly philosophy in an effort to preserve and work with areas so we may return again. We promote safe four-wheeling for both the participants and environment and believe that when using a trail, you should leave nothing behind and take only memories with you. Club members believe strongly in the sport and are determined to keep promoting its safe and responsible aspects.

We, as a club, have numerous club runs throughout the year to various locations. We are always looking for a new challenge or adventure in whatever area we travel. With this being said, the areas we travel to for "open club runs" consist of rocks, sandpits, mud, trails, water crossings, etc.


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 flamur@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Recently, I noticed some water leaking from my 1994 Mazda Miata. Prior leaks could be traced to the various hoses around the car, but this time I traced the issue to behind the timing belt cover. With 168,000 miles and no receipts for prior work done (other than the timing belt at 120k mi), the signs pointed to the water pump.

With help from Miata.net and parts in hand from RockAuto.com, I was confident I could replace the water pump and timing belt. An optional step included replacing the cam seals, which seemed like a low cost preventative step for my higher mileage baby. While replacing these, I erroneously thought that the front-most bearing caps needed to be removed. Upon discovering that they did not, I re-installed the retaining bolts quickly with my handy 18V impact wrench (cringe).

The first bolt quickly seated flush with the surface, but the impact wrench kept rotating. With each "thunk" of the impact wrench rotating the bolt slightly further and further with little resistance, my mind quickly realized what was about to happen. Unfortunately, the communication to my fingers was lagging and before I could stop, the bolt sheared in its hole.

Having never had a bolt that sheared because of my handheld impact wrench, I assumed that there must have been something wrong with the bolt itself. I purchased a new bolt of the highest grade possible and decided to install it properly with the torque wrench. A quick check in the reference manual showed 100ft-lbs of torque! WOW! With such a huge amount of torque required, my theory must have been correct about the bolt being at fault. Though I thought the torque was pretty high, I proceeded with conviction and connected my 1/2” drive torque wrench to a 10mm socket. Almost immediately, the new bolt sheared as well. Having now sheared two bolts, I checked the reference manual again with a little more care. To my dismay, the reading showed a lowly 100in-lbs of torque (about 8ft-lbs)!

The lessons learned with this repair were numerous, but I think most importantly, is to just use a little common sense while working.

Ken in Arkansas

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

You are driving a rented diesel van en route to move your child out of the college dorm. Suddenly, the warning light below illuminates on the van's dash. What is this light telling you?

A. The diesel's Fuel Water Separator Filter has become saturated with contaminants and needs to be replaced. The van should be able to finish the move and make it back to the rental lot. However, if the light starts flashing, it means the fuel system is nearly blocked and the engine may stall.

B. The Diesel Exhaust Fluid Reservoir (DEF) is low on urea solution. Unless the college is a long distance away, the van can probably complete the move. However, if the light starts flashing and/or changes color, then the reservoir could now be empty. To avoid excessive air pollution, the computer may drastically reduce engine power until DEF fluid is added to the empty reservoir.

C. Caution, extreme weather is ahead! Tall vehicles sold in Europe must have a GPS locator linked to a weather monitoring system. The system warns drivers that high winds or other severe weather is ahead. Trucks sold worldwide may also have this system, but it is usually disabled. The light may flicker temporarily if the engine's battery was recently disconnected.

Answer below

Once Again in the Normal Range

The temperature gauge on my ’86 Ford Mustang stopped working. I hoped the temperature sensor had gone bad. Replacing a temperature sensor in ten minutes was preferable to trying to fix a problem with the instrument cluster or wiring.

Ford used this same temperature sensor for 30+ years and I have replaced them on other Fords. It would have been reasonable to skip diagnostics and just throw a new sensor on the car. Replacing an inexpensive sensor on an old car would not be a complete waste. However, for the sake of this article, I decided to do some testing! Basic diagnostics are the same, whether it is a more difficult to remove $100+ ABS wheel speed sensor on a late-model Toyota, or a $10 temperature sensor mounted on top of the intake manifold on a 29 year-old Ford.

Most modern sensors have more than one electrical terminal. An inexpensive multi-meter can be used to check the resistance (ohms) between the sensor’s terminals, many times while the sensor is still on the car. The allowable resistance ranges are now often included in the Chilton, Haynes or factory repair manuals (found under “Literature” in the RockAuto catalog). If there is more than one of the sensors on the car, as with ABS wheel speed sensors, then resistance readings can also be compared between sensors. If the resistance between terminals is 10,000 ohms for the sensor on the right side of the car and 100 ohms for the sensor on the left, then there is a problem with one (or both) sensors.

Checking resistance between the electrical terminal(s) and the body of the sensor is a good test for many other sensors too. Water or corrosion inside a sensor might destroy the electrical connection between a terminal and the sensor body or short it out. Also check resistance between the body of the sensor and ground. If the body of the sensor is supposed to be grounded to the car body/engine, then simply removing the sensor and cleaning corrosion/crud off the mounting points might be all it takes to get the sensor working again.

The new sensor fixed it. My Mustang’s temperature gauge needle is once again centered in the “normal” range!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

This is my 1985 Toyota MR2, now 30 years old, which was the first year for the MR2 in the US market. The MR2 was intended to offer the American public a mid-engine, two-seat sports car with exotic-car looks, without the exotic-car price. It also offered driving excitement with anvil-like reliability, and is still referred to as the first reliable mid-engine sports car. 1985 was the only year that Toyota offered the MR2 without color-coded bumpers or trim. This vehicle also did not come with a rear spoiler or side skirts, and still sports the original factory light blue metallic paint, which was only offered on the MR2 for the first 2 years of production.

This vehicle is all original with 95K miles. It now sports more modern 15" wheels from a later model MR2 during summer months (the original 14" factory wheels are still used with all-season tires), along with various other transmission and interior updates. Of course, maintenance items have also been addressed using parts from RockAuto, including replacing worn suspension parts, belts, filters etc.

The original MR2 featured four wheel independent suspension, disc brakes on all four corners, front and rear anti-sway bars, manual rack and pinion steering, and a 16-valve, EFI engine with a tuned variable induction system (TVIS). But even with all that, it is a very basic vehicle by modern standards: no ABS, no power anything (other than vacuum-assisted brakes), and no airbags. While "raw" by modern standards, it still provides an exceptional driving experience!

Rene in Virginia

Automotive Trivia Answer

You are driving a rented diesel van en route to move your child out of the college dorm. Suddenly, the warning light below illuminates on the van's dash. What is this light telling you? A. The diesel's Fuel Water Separator Filter has become saturated with contaminants and needs to be replaced. The van should be able to finish the move and make it back to the rental lot. However, if the light starts flashing, it means the fuel system is nearly blocked and the engine may stall. Answer: B. The Diesel Exhaust Fluid Reservoir (DEF) is low on urea solution. Unless the college is a long distance away, the van can probably complete the move. However, if the light starts flashing and/or changes color, then the reservoir could now be empty. To avoid excessive air pollution, the computer may drastically reduce engine power until DEF fluid is added to the empty reservoir. C. Caution, extreme weather is ahead! Tall vehicles sold in Europe must have a GPS locator linked to a weather monitoring system. The system warns drivers that high winds or other severe weather is ahead. Trucks sold worldwide may also have this system, but it is usually disabled. The light may flicker temporarily if the engine's battery was recently disconnected. Back up to trivia question

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