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May Newsletter

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Another Happy Customer!

Well, again RockAuto has delivered as promised. Not only did you have the parts I needed, but you have saved me over $200 on just two orders...

Now RockAuto is the first, and has consistently been the last place I check for any auto and motorcycle part needs I have. And I have not been let down.

Thanks Again,
Bryan in Florida

 

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

Krusin Klassics Car Club Fun Run 2008
5/30/2008
Escanaba, MI
e-mail

4x4 Jeep & Truck Show
5/31/2008
Madison Heights, MI
e-mail

Mopars Return to the Farmington Polo Grounds
5/31-6/1/2008
Farmington, CT
website

Vettes in Perfection Event
6/1/2008
Broadalbin, NY
e-mail

Central New York PT Cruisers 5th All Chrysler Show
6/1/2008
Jamesville, NY
e-mail

Car-A-Fair
6/7/2008
Carlsbad, NM
website

Big Bear Bronco Bash VII
6/6-6/7/2008
San Bernardino Mountains
website

24th Annual HPAC Mopar Weekend
6/7-6/8/2008
Blue Springs, MO
website

26th All G.M. Car/Truck Show & Swap Meet
6/8/2008
St. Paul, MN
e-mail

3rd Annual A Night Under the Stars Show
6/7/2008
Freemansburg, PA
e-mail

Cruisin for the Crusade
6/7/2008
Louisville, KY
e-mail

Chippewa Valley Volkswagen Car Show
6/13/2008
Eau Claire, WI
website

5th Annual Idaho 4wd Association Run
6/13-6/15 2008
Mountain Home, ID
e-mail

Wild West Auto Roundup
6/14/2008
Golden, CO
e-mail

East Coast Street Stangs Open Show
6/14/2008
Port St. Lucy, FL
website

Helper City Outlaw Car Show
6/14/2008
Helper, UT
e-mail

Windmill Custom & Classic Car Show
6/14/2008
Penn Yan, NY
e-mail

DadFest Car, Truck, & Bike Show
6/15/2008
Tallahasse, FL
e-mail

Antique Auto Show & Parade
6/15/2008
Sea Isle City, NJ
e-mail

2nd Annual Grace & Restoration Father Days Show
6/15/2008
Fenton, MI
e-mail

International Station Wagon Annual Meet
6/18-6/21/2008
Sturbridge, MA
e-mail

5th Annual Jeeps on the Shore Show
6/21/2008
Seaford, DE
e-mail

Rib-Fest Show Shine Dine
6/21/2008
Two Hills, Alberta
website

CT Motorsports 3rd Annual Charity Car Show
6/21/2008
Kempner, TX
e-mail

Cool Desert Nights
6/21-6/23/2008
Kenwood, WA
e-mail

2nd Annual Stone Bridge Heavenly Cars
6/28/2008
Findlay, OH
website

 

 

Hellwig Helper Springs Now Available At RockAuto

Hellwig

Find these parts and more under "Suspension Helper" in the "Suspension" category of the Rockauto Catalog.

 

 

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

OOPS!

Many years ago, I owned a shiny red 1978 Pontiac Firebird which I had bought almost new with 12K miles on it. For several years it ran like a top, until one day when my wife mentioned that the engine was making a strange knocking noise. I went to check it out, and sure enough, there was a definite knock-knock-knock coming from the engine as it idled. Although I was no expert in diagnosing engine sounds, it sounded to me like a bearing had failed. With only 60K miles on the engine, and my use of synthetic oil (Mobil 1) which I changed every 5K, I certainly didn't expect anything like this.

I began making plans to pull the engine and do a teardown & rebuild. Living in an apartment building with only a small single-stall garage (without electricity), it wasn't going to be very convenient, but I was determined to do whatever needed to be done. I borrowed some equipment and pulled the engine, and then began the teardown process. I didn't know exactly which part had failed, but I decided to just replace all the bearings & rings, and have the crankshaft, camshaft, and block checked for damage. Everything looked OK, so I began the reassembly process.

After many evenings of working on the engine, I finally had it back together and in the car. I started it up and began adjusting the rocker arms to center the hydraulic lifters (to eliminate the clackety-clack). After the last one was completed, my heart sank as I realized that there was still a knock-knock-knock sound coming from the engine. I couldn't believe it, but as reality sank in, I took a long wooden rod and with my ear pressed against one end, I began probing various places on the engine in order to pinpoint the noise. As I placed the rod on the mechanical fuel pump, the noise grew much louder.

About an hour later, with a new fuel pump installed, I once again started the engine, but this time the knocking noise was gone. I sheepishly realized that I had just overhauled an engine that didn't even need it!

Jim in Minnesota

 

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!

 

 

Learn New Skills On Your Least Favorite Car

RockAuto

A great way to improve do-it-yourself, automotive repair skills is to try daring, risky repairs on a car you have little emotional or financial attachment too. You could sneak over to your neighbor’s driveway to practice replacing the valve stem oil seals on his Impala. However, a picky neighbor might grumble and hack down your hedge if you accidentally dropped just one valve down into his car’s engine. It is better to look around a bit longer and find an unloved vehicle.

I earned my BS degree (seriously) at Wayne State University in Detroit. The streets and alleys around my apartment building would gradually fill up with abandoned vehicles. Once a year several police cars and tow trucks would descend on the neighborhood and tow them all away. Those cars were a gold mine for automotive learning. My only regret is that I did not spend more time taking those cars apart and less time studying calculus. Even my extended family benefited from my college education. My brother was learning how to weld and my neighborhood was his source for body panels to practice on.

Do-it-yourself training cars got harder to find when my career pulled me away from Detroit. Then, nearly twenty years ago, I met my future wife. Sure she was smart, beautiful, etc. but what really caught my eye was her dowry, a Mazda 323. It was the luxurious LX model with the rare luggage rack on the trunk lid, but it was also pokey and had as much personality as my toaster oven. The perfect car for worry-free tinkering!

Soon after we were married, our careers took the Mazda and us to Thailand. I installed an oil cooler and some gauges. We crawled through sweltering Bangkok traffic, shared the highways with amphetamine powered truck drivers, and bounced over country roads. The Mazda survived and we brought it back to the USA with just a few more dings and the windows heavily tinted.

The 323 started racking up the years and miles as my wife’s daily driver and I learned how to do repairs on a little front wheel drive car. Will I break something while digging into the front of the engine to replace the water pump? Won’t replacing the front struts and disconnecting the rack and pinion steering knock the car’s front end out of alignment? Will bearings and springs go flying everywhere when I pull out the CV half shafts? Are my tools too imprecise to adjust the valve lash? Will I have to learn COBOL to replace the engine computer? The answer to all those questions was no. I found the car was as easy and forgiving to work on as the older rear wheel drive cars I was more familiar with. But it was nice to be able to try new things without much worry. I might even be growing fonder of the Mazda now that about 40% of it has been replaced with parts from RockAuto.com!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

 

 

Brian's 1970 International Harvester 1100 D 4x4
Brian's Pickup

Hi!

This is my 1970 International Harvester 1100 D 4x4 pickup. It has 80K original miles. I like RockAuto and have purchased many parts chiefly because of the way parts are thoroughly and easily catalogued by your website. It was difficult to find parts for such an old and "obsolete" vehicle, so I appreciate the breadth of parts RockAuto carries, even for obscure vehicles. And I enjoy the ease of finding them on your website.

Thanks!
Brian in California

 

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 e-mail flamur@rockauto.com with details.

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