Walker and Bosal Exhaust Kits

Has this ever happened to you?  While underneath your car repairing the exhaust, you discover the entire procedure has to be put on hold because you don't have a clamp...or the correct round rubber thing that connects the muffler to a mount? Maybe a section of pipe that looked OK from a distance turns out to be too rusty to be reused. With a complete exhaust kit from RockAuto, you can be more confident your next exhaust repair will go as planned because you have all the parts you need.

RockAuto now offers Walker and Bosal exhaust systems in kits. These kits include all necessary clamps, insulators and other parts to replace the exhaust system. Catalytic Converters and Exhaust Manifolds can be purchased separately if needed. The exhaust system configuration and a full list of components included in the Exhaust System Kit can be found on the "Info" page.

Kits for Chevrolet Monte Carlos, Volvo Station Wagons, Toyota 4Runners, whatever you drive, can be found in the "Exhaust" category of the RockAuto catalog.

Auto 7 Inc. Names RockAuto 2014 Internet Retailer of the Year

RockAuto was honored to receive Auto 7's 2014 Internet Retailer of the Year award presented by Auto 7 Senior Vice President Jim Murphey and Auto 7 President Steven Kruss. (The two best dressed men in the photo!) Auto 7 is part of an international company that has been in business for more than 60 years. It supplies RockAuto with an exceptionally wide array of OEM quality parts for Hyundai, Kia and Daewoo vehicles that are ISO-14000, QS-9000 or ISO/TS-16949 certified.

Pictured from left: RockAuto Product Manager Ben Sobczak, Auto 7 Senior Vice President Jim Murphey, RockAuto President Jim Taylor, Auto 7 President Steven Kruss and RockAuto Supply Chain Manager David Williams.

Forum of the Month

Sorento Nation is an online Kia Sorento community launched September of 2012. Sorento Nation currently has over 1,500 members globally with over 20,000 posts! We cover all Sorento years, starting from their inception in 2003. Sorento Nation was designed for Sorento owners by Sorento owners. It was built on a self-sustaining platform for maximizing its community integrity for all Sorento owners past, present and future.

We pride ourselves on our members and give back to them as much as possible by adding content as quickly as we can when it becomes available to us. We work hard on bringing new supporting vendors to our community like we did with our newest and most exciting supporting vendor, RockAuto.com!

Come join us; it’s free and fun!


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

I purchased a very "used" 1987 Chevrolet S-10 as a project truck. The truck ran OK but had a pretty bad misfire. Before I could work on anything, I had to take care of the horrible squeaking and occasional squealing that was coming from a pulley. So I busted out my screwdriver and began to try to locate the culprit. I don't know where I got the idea that holding a screwdriver to my ear and trying to touch it to a spinning pulley was a good idea - but let's just say it wasn't!

I thought I tracked it down to a bad idler pulley. Well, one hour and one idler pulley later, it was still squeaking. So I pulled out the WD-40 and attempted to spray the tensioner pulley. I thought it would be better to spray the tensioner while the pulley was spinning. This turned out to be a horrible idea as I was showered in WD-40 that the fan blew everywhere. It did quiet the sound a bit though.

I then decided to replace the tensioner assembly. But in order to save a few dollars, I opted to just get the tensioner pulley...not the entire assembly. I got the pulley and proceeded with the repair. Come to find out my tool box lacked a single torx bit, and with my luck, that's what was needed. So I got to thinking, and I made a tool. (Don't roll your eyes! I know you've done it before!) I found an Allen T-handle wrench I had that fit into the torx hole. Problem was, I couldn't get any torque on it. So I cut a 3" piece off the Allen T-handle. I found a deep socket that the Allen key piece "fit" into and I drove it in with a hammer. I fought that screw with my homemade tool for about an hour, but to no avail. I went to the web for help. What was I missing? THE SCREW WAS REVERSE THREAD! I was turning it the wrong way for the past hour!

Needless to say, I have a custom made tool and three very important lessons learned.

1. Have the right tool for the job.
2. Don't spray WD-40 on a pulley while the motor is running.
3. It's not much more expensive. Buy the whole tensioner assembly.

Jordan in Texas

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

More and more new gasoline engines use direct injection to get better performance from smaller, more fuel efficient engines. With direct injection, the fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chamber for each cylinder. What was the first production car to use gasoline direct injection?

A. 1939 Lincoln Zephyr
B. 1948 Volvo PV 444
C. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 



Answer below

Headlines and Recent Repairs

Earlier this year, headlines announced a “GM Ignition Switch Recall.” The news stories said the GM Ignition Switch might inadvertently turn the engine off, especially if the ignition key is on a heavy key ring.

Those headlines and recent repairs on my wife’s ’93 Ford Tempo made me think it was a good time to clarify what an “ignition switch” is. That one term is often used to refer to two very different parts. The manufacturers of those parts use the names Ignition Lock Cylinder and Starter Switch.

Problems exacerbated by a heavy key ring might make people think the culprit is the part on the steering column where the ignition key is inserted. That is the Ignition Lock Cylinder. Below is a photo of my ten-year-old daughter inserting a new Standard Motor Products ignition lock cylinder in our Tempo.

The ignition lock cylinder is a lock mechanism not all that different from a lock on the front door of a house. It is a mechanical part that typically gets worn out after a lot of miles and years. It might be time to replace an ignition lock cylinder if the key is difficult to insert or remove or if the lock can be unlocked with a Popsicle stick rather than a key. The ignition key was overly loose in our Tempo’s original ignition lock cylinder.

Turning a house key’s lock might throw a deadbolt. Inserting an ignition key and rotating the ignition lock cylinder typically moves linkage to activate a second part hidden deeper in the steering column. That is the Starter Switch. From what I have read, the starter switch is to blame for the GM recall.

The starter switch is a complicated, spring loaded electrical switch with contacts to start the engine, turn off the engine, power up accessories, etc. The starter switch is also typically supposed to mechanically hold its position unless the driver intentionally rotates the ignition lock cylinder/key. The recalled GM starter switches apparently switched too easily between RUN and OFF modes when torque was applied to the ignition lock cylinder from something like a heavy key chain. For other cars, a starter switch that is simply worn out might fail to consistently start the car, or some electrical accessories might not work reliably. I replaced the starter switch in the Tempo after my wife noticed the blower motor would intermittently cut out until she jiggled the ignition lock cylinder.

Starter switch designs vary surprisingly between models and years (see 2005 model year example photos below). For our old Ford, it takes about $35 to replace both the ignition lock cylinder and starter switch and they are relatively easy to replace. However, there is no guarantee that older cars are cheaper and easier. To do the same project on my wife’s other car, an ’87 Mazda 323, costs $100+ for the parts and takes much more labor. Its ignition lock cylinder has a complex metal housing. Ignition lock cylinders are generally more expensive for newer vehicles because they contain new security features. See the ignition lock cylinder for your specific vehicle under the “Ignition” category in the catalog. Curious about the starter switch in your car or truck? Look under “Electrical-Switch & Relay.”

What about the fanciest new cars with key fobs and START buttons on the dash? RockAuto already has those parts for some late model vehicles like the Chevy Corvette and Toyota Avalon. Key fobs are called Keyless Entry Remotes and are found under “Electrical.” The new START button reuses the name Starter Switch, and is found under “Electrical-Switch & Relay.”

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

To read more of Tom's articles, click this link and choose from story titles on the Newsletter Archives page.

Automotive Trivia Answer

More and more new gasoline engines use direct injection to get better performance from smaller, more fuel efficient engines. With direct injection, the fuel is sprayed directly into the combustion chamber for each cylinder. What was the first production car to use gasoline direct injection? A. 1939 Lincoln Zephyr B. 1948 Volvo PV 444 Answer: C. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL  (Gasoline direct injection became common in aircraft engines in the early 1900's. High pressures, difficult fuel system management  and other complexities made it hard to cost effectively use direct injection in regular cars until today's modern computers and materials became available. The '55 300SL is the classic, beautiful Mercedes-Benz  with gull-wing doors that was expensive, rare and challenging to maintain even when it was new in 1955.) 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe 34". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. Back up to trivia question

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