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Another Happy Customer!

Unbeatable prices and fast shipping. My vehicle was in for inspection and the mechanic told me the throttle position sensor was bad and that it would be $300 to fix. $160 for the part $140 for labor.

I went to RockAuto.com got the part for $40 and put it on in five minutes!

Thanks RockAuto!

Josh in Pennsylvania

 

Upcoming Events
If you would like your event featured here, email us with details.

US Car Stammtisch Bremen-Born to Drive
8/11/2012
Charlotte, Germany
e-mail

Spectacular Summer Cruise In Concert
8/11/2012
Piqua, OH
e-mail

Car & Bike Show in the Netherlands
8/11/2012
Tegelen, Netherlands
e-mail

Summer of Fun Car Show
8/11/2012
Wichita, TX
e-mail

Montgomery Township Fire Department Car Show
8/11/2012
Horsham, PA
e-mail

Cumberland Motorcycle Roundup
8/11/2012
Cumberland, BC
e-mail

23rd Annual Yellow Rose Classic Car Show
8/11/2012
Irving, TX
e-mail

2012 Flag City Balloonfest Car Show
8/11/2012
Findlay, OH
e-mail

Car Show AACA Finger Lakes Region
8/11/2012
Auburn, NY
e-mail

Battle on the Bay Car Show
8/12/2012
Corpus Christi, TX
e-mail

4th Annual Ride for Sick Kids Hospital
8/12/2012
Maple, ON
e-mail

2012 Big Saturday Show (8th Annual)
8/15/2012
Lewes, DE
e-mail

Carolina Classics at the Capital
8/17/2012
Raleigh, NC
e-mail

Hot Nights/Cool Rides Car Show
8/18/2012
Forest City, NC
e-mail

Roswell World Harvest Car Show
8/18/2012
Roswell, GA
e-mail

Mopar Fest
8/18/2012
Kitchener, ON
e-mail

Mass Cruisers Auto Club 21st Annual Auto Show
8/18/2012
Newton, MA
e-mail

Warminster Police Department Benevolent Association Car Show
8/18/2012
Warminster, PA
e-mail

4th Annual Mt. Hope Church Classic Car Show
8/18/2012
Gaylord, MI
e-mail

Kornfest Car Show 2012
8/19/2012
Trempealeau, WI
e-mail

Gunnison Car Show
8/19/2012
Gunnison, CO
e-mail

Wigton Motor Club
8/19/2012
Blindcrake, UK
e-mail

22nd Annual Orphan Picnic
8/19/2012
Frankfort, IL
e-mail

Port Coquitlam Car Show Sounds of Summer
8/19/2012
Port Coquitlam, BC
e-mail

Wheels & Wine '12 Charity Car Show
8/19/2012
Milford, DE
e-mail

Pantowners 37th Annual Car Show & Swap Meet
8/19/2012
St. Cloud, MN
e-mail

McHenry Cruise Night
8/20/2012
Prarie Grove, IL
e-mail

Tenino Quarrymen Car Club Annual Car Show
8/20/2012
Tenino, WA
e-mail

American Stars on Wheels
8/24/2012
Bonheiden, Belgium
e-mail

Old Fashioned Downtown Saturday Night
8/25/2012
Eaton, OR
e-mail

Wapato Showdown
8/25/2012
Gaston, OR
e-mail

36th Annual LeMay Car Show
8/25/2012
Auburn, WA
e-mail

The Knuckle Busters Car Club Car Show
8/25/2012
Aledo, IL
e-mail

CISO Show & Shine
8/26/2012
Waterloo, ON
e-mail

2012 Car/Bike/SUV Show & Picnic
8/26/2012
East Orange, NJ
e-mail

Chesapeake City Lions Club Car Show
8/26/2012
Chesapeake, MD
e-mail

Milk Pail Classic Car Show
8/26/2012
East Dundee, IL
e-mail

30th Annual All Vehicle Show
8/26/2012
Fremont, NH
e-mail

All American Car Show in the UK
8/27/2012
London, UK
e-mail

Dead Mans Curve "Wild Hot Rod Party"
8/29/2012
Livingston, NJ
e-mail

The Ohio Offroad Experience
8/31/2012
Olmsted Falls, OH
e-mail

 

American Autowire Complete Wiring Kits

 

Do you have a classic car or truck needing new wiring? American Autowire Factory Fit reproduction wiring harnesses are made exactly to OEM factory standards, using OEM blueprints and OEM parts. Wiring harnesses and accessories are installed as a direct replacement to the original factory wiring - no guesswork.

The American Autowire Classic Update Series is a complete wiring system in a box with everything you need to modernize your classic vehicle including: Headlight, Dimmer, and Ignition switches; Boots, Tubes, and Grommets; Fuses, Relays, and Flashers; Original Connectors, Terminals, and Disconnects for specific makes/models/years.

Example of a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Kit

These kits are one of the most complete kits on the market to “Make Wiring THAT Easy." They are designed for specific year, make, and model configurations including these examples:

•1967-1973 Chevrolet Camaro •1947-1972 Chevrolet Truck
•1964-1972 Chevrolet Chevelle •1964-1970 Ford Mustang
•1959-1964 Chevrolet Impala •1953-1966 Ford Truck
•1962-1972 Chevrolet II/Nova •1966-77 Ford Broncos

Find the wiring kit you need for your classic listed in the "Electrical" category under "Complete Wiring Kit" in the RockAuto catalog.

 

 

Forum of the Month

GM Longroof

GM Longroof is a community of auto enthusiasts focusing on the last generation of General Motors full sized station wagons. While all wagon owners are welcome, our focus is on the 1991 through 1996 B-Body wagons from Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Buick.

Join us to learn more than you thought possible about GM's last rear drive, body-on-frame wagons. Registration is easy and free!

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!

10 or so years ago I bought a 1986 Dodge Ram 50 pickup. It was mechanically fine, but had spent its early years in the salty air of the Maine coast, so the body was pretty rough. But, I needed a beater and the price was right. After about a year, I started to notice a clicking noise at around 40 MPH. I thought it was a front end problem (which was more than I wanted to tackle in my driveway), so I took it back to the mechanic I bought it from. He disassembled the front wheels, replaced shims, bearings, and the brakes. But much to our dismay the clicking was still occurring at around 40 MPH!

After a thorough examination of the front end, and much colorful language, we discovered that behind the grill, taped over a crack, was a piece of duct tape that had about three inches loose. We removed it and the clicking disappeared! At around 40 MPH the wind was slapping it against the plastic grill hard enough to make the clicking noise.

The truck ran great for a few more years until salty ocean air finally sent it to the junkyard. I have used the same mechanic now for 15 years and we have become good friends. We often tell this story to other people for the laugh. I guess the moral of the story is to look for the simple things first and operate on the KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid!) principle.

James in Maine

 

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 email 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

The "40" in the name of Ford's most famous race car, the GT40, represents:

A. the 40 inch height of the GT40.
B. the 40 turns of the Circuit de la Sartha racetrack where the Le Mans endurance race is held.
C. the 40 weeks that Henry Ford II gave his design team to build a car capable of ending Ferrari's Le Mans race winning streak

 

Answer below

 

 

How Not to Replace the Power Window Motor

RockAuto

 

Last Sunday my daughter lowered the right rear power window in my wife’s ’93 Ford Tempo. Unfortunately, when she later pushed the button to raise the window nothing happened. More luxurious options on a car sometimes mean more things to possibly break! Was our power window motor dead?

My teenage son proclaimed his sister had broken the Tempo’s power window and that was followed by my wife’s proclamation that my son would help me fix it. We quickly ruled out a higher level problem like a weak battery, blown fuse, or bad power window relay because the power windows in the other three doors all worked fine. The power door lock in the problem door functioned which reduced the odds that the door was not properly electrically grounded.

We pulled off the door panel. By hooking a 12V test light to the back of the power window motor’s electrical connector we confirmed the door’s power window switch and wiring was working. Pushing the switch up sent power to the plug’s red wire and pushing the switch down sent power to the yellow wire. To more thoroughly rule out a bad ground connection, we ran an additional, temporary ground wire to the metal body of the power window motor. In case the window regulator mechanism was slightly jammed, we gently pulled up on the window glass while toggling the window’s switch.

Still no signs of life from the power window motor. The next step was to look at the power window motor’s image under Body-Interior in the RockAuto catalog to confirm that it had three mounting bolts, two of which were hidden behind the sheet metal of the inner door. Small dimples in the sheet metal marked where to drill with a large drill bit to create access to the motor’s mounting bolts. We removed two bolts and loosened the third enough to disengage the motor’s small gear from the window regulator’s large gear.

Small dimples in the sheet metal marked where to drill with a large drill bit to create access to the motor’s mounting bolts.

We gave the power window motor switch one more try before disconnecting the motor’s electrical connector. Surprisingly the motor sprang to life! Its gear eagerly spun in both directions. We lubricated the motor and regulator gears and lubricated all the regulator pivots and slides that we could reach. We reassembled everything and ran the power window up and down at least a dozen times. It worked flawlessly.

So what happened? My best guess is that after twenty years the window regulator needed lubrication and/or a jam just happens every couple of decades. A power window motor typically has a “stall” torque of just 8 or 9 Nm. NASA.com reports that on average the human hand, arm, and wrist can generate about twice that torque (17 Nm torque pronation or turning the hand so the palm faces downward).

A less optimistic possibility is that the Tempo’s window regulator is wearing out and will likely jam the motor again. I don’t think that is the case because the right rear window is used much less than the two front windows and their regulators are still working fine. Disuse and lack of lubrication are more likely culprits than too much use. Hopefully, my son and I are finished with this repair and just had a good father/son bonding experience.

But the bushings and other connections in window regulators do wear out, especially on certain cars and it can be hard to tell if the motor and/or the regulator is causing the intermittent problems. RockAuto manufacturers like ACDelco, Cardone, Dorman, Sherman, TYC, and Valeo now make complete assemblies for some cars that include both the window regulator and the power window motor. The complete assembly often is a better design using better materials compared to the original regulator and motor.

Power window motor and regulator assembly

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

 

 

Robert's 1969 Firebird
Robert's 1969 Firebird

I've have owned my 1969 Firebird since 1979. It was the first car I ever bought. I paid $1350.00 for it. I met my wife the same year. Still have her too.

The Firebird has been a total loss twice, according to my insurance company, due to one engine fire and one crash. It's been painted five times and has had four different motors since I've owned her. We used it in our wedding and brought our newborn daughter home from the hospital in it. Two years ago the Firebird delivered my daughter to her wedding as well. The past few years I've been a member of the Bay Area Firebirds Car Club and enjoy weekend cruises and events with my Firebird buddies.

From the first day I owned the Firebird I had wanted to make it into a Pro Touring type car, but because I was starting out with no money and a family on the way it was a slow process. Now after 30 some years I have run the car on the road course at Laguna Seca and Infineon in Sonoma, and it's as much fun as I knew it would be. The car is always a hit when I take it out for a track day. I hear a lot of comments like, "I can't believe you're going to take that car out there and thrash it like that."

Every time I go out I find some new area that needs attention. And of course that means new parts. RockAuto is the first place I check these days. Not just for the Firebird, but for all my cars. I tell all my friends to check there first too. Haven't been disappointed yet.

Robert in California

 

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 email with information about your show.

 

 

Automotive Trivia Answer

Automotive Trivia

The "40" in the name of Ford's most famous race car, the GT40, represents:

Answer: A. the 40 inch height of the GT40.
B. the 40 turns of the Circuit de la Sartha racetrack where the Le Mans endurance race is held.
C. the 40 weeks that Henry Ford II gave his design team to build a car capable of ending Ferrari's Le Mans race winning streak.

Ford GT40 at Goodwood

Back up to trivia question

 

 

 

 

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