RockAuto.com RockAuto September Newsletter :: Early Edition

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Another Happy Customer!

I found I had to replace the lower control arms on my 2007 Toyota. I checked locally for the parts and was told they'd take four-five days to special order. I checked RockAuto, ordered the parts, and a couple days later they were delivered.

Faster and cheaper than the local supplier. I'm ordering everything I need from RockAuto from now on.

Steven in Maryland



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

Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Car Show
9/5/2014
Ridgewood, NJ
e-mail

Clinton County Corn Festival Car Show
9/5/2014
Wilmington, OH
e-mail

5th Annual Wings of Eagles Bike & Car Show
9/6/2014
West Covina, CA
e-mail

14th Annual Corvettes for Charity All Corvette Show
9/6/2014
Hales Corners, WI
e-mail

Annual Rockin Ages Classic Car Show
9/6/2014
Chariton, IA
e-mail

Team Matthew's Hot Rods 3rd Annual Fundraiser Show
9/6/2014
Phoenix, AZ
e-mail

VA/VET Center Welcome Home & Car Show
9/6/2014
Columbia, MS
e-mail

55th Annual Car Show & Swap Meet
9/7/2014
Brooklyn, CT
e-mail

River City Cruisers Car Show in the Park
9/7/2014
Hermann, MO
e-mail

6th Annual Brewer Days Car Show
9/7/2014
Brewer, ME
e-mail

Annual Northeast Modern Mopar Festival
9/7/2014
Farmingdale, NY
e-mail

Mahopac Knights of Columbus Car Show
9/7/2014
Carmel, NY
e-mail

Community Fun Fest & Classic Car Show
9/13/2014
Indianapolis, IN
e-mail

Cruise to Historic Downtown Oregon City
9/13/2014
Oregon City, OR
e-mail

3rd Annual Civitan Car & Truck Show
9/13/2014
Topeka, KS
e-mail

2014 Classic Car Show
9/13/2014
Glenwood Springs, CO
e-mail

Pack the Park Car Show Relay for Life
9/13/2014
Nashville, AR
e-mail

6th Annual Mountain High Fly In & Pine Top Car Show
9/13/2014
Alto, NM
e-mail

8th Annual Alto Car Show
9/13/2014
Alto, MI
e-mail

Bingham High's Second Annual HOMECOMING Car Show
9/13/2014
South Jordan, UT
e-mail

PGVAC Arlington Drag Strip Reunion Car Show
9/13/2014
Arlington, WA
e-mail

Heidelberg Community Car Show
9/14/2014
New Prague, MN
e-mail

Midian Shriners Car Show & Swap Meet
9/14/2014
Wichita, KS
e-mail

178th Fergus Fall Fair - Antique & Classic Car Show
9/14/2014
Fergus, ON, Canada
e-mail

12th Annual Fairfax Car Show presented by Ross Valley Rotary Club & Fairfax Car Show Committee
9/14/2014
Fairfax, CA
e-mail

Lehigh Valley Region Antique Automobile Club 38th Annual Car Show & Flea Market
9/14/2014
Sherman Dale, PA
e-mail

South Jersey Camaro Show
9/14/2014
Cherry Hill, NJ
e-mail

Mis-Shifts Annual Car Show at the Beach
9/14/2014
Zion, IL
e-mail

Hot Rods for Haiti
9/14/2014
Dublin, OH
e-mail

Power Steering Pump & Hose kits

Tune-Up Kit Bundles

RockAuto now carries “Bundle” branded Power Steering Pump & Hose Kits. These kits include a Cardone Power Steering Pump, Filter, and the applicable Gates Hose Assemblies needed to ensure a successful and complete installation.

Why should you install new hoses and add a filter when replacing a power steering pump? Replacing the hoses will avert leaks and help prevent contaminants from causing a premature pump failure. The filter will trap debris already in the system to help prolong service life. You can rest easy knowing you won’t need to repeat the job!

Features & Benefits of these kits include:

  • Pumps include 100% new O-rings and premium-grade Viton® seals to prevent leaks. Viton does not break down at high temperatures like conventional seal material.
  • Cardone pump shafts are surfaced to precise specifications to eliminate premature seal wear and extend pump life.
  • Gates pressure and return hoses include rubber sleeves, foam scuff guards and bracketry (if applicable), for a perfectly aligned fit.
Contents of a Typical Power Steering Pump & Hose kit

The “Bundle” Power Steering Pump & Hose kits can be found in the “Steering” category of the RockAuto catalog for a wide variety of vehicles ranging from a 1966 Pontiac Grand Prix, to a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier, to a 2004 Jeep Liberty.






Forum of the Month

NC4x4

NC4x4 is a community of wheelers, off-roaders and 4x4 enthusiasts. Started in central North Carolina in February, 2003 (in its current form since March, 2005), the forum has grown to almost 21,000 members from throughout the Southeast, the US and abroad.

The forum features hundreds of "build" descriptions and almost 172,000 technical/mechanical topics, covering off-road purpose-built vehicles, modified street-legal vehicles, towing vehicles, and more. There are twelve regional club forums and two regional competition series forums. The forum also maintains resources on events, OHV areas & private parks east of the Mississippi, along with 4WD clubs and advocacy groups.

The mission of NC4x4 is to promote good stewardship of the trails, provide a place where people can make plans to meet and ride together and discuss mechanical problems or modifications.

 



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!

The A/C on my ’05 PT Cruiser had not been used for a while, as expected in a British winter, so as recommended, I ran it for a few minutes. It worked for a few seconds, then there was a loud honking noise and a blast of steam from under the hood, as if the radiator had split. I could not find a cooling system leak, but I did find that the bottom of the A/C compressor was “sweaty” with oil. The safety valve on the compressor had been blowing off refrigerant. This looked like a blocked venturi or pressure switch problem.

I took the car to my local garage, expecting a large bill. They gassed up the A/C system and found that it worked, but the single Radiator Fan Assembly was not running when the A/C came on. It was an electrical fault they couldn’t trace immediately.

I am an electronics development engineer so I thought I would give the troubleshooting a go. Power was reaching the fan motor, but it did not turn. I spun the fan by hand and found that it moved freely, but only for a fraction of a turn. It was jammed by a pocket telescoping inspection mirror stuck in the back of the radiator! The handle looked just like part of the fan support. It must have been lost there almost a year earlier when the car was in a body shop. With the local cool conditions and only using the A/C on a run, the car had been OK for a year without a working cooling fan!

Always check the simple cheap bits, however unlikely, for faults before going deeper.

Brian in London, UK

 



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

What is mandrel bent exhaust pipe?

A. A die (mandrel) is placed inside the pipe to help retain the original pipe diameter and smooth metal surface at the bend.
B. The pipe is bent while in an oven (Mandrel was the original oven brand).
C. The pipe is heated and extruded through a series of molds.


Answer below






What Kind of Fan is That?

RockAuto

Some questions can be silly for one car and profound for another. “Is that nut for the left or right side?” should usually generate guffaws, but it is a brilliant question if asked about a ‘60s Plymouth that came from the factory with right and left-hand threaded lug nuts installed on opposite sides of the car.

“Is that the radiator fan or the A/C condenser fan?” is another such question. Many older cars have just one fan that draws air through the radiator, condenser and any other oil coolers that happen to be in front of it.

To improve cooling and take up less space, many newer cars have two smaller electric fans rather than one big one. Those two fans are often in one assembly that is replaced as a single unit. The question, “Is that the radiator fan or the A/C condenser fan?” becomes important and non-silly when the two fans are two separate parts. Maybe a second fan labeled “A/C condenser fan” was only necessary on cars equipped with optional A/C and/or automatic transmissions.

The two fans may look very similar and they both may run simultaneously, but different mounting hardware and connectors could make them non-interchangeable. Look at the 1995 Dodge Neon “A/C Condenser Fan Assembly” on the right and the Neon “Radiator Fan Assembly” on the left. At first glance, they look like twins, but they are not the same part and they are not interchangeable.

Dorman Radiator Fan Assembly and A/C Condenser Fan Assembly
Radiator Fan Assembly (left) and A/C Condenser Fan Assembly (right)

If you are replacing a fan on a car with two separate fans, it is important to look under both the “Cooling System” (Radiator Fan Assembly) and “Heat & Air Conditioning” (A/C Condenser Fan Assembly) categories in the RockAuto catalog. Carefully examine the part photos and descriptions to ensure you choose the fan you need.

Diagnosing a bad fan might seem like it has become more complicated as car manufacturers have added more temperature sensors, pressure sensors, fan relays and computers to minimize the time the fan(s) is on. The single fan on my wife’s old Ford Tempo runs continuously the moment the A/C is switched on. The double fans on my late-model Dodge Challenger wait until the A/C refrigerant heats up before they switch on and they subsequently only run when the computer determines it is necessary.

The good news is that testing just the fan to see if it works is usually no different than it was in the 1980s. A fan’s electrical connector typically has two terminals. Put 12 volts across the terminals. If the fan spins, then the problem is likely with a sensor, relay or other part upstream. However, be cautious about defining “works.” Did you ever have a house fan that worked if you turned it upside down or maybe push started it with a pencil? Electric automotive fan motors can also work intermittently before they fail completely.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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






Eric's 1960 Ford Thunderbird

Eric's 1960 Thunderbird

This is my 1960 Thunderbird that my Dad and Mom purchased new. It's been passed on to me now. I enjoy driving it now as much as I did riding in the back seat when I was a kid.

I recently needed a fuel pump and couldn't beat the price from RockAuto. I liked the package tracking info and was very pleased with the quality of the pump. Best part is it fit correctly and is working great. I'll definitely order from RockAuto again!

I found out about RockAuto through a forum I belong to - Squarebirds.org. Thank you RockAuto for helping me get my Thunderbird back on the road quickly!

Eric in North Carolina


Share Your Hard Work

Do you purchase parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto would like to give you the opportunity to have your car or truck possibly featured in one (or occasionally more) of our publications such as the monthly newsletter, collector magnets or RockAuto social media. 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...RockAuto can help. We can even publicize your event in our newsletter.

Just send an e-mail to marketing@rockauto.com with information about your show.






Automotive Trivia Answer

Automotive Trivia

What is mandrel bent exhaust pipe?

Answer: A. A die (mandrel) is placed inside the pipe to help retain the original pipe diameter and smooth metal surface at the bend.
B. The pipe is bent while in an oven (Mandrel was the original oven brand).
C. The pipe is heated and extruded through a series of molds.


Mandrel bent pipe (top)
Mandrel bent pipe (top)




Back up to trivia question




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