The selection of transmission parts available to you at RockAuto just grew even bigger with the addition of Transmaxx:

Transmaxx Complete Valve Bodies with Solenoids, Electrical Components, Torque Converters, Shift Improvement Kits, Gaskets/Seals, Filters, Tools and Repair Manuals

Transmaxx, founded by transmission industry experts, assembles the highest quality parts (OEM, OE equivalent, OE upgrades) to ensure you have everything you need for successful transmission maintenance or overhaul.

RockAuto now has Transmaxx parts to service everything from a 2010 Audi A6 to a 1995 Honda Accord to a 1966 Plymouth Fury. Visit the RockAuto Catalog to find the Transmaxx transmission parts you need for your specific car or truck!

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I have owned three MGBs over the past 40 years. My very first car was a rusty, well-worn, eight year-old ‘B that required plenty of upkeep. Its simplicity and the fact that it required only SAE tools, despite MGs being British-made, were appealing to me.

I have rebuilt their engines and transmissions, done bodywork and paint, diagnosed electrical issues and have handled all repairs and maintenance on them over the years. Even if I say so myself, I have become a bit of an "expert." One task I have done more than once is clutch replacement. It is easiest to replace the clutch by removing the engine and transmission as a unit, separating them while on the garage floor, and also replacing the pressure plate and throw-out bearing at that time. Easy-peasy.

My most recent clutch job was completed in about four hours, and I was quite proud of myself for doing it in record time. After bolting everything up, rechecking wiring and topping off fluids, I started the engine and let it warm up a bit before taking it on a test drive to check my work. With the engine idling, I depressed the clutch to put it in reverse to back out of the garage, but heard a terrible screeching noise and felt a bad vibration through the clutch pedal! Immediately turning off the engine, I sat there for a minute and mentally retraced my steps. Were the components defective? What went wrong?

Trying it again, I was met with the same result – screeching and vibration! The only solution was to disassemble everything again and diagnose the issue. Once I separated the transmission, it became clear what happened. The throw-out bearing was installed backwards so that the backside was contacting the pressure plate. What a dumb mistake, especially from a so-called "expert!" Fortunately, no damage was done (other than to my pride) to either the pressure plate or bearing. Flipping it over solved the problem, and it has been good ever since.

The lesson is: triple-check your work, no matter how many times you have done the job before.

Steve in Massachusetts

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!

"Undertaker's Delight" was the nickname for which automotive activity 100 years ago?

A. Multiple cars racing to cross the tracks just ahead of a passing train.
B. Professional polo played from the seats of Ford Model-Ts instead of on the backs of horses.
C. Driving a car not equipped with headlights after dark.

Answer below

Cavitation can make new water pumps, fuel pumps and other types of pumps fail prematurely. Cavitation can eat away the cylinder walls in engines. Cavitation can even prevent struts and shock absorbers from working correctly. What is cavitation, and how do we protect our vehicles from this scourge?

Cavitation is the formation of bubbles in a liquid. Cavitation occurs when a liquid such as engine coolant, fuel or hydraulic fluid vaporizes because the pressure on it is too low. Destructive energy is released as vapor bubbles continuously form and then collapse back into liquid, picture a sandblaster that uses bubbles instead of sand. The bubbles chip metal and hammer at seals. It was not rust that ate away that pump's impeller. It was cavitation!

Cavitation also describes what happens inside struts and shocks when seals leak, pressure drops and the hydraulic oil becomes useless foam.

To prevent cavitation:

• Maintain the correct fluid pressure by avoiding restrictions at both the pump inlet and outlet. Do not put a nice new pump into a "bad neighborhood." A clogged radiator or collapsed coolant hose reduces the flow of coolant into the water pump. The resulting increase in vacuum at the pump inlet lowers pressure, allowing destructive bubbles to form in the coolant. Cavitation also can happen if the fluid cannot leave a pump fast enough. A dirty fuel filter restricts the flow out of the fuel pump, creating areas of low pressure and cavitation around the rapidly spinning pump innards.
• Keep fluids at the proper level and use the chemicals recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. If a fluid level is simply incorrect, then it is more likely pressure will be off, resulting in cavitation. I first think of rust when I read that an antifreeze or other fluid helps prevent corrosion, but these chemicals are also designed to prevent corrosion/erosion caused by cavitation. The coolant in some high compression diesel engines is inherently prone to cavitation that can eat away at cylinder walls. Using the correct coolant / antifreeze covers the cylinder walls with a protective coating.
• Keep temperatures under control. Fluids are more eager to vaporize as temperature increases. The likelihood of cavitation (bubbles) increases dramatically if both pressure drops and temperature increases. It only takes 160 degrees F (71 C) to boil water at the top of Mount Everest! Simple maintenance like a new thermostat and radiator cap can help maintain the correct the pressure/temperature balance in a cooling system. Keeping more gasoline in the tank will help the fuel pump run cooler.
  

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

This is my 1999 Isuzu Vehicross. The Vehicross is a compact SUV from Isuzu, built from 1999 through 2001, in a limited production run of fewer than 6,000 vehicles. It is a small, sporty 2-door SUV with aggressive external styling, black plastic cladding over the entire lower half of the vehicle, sophisticated shocks with external expansion chambers and a computer-controlled AWD system. Its body-on-frame truck-like construction, suspension and 4WD gearing make it very capable off-road. I have retraced the Baja 1000 (partially), been to Moab several times to tackle its trails, and even rescued a stalled truck with its horse trailer in a busy intersection.

I have had the VX for 18 years, and it has been 'wheeled hard. RockAuto has parts for this rare vehicle including a speed sensor, throttle position sensor, alternator (even electronics from the last millennium hate deep-water fording), brake pads, calipers and rotors, front axle CV joints, radiator and more.

Thanks RockAuto!
Rick in Washington

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 email flamur@rockauto.com with your vehicle's history, interesting details, your favorite images (tips for taking pictures of your car) and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

"Undertaker's Delight" was the nickname for which automotive activity 100 years ago?

A. Multiple cars racing to cross the tracks just ahead of a passing train.
Answer B. Professional polo played from the seats of Ford Model-Ts instead of on the backs of horses.
C. Driving a car not equipped with headlights after dark.

Back up to trivia question

(Photo: Library of Congress)