Outland Automotive Truck/SUV Accessories

RockAuto now carries Outland tube steps/nerf bars, bull bars, all terrain floor liners, consoles and other functional accessories to make your truck/SUV look great and perform even better. Their rugged parts have been at work on-road, off-road and on construction sites for nearly two decades.

Outland's thoughtful designs and high quality materials ensure their parts still look sharp and work great as the years and miles pile up. For example, Outland uses E-coated steel with powder coat paint or prime 304L polished stainless steel to make their steps. Mounting brackets are 3/8 inch and 1/4 inch powder coated steel. "No drill" installation further helps prevent rust. Find Outland parts under the "Accessories" category for your specific truck/SUV.

Forum of the Month

The Triumph Experience features a tech library full of information from pre-war through TR8 models. You will find topics on general maintenance, service & repair, body & paint, restoration tips and even a Triumph buyers guide.

Join today! Ask a question in the Forums, add your car to the Registry or find other owners near you.

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 marketing@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

A friend in high school purchased a 1989 Merkur XR4Ti and quickly began to make it his own. One of the first modifications we attempted was a brake upgrade which included a drum to disc conversion for the rear.

The conversion was pretty simple: remove the stub axle and swap out the drum backing plate for the caliper bracket, then reassemble. The passenger side went smoothly, but the driver's side did not play nice.

The axle stub was retained by a rather large nut, and it was not budging. To combat this and gain more leverage on the stubborn nut, we used a series of pipes and jack handles that grew ever longer until the nut finally broke free under our combined weight. Or so we thought. The nut spun and spun, but would not come free. A quick review of a repair manual informed us that the driver's side axle nut uses left hand threads! We had been turning the nut the wrong way, and forced it to tighten until the threads gave out. We ended up cutting the nut apart, ruining the axle stub and the wheel bearings in the process.

Brute force will work eventually, but sometimes it pays to have another look at the manual before reaching for the big guns.

Zach in Ohio

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

What does "one-pedal driving" usually mean?

A. It is when regenerative braking is enough to stop an electric car without the driver touching the brake pedal.
B. It is when a driver leaves a manual transmission in gear and only slips the clutch to start and stop the car.
C. It is slang police officers use to describe a vehicle traveling at over 100 mph (161 kph).

Answer below

GDI Fuel Pumps

My 1979 Chrysler 300 (Cordoba) has a carburetor that receives gas from a mechanical fuel pump driven by the engine's camshaft. The new gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines that most manufacturers are installing in at least some of their cars, usually have camshaft-powered mechanical fuel pumps too.

My '79 Chrysler's mechanical fuel pump generates 6 psi (41 kpa) of pressure. That is less pressure than what is in my kids' basketball. The mechanical fuel pumps on typical GDI engines have a maximum output of 3,000 psi (20,684 kpa). That is enough pressure to cut off a limb (tree or human).

GDI cars usually have a conventional electric fuel pump in the fuel tank that pumps gas at about 70 psi (483 kpa) up to the mechanical fuel pump mounted on the engine. The mechanical fuel pump increases the pressure so the gasoline is ready to be blasted directly into the cylinders.

At first glance, the GDI mechanical pumps look similar to the fuel pumps on antique cars. The camshaft moves a spring loaded rod up and down to generate pressure. A closer look reveals the GDI pumps are much more complex. A typical GDI fuel pump can generate a wide range of (high) pressures using a pressure control solenoid mounted on the pump and/or different lobes on the camshaft. The complexity and strength needed to withstand the variable high pressures is reflected in the cost. A Carter mechanical fuel pump for my '79 Chrysler costs about $15 while an ACDelco mechanical GDI fuel pump for a '08 Cadillac CTS costs about $200 (current RockAuto.com prices).

ACDelco 2008-2011 Cadillac CTS (and other GM models) fuel pump

The eight year old Cadillac example shows GDI has been around long enough for these hard working fuel pumps to start wearing out. A failing pump might make an alarming rattling noise as the cam follower or other mechanical pieces start to fall apart. The engine will stall or go into limp-home mode if the mechanical pump loses pressure and/or the engine computers lose control of the pump.

A GDI fuel pump typically bolts on to the engine (head) similar to the mechanical pump on an antique car. Extra care must be taken to follow the service manual instructions (under "Literature" in the RockAuto catalog) to safely relieve high fuel pressure and reattach fuel lines.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

Larry's 1971 Datsun 521 Truck

I am currently refurbishing my 1971 Datsun 521 pick-up. It was purchased new in 1971 by my father-in-law. I had told him for years that whenever he wanted to sell it, I would take it! About 20 years ago, he called me and said to come get my truck! I asked him what my price was. He handed me the title and said, “It’s yours.” Since then, I have driven the truck regularly, but it still only has 90,000 original miles.

I have done normal maintenance, but the truck has been in the Arizona sun for the past 20 years. The original paint was literally washing off of the body, so this past year it got a new coat of paint. I did an exhaustive electrical overhaul by replacing all the ignition components. I rebuilt the carburetor, and have replaced all the belts and hoses. I just got the truck back from the body shop, where they re-finished the wheels and rear bumper, and a new set of retro tires were installed. The next project is to completely overhaul the brake system. The master cylinder, wheel cylinders, brake shoes and brake drums just arrived from RockAuto, so when it cools down a bit, I will be tearing into that project. I tend to drive cars for much longer than most, so I rely on RockAuto to keep my Datsun (and all of my other cars) rolling!

Larry in Arizona

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