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Another Happy Customer!

I drive an older Lexus LS400 and it is really hard to find parts for it even at the dealer (nothing is stocked).

Going through Internet forums I came across RockAuto's name and I checked them out - wow, what a variety! I found an average four to five of the same part from different manufacturers, the prices were the best that I've seen and the delivery was lightning fast even to Canada.

This is it for me - I found my place for parts! No need to scour the net anymore.

George in Toronto, ON, CA

 

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

Vintiques Northwest Nationals
8/1/2013
Yakima, WA
e-mail

Wanderer's Car Club 17th Annual Car Show
8/1/2013
Schenectady, NY
e-mail

12th Annual Albany Car Show
8/2/2013
Albany, MN
e-mail

Fifties Fever
8/2/2013
Winnemucca, NV
e-mail

2013 Events
8/2/2013
Philadelphia, PA
e-mail

Gilmore Classic Car Museum Car Show & Swap Meet
8/3/2013
Kalamazoo, MI
e-mail

Spectacular Summer Cruise In Concert
8/3/2013
Piqua, OH
e-mail

Cars for Critters
8/3/2013
Grove, OK
e-mail

The Marion Car Show
8/3/2013
Marion, MI
e-mail

La Harpe Classic Car Show Reunion
8/3/2013
La Harpe, IL
e-mail

Caring for Kennedy Benefit Car Show
8/4/2013
Milwaukee, WI
e-mail

Fun! Car & Truck Show!
8/4/2013
Milaca, MN
e-mail

2nd Annual Pirates Festival Car Show
8/4/2013
Gasport, NY
e-mail

Absolute Perfection Car Club 3rd Annual Car Show
8/4/2013
Pontiac, IL
e-mail

Encounter 2013
8/7/2013
Lancaster, PA
e-mail

2013 Annual Benefit Car Show
8/7/2013
Orrington, ME
e-mail

Charles E. Lewis Days & Northwestern WI Car Club Show
8/9/2013
Frederic, WI
e-mail

Cruise the Gorge Car Show
8/9/2013
Dallesport, WA
e-mail

Womens Center Brazoria County Car Show
8/9/2013
Pearland, TX
e-mail

Annual Mustang All Ford Car Show in Indy
8/9/2013
Brownsburg, IN
e-mail

Cumberland Motorcycle Round Up
8/10/2013
Cumberland, BC, Canada
e-mail

Ole Car Club 35th Annual Car Show
8/10/2013
Gallipolis, OH
e-mail

Christus Victor 5th Annual Rally Day Car Bike Show
8/10/2013
Elk Grove Village, IL
e-mail

41st Annual Fingerlake Region AACA Car Show
8/10/2013
Auburn, NY
e-mail

Del Shannon Car Show
8/10/2013
Coopersville, MI
allen@mwjuice.com

3rd Annual Show Off Auto Show
8/11/2013
Florissant, MO
e-mail

Teamsters Local Union No 455s Car Show
8/11/2013
Denver, CO
e-mail

Wheels & Wine 13
8/12/2013
Milford, DE
e-mail

2013 Big Saturday Show - 9th Annual
8/13/2013
Lewes, DE
e-mail

3rd Annual Middle Georgia Raceway Racers Reunion
8/13/2013
Lizella, GA
e-mail

Potwin Kustom & Classic Car Show
8/14/2013
Potwin, IL
e-mail

Carousel Village Car Show
8/14/2013
Plumsteadville, PA
e-mail

Saab Club of North America
8/15/2013
Charlotte, NC
e-mail


 

Standard Motor Products TechSmart parts

See what we have from Standard Motor Products

RockAuto now carries Standard Motor Products (SMP) TechSmart® parts. The TechSmart line provides high-quality, hard-to-find, problem-solving parts covering new categories including enhanced engine control and featuring new technology that often enables these parts to perform even better than the originals. TechSmart brings innovation, engineering expertise, superior product quality, meticulous testing, competitive pricing and the integrity of the SMP brand to an entirely new product line.

Categories include EGR Transducers, Electronic Throttle Bodies, Expansion Tank Service Kits, Fuel Level Sensors, HID Headlight Ballasts, HVAC Blend Door Motors/Air Door Actuators, Park Assist Sensors, GM Diesel Fuel Injector Pump Mounted Driver (PMD) Relocation Kits, Steering Column Transfer Case Shift Tubes, Variable Valve Timing (VVT) Components and much more!

TechSmart Throttle Body, VVT Solenoid and 4WD Vacuum Actuator

From Acuras to Volvos find the TechSmart part solutions you need in the RockAuto catalog.

 

 

Medium Duty Vehicle Parts

Go to the RockAuto catalog

If you have not found your medium duty vehicle in the RockAuto catalog before, it’s time to take another look! Whether you need Wagner brake pads for your 2002 GMC Topkick, Monroe shock absorbers for your 2011 Ram 5500 or a Gates belt for your 1996 Ford F800, RockAuto has them.

Take a look and see if RockAuto now has the parts that you need for your medium duty vehicle, all with our reliably low prices!

 

 

Forum of the Month

Cadillac Owners.com

Cadillac Owners.com is a premier Cadillac forum for the Cadillac owner and enthusiast! You are invited to join and share your wisdom as well as learn from the knowledge of other members all over the world. With thousands of discussions you are sure to find the answer you are looking for. Membership is free. Sign up and introduce yourself today!

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!

Back in the early 1970s, my brother had a 1966 Lincoln Continental Coupe with a 462 cid engine. It ran fine until it started to lose power at highway speeds. We did everything we could think of including rebuilding the cylinder head and replacing the camshaft, intake manifold and even the carburetor. We spent months and lots of money on this, but it only seemed to get worse.

Finally we asked for the help of an older retired mechanic. He drove it less than a mile and had the answer. Turns out the previous owner had replaced the complete exhaust system just before my brother purchased the car. Just past the manifold where the down pipe had a bend, the double wall pipe had bubbled up inside and closed off the exhaust pipe. This caused a high back pressure problem that stopped the engine from revving past 1800 rpm. A simple problem that we never considered cost a ton of money and time.

BUT a couple years later when I was working as a mechanic at a Chrysler dealership, there was a car in that had the same problem as my brother's Lincoln. All the top mechanics couldn't figure it out, but I knew right away what was wrong. I told the service manager I could fix it, but I wanted to be bumped from a "B" mechanic to an "A" mechanic. This meant a large increase in my flat rate commission and more benefits. He agreed.

I told them what was wrong, but nobody would believe me until they dropped the head pipes and drove the car. They replaced the exhaust, the car ran great and I got my raise!

Remember to always start troubleshooting with the basics!

Ken in Georgia

 

 

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

Walker is famous for their mufflers, catalytic converters and other exhaust parts. However, William Walker and his sons, Williard and Warren, did not patent the louvered tube and move into the muffler business until 1932. What was the primary automotive product line built by Walker through the 1920s?

A. Ignition Magnetos
B. Jacks
C. Radiators

Answer below

 

 

Duties of the Old Distributor

RockAuto

A modern, distributorless ignition system (DIS) assigns the duties of the old distributor to new parts scattered around the engine compartment. Modern engines rely on feedback from numerous sensors to synchronize the ignition timing with the fuel injection, valve timing and other systems. Two of the most common and critical new ignition parts are the crankshaft position sensor and camshaft position sensor.

A distributor typically had a hall effect sensor under the distributor cap which monitored the position of the camshaft and crankshaft via the distributor’s mechanical gear spun by the camshaft and the timing chain or belt linking the camshaft to the crankshaft. With DIS, the signal from a camshaft position sensor is used to determine which cylinders are set to fire and which ignition coils and fuel injectors should be activated. A crankshaft position sensor helps with ignition timing and measures engine speed (RPM).

Old engine designs updated to a DIS sometimes continued to use a distributor shaft and gear with a camshaft position sensor instead of a distributor cap perched on top. An example of this, a mid ‘90s Ford 5.0L “Camshaft Synchronizer,” is shown in the photo below. Late model camshaft position sensors are usually inserted into a port in the cylinder head. Crankshaft sensors are typically found in the timing cover or inserted into the engine block.

Mid '90s Ford 5.0L Camshaft Synchronizer

Cam and crankshaft sensor designs vary. Some are optical but many are hall effect or inductive sensors that can malfunction if exposed to electromagnetic or radio frequency interference. However, heat exposure is the most common cause of complete or intermittent failure. A port in a cylinder head or engine block is much hotter than the typical environment inside a distributor cap. An engine with a failing camshaft or crankshaft sensor might not start when it is hot but could start fine after the engine (and sensor) have cooled. Sometimes when these sensors fail, the engine will run but backfire, lose power or otherwise perform as if the ignition timing is badly off. Typical trouble codes are Crankshaft P0335 and Camshaft P0340.

camshaft position sensor   crankshaft position sensor

Replacement camshaft and crankshaft sensors vary in price depending on the engine. Some are $8 and some are $50+. Find camshaft and crankshaft sensors for your specific vehicle by ACDelco, Airtex, Auto 7, Beck Arnley, Standard Motor Products, etc. under Ignition in the RockAuto catalog. Replacement sensors are often designed to prevent the problems that made the original sensors prone to failure. For example, Airtex sensors use double-molded (a second layer of plastic is injected) magnets to prevent problems common to some Ford engines.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

 

 

Christian's 1989 Chevrolet Corvette

Christian's 1989 Chevrolet Corvette

I have a 1989 Corvette with 26,000 original miles. I purchased this car from my grandfather who had it sitting in a garage in San Diego, on jacks and connected to a battery charger for a decade. It now sits in my garage in Phoenix. Although I am sure to put some miles on it every so often.

When I received the car, the third, upper brake light was not functioning and your catalog helped me identify the brake light switch (part number 1S5237) as the probable culprit. A few days later the part arrived. It was an easy install and the brake light has been working perfectly ever since. My grandfather was quite impressed as he could never figure out the problem!

Thanks for your help!

Christian in Arizona

 

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

 

 

Automotive Trivia Answer

Automotive Trivia

Walker is famous for their mufflers, catalytic converters and other exhaust parts. However, William Walker and his sons, Williard and Warren, did not patent the louvered tube and move into the muffler business until 1932. What was the primary automotive product line built by Walker through the 1920s?

A. Ignition Magnetos
Answer: B. Jacks
C. Radiators

The jack business flourished throughout the 1920's.  Image courtesy walkerexhaust.com

Back up to trivia question

 

 

 

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