Kits include easy to follow instructions

Cabin Air Filters prevent pollutants from entering the interior or dirtying the ducts, doors, fan, sensors and other inner-workings of the Heat & Air Conditioning system. Most vehicles built in the last 10+ years came equipped with Cabin Air Filters, but some 2007-2014 GM trucks (Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac) did not have them installed at the factory. If you drive a 2007-2014 Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche, Sierra, Yukon or Escalade, it may not have a Cabin Air Filter. Fortunately, RockAuto has ACDelco Cabin Air Filter Retrofit Kits for those trucks!

RockAuto offers two variations of the kit - either the standard kit with a particulate filter (filters pollutants) or the premium kit with a carbon filter (filters pollutants and odors). In addition to the filter, each kit contains a filter cover and detailed installation instructions. The Cabin Air Filter Retrofit Kits for GM trucks are located in the "Heat & Air Conditioning" category of the RockAuto catalog.

Also check the "Heat & Air Conditioning" category to see if an older car is equipped with a Cabin Air Filter. If it has been a year or more since the Cabin Air Filter was replaced, you could experience a dramatic improvement in interior air quality and/or AC performance after installing a new filter. RockAuto has particulate and carbon Cabin Air Filters from top-name manufacturers at reliably low prices.

Dayton Parts manufactures a broad line of Leaf Springs for pickups, vans, buses, cars, trailers and heavy duty trucks. The company descended from Stanley Springs (founded in 1935) and has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of replacement Leaf Springs in North America.

RockAuto is offering an exclusive 10% instant rebate for customers on all Dayton heavy duty leaf springs through August 31, 2017. Dayton heavy duty Leaf Springs increase load capacity and experience less sag than traditional springs when loaded.

From a 1987 Chevrolet Blazer to a 2002 Ram 1500 Pickup to a 2008 Ford F-450 to a 2013 GMC Yukon XL 2500, find the Dayton Leaf Springs you need for your specific vehicle in the "Suspension" category of the RockAuto catalog.

Dorman, a supplier to RockAuto for more than fifteen years, now demands all retailers sell at the same price (or higher) -- or not sell at all. The policy looks like an attempt to protect auto part chain stores and their "charge double what we paid" mark-ups, in the face of slowing sales and plunging stock prices.

RockAuto is an independent, family-owned retailer. We work hard to provide reliably low prices, on all the parts your car will ever need. Our customers depend on their vehicles to get to work, school and all the other places life takes them. We will not participate in any scheme to force consumers to pay higher prices.

Over the next few weeks, we will remove the affected Dorman parts from our catalog. Customers who purchased them in the past may obtain warranty replacements, if needed, through our Order Status & Returns page. We hope customers who need parts in the future will support us, and manufacturers who offer honest, affordable prices, by purchasing other brands.

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 megant@rockauto.com

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!

Why did the owner of the 1955 Ford experience problems when he tried to jump start his neighbor's 1956 Ford?

A. From 1956 to 1958, the battery in full-size Fords was located underneath the rear seat cushion.
B. In 1956, Ford switched from a 6 volt, positive ground electrical system to 12 volt and negative ground.
C. Early in the 1955 model year, Ford used magnesium battery cables. The magnesium wire sometimes burned up when exposed to electrical current surges.

Answer below

Is it possible to have too many ground wires? I have been adding ground wires under the hoods of the '80s and '90s era vehicles in my family's fleet. When installing a new sensor or other electrical component, I found that adding a short ground wire sometimes helps me eliminate the last trace of an intermittent electrical problem.

But yes, it is possible to add too many ground wires if those new wires ever inadvertently replace an original equipment (OE) ground wire connection between the battery, alternator, engine, body and/or chassis.

Imagine this scenario: Bill installs a new oil pressure sensor. Bill decides to help guarantee the computer and sensor are using the same ground as a reference point by running a thin fourteen gauge wire directly from the negative battery terminal to the oil pressure sensor's housing.

Unfortunately, the root cause of Bill's grounding problems is corrosion on the connector that links the thick OE, eight gauge wire from the negative battery terminal to the engine block. One day, Bill turns the ignition key and the starter motor is unable to draw sufficient current through the corroded engine block ground. The best source for a ground connection is now that thin wire that Bill added. The starter motor briefly tries to draw 150 amps of current through that wire. Both Bill's wire and the oil pressure sensor melt!

Here are some general tips that might help prevent a drama like that one from becoming real:

• Clean or replace OE ground cables/terminals before adding additional ground wires. This will help ensure your wires are actually improving connections to ground rather than inadvertently supplanting important OE grounds.
• Do not connect additional ground wires directly to the battery or alternator. Allow the OE ground connections to remain the primary grounding points.
• Connect additional ground wires to the same OE ground that normally serves that area of the car. For example, if the oil pressure sensor is normally grounded via the engine block, then running a ground wire from the engine block is OK, but running a ground wire from the bumper (body ground) is not a good idea. (This avoids having the new wire inadvertently becoming the primary ground for the car body.)
• Keep new ground wires short. The idea is to bypass small areas of electrical current interference caused by corroded bolts, gasket material between parts, etc. while staying within the OE area for grounding that circuit.
• Avoid running a new ground wire directly to a sensitive electronic part. Instead, have ground wires between large metal pieces.
• Do not try to best the OE engineers by adding a new fuse to an OE ground cable. If that new fuse ever blows, then excessive current may immediately start flowing through some other more delicate ground wire or part.
  

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

My 1974 Plymouth Fury II was purchased new by my father. I was eight years old at the time and remember sitting in it on the dealership sales floor. Dad let me decide between buying a yellow hardtop or a black sedan. My father rarely drove it, storing it each winter, and the car accumulated only 36,000 miles from 1974 until I took possession in 2008. It is a great weekend cruiser. The 400 big block moves it along nicely! I recently freshened it up with a lot of help from RockAuto for things like brake pads/shoes/lines, hoses, belts, thermostat, wiper blades, filters, bulbs and more.

Thanks RockAuto!
Darren in Canada

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.

Why did the owner of the 1955 Ford experience problems when he tried to jump start his neighbor's 1956 Ford?

A. From 1956 to 1958, the battery in full-size Fords was located underneath the rear seat cushion.
Answer B. In 1956, Ford switched from a 6 volt, positive ground electrical system to 12 volt and negative ground.
C. Early in the 1955 model year, Ford used magnesium battery cables. The magnesium wire sometimes burned up when exposed to electrical current surges.

Back up to trivia question