Whether you travel off the beaten path or are looking for the perfect way to make your truck, Jeep, or SUV stand out, you need to consider Southern Truck's lift kits and off-road lamp assemblies. Complete customization of your vehicle is possible with multiple lift height choices and over 20 different LED lamp possibilities, ranging from 3" x 3" square floodlights all the way up to 54" light bars and a variety of mounting options. Seriously tough, and backed by Southern Truck's limited lifetime warranty for lift kits and three year warranty for off-road lighting, RockAuto has the customization you always wanted or never knew you needed!

Give your truck the lift it needs at a price you can afford. Southern Truck suspension provides the quality, durability and sustainability you deserve. The kits include all the parts you need for a perfect fit, stance and factory ride.

Find Southern Truck Leveling and Lift Kits under the "Suspension" category and Off-Road Lamp Assemblies and Light Bar Mount Kits under the "Accessories" category for your specific vehicle.

Find universal fit Off-Road Lamp Assemblies under Off-Road Light in the "Accessories" category of the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab or simply click here.

Team Camaro is an online community for fans of all generations of the Chevrolet Camaro. Discussions on topics ranging from general maintenance to full restorations can be found here. Whether you need help decoding a trim tag on your first generation Camaro, are seeking tips on swapping in an LSX engine or want to read about the 2017 Camaro ZL1, find all that and more at Team Camaro.

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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.

I started working on cars with my father before I was old enough to drive. I have lost count of the number of brake jobs I have done over the years, ranging from the extremely simple systems found in many 1980's Chryslers, to the more complex designs of some Hondas and Volvos. So, when a friend asked me to help him with some maintenance on his 1989 Plymouth Reliant, I did not think it would be much of an issue at all. The mighty K-car had lots of options over the years, but the absolute basest of the base models came with 9.5" disks up front and floating calipers. Remove the two caliper pins and it all pretty much falls apart.

He brought the car to me, and I set to work on changing the brake pads. I did the passenger side first and that went flawlessly. On the driver's side, I was putting the caliper back on with the new pads when something distracted me. I honestly do not even remember what it was now, perhaps an old muscle car driving past or some kids yelling across the street. Either way, the outside pad slipped out of the caliper and fell to the ground. Annoyed by my lack of attention, I quickly grabbed the pad and shoved it back in, then bolted the caliper on. As I always do, I got in the car after it was back together and hit the pedal a couple of times to make sure the brakes had good feel. Everything seemed fine and the fluid was topped off so my friend took the car around the neighborhood to check it. He said the brakes seemed to be working and off he went.

Within a couple of miles, he started to notice a slight squealing from the front end, and the brakes felt like they were fading a little. By the time he got home, the squeal had become a grind, and the brake feel was very bad. He parked the car until he could get it into a shop. Upon inspection, it turns out I had put that one pad in backwards! The pad was designed in such a way that you could install it reversed if you were not paying attention, and when it fell out, I must have flipped it before putting it back in. It was such a simple and dangerous mistake. Thankfully, my friend (and the car) were okay and the shop did not charge him too much to fix it. I now double-check my work more closely.

Brian in Virginia

You can see how the Reliant’s brake pads could be easily reversed

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!

The first car John Haynes OBE wrote a Haynes Manual for was the:

A. 1956 Austin 7 Special
B. 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air
C. 1928 Ford Model A and AA

Answer below

Last fall, I added a second vehicle built this century to the family fleet. We now have a late-model Ford Mustang as well as a Dodge Challenger. I find easing into modernity is less difficult when the car's styling reminds me of 1970. Our new 2005 Mustang V6 is a father-daughter project. My oldest girl will be getting her drivers license in about a year, so we have lots of time for tinkering before the big day.

One of our first steps was to buy a repair manual. I have always tried to get as many repair manuals as I can for my cars. I sometimes find one manual is particularly helpful for this repair while a different manual provides the best information for the next repair. Maybe the factory manual will have a better illustration or cover more details. Perhaps the Haynes or Chilton manual will tell me how to do the repair using common tools rather than an unobtainable factory tool. Maybe Haynes will cover a repair on my car's particular model year better than Chilton or vice versa.

Comparing the Haynes and Chilton manuals for the 2005 Mustang reminded me that Haynes took over Chilton's print repair manuals around the turn of the century. Inside the cover of the Chilton manual is printed, " Published by Haynes North America, Inc." Other than the cover and a few pages at the beginning and end, the words and illustrations in the Haynes and Chilton manuals for newer cars are the same. The pages are laid out a little differently to match the look of older Haynes and Chilton manuals. The same photo might be larger in one manual compared to the other. The Chilton manual generally has slightly bigger print and therefore, is a little thicker and more expensive.

Haynes Manual (left) and Chilton Manual (right) showing Fuel Pump Drive Module replacement.

Personally, I like both the Haynes and Chilton page layouts and would flip a coin to choose between the two. Look under "Literature" in the RockAuto catalog to see the Haynes, Chilton, Factory, Owners and/or other manuals available for your specific car or truck.

We got our repair manual and the father-daughter tinkering has begun! I am learning almost as much as my child is. For example, I learned that an exceptionally slim teenager can crawl under a 2005 Mustang without using a jack or lift!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

I have a 1987 Porsche 944. I purchased “Barbara” in January of 2013 from a guy in Michigan who listed it on Craigslist. He was asking $1000, but I offered him $800 because of its condition, and he took it. I had to trailer it home since it ran but did not move. Three and a half years later, and with a whole lot of love and money, I have a pretty nice little car. The stone guard was repaired and re-sprayed as well as the front valance. The interior was pieced back together since a previous owner had gutted it for weight reduction. All systems work, even the A/C. My five-year-old grandson is my co-driver and has been “helping” me with her since the beginning.

RockAuto played a vital part in her restoration. Clutch kit, brake pads and rotors, wheel bearings, drive belts, oil filter, air filter, timing belt, balance shaft belt, shocks, sway bar bushings, wiper blades and more.

Thanks!
David in Indiana

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.

The first car John Haynes OBE wrote a Haynes Manual for was the:

Answer: A. 1956 Austin 7 Special (John Haynes was British and OBE stands for, "Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire." In the catalog there are Haynes Manuals for specific models under "Literature" and for broader topics such as Emission Repair here: http://www.rockauto.com/en/tools/literature,repair+manual)
B. 1950 Chevrolet Bel Air
C. 1928 Ford Model A and AA

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