RockAuto now offers Bentley Publishers paper repair manuals for European brand vehicles by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen and more! Bentley Publishers repair manuals contain in-depth maintenance, service and repair information, hundreds of images, and benefit both the seasoned professional and do-it-yourselfer.

Some of the topics Bentley Publishers manuals typically cover:

• Maintenance; everything from oil changes to replacing the key fob battery
• Engine and cylinder head
• Fuel and Emission systems
• Drivetrain
• Suspension
• Brake (including electronics)
• Heating and air conditioning
• Body
• Wiring schematics, including fuse/relay locations
• Specifications; factory tolerances, wear limits, capacities, tightening torques and more
• Hardcover binding, so the manual can last for the life of the vehicle

Find Bentley Publishers Repair Manuals for specific vehicles in the "Literature" category of the RockAuto.com catalog.

FordFusionClub.com is a community dedicated to Ford Fusion and all Ford vehicle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting and maintenance for the Focus, Fiesta, Taurus, Mustang and more!

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.

Despite there not being much rain in our area, I would often find the carpet in the rear cargo area of my 1999 Chevy Suburban to be damp and even wet at times. We scrutinized the rubber linings of the doors and frame and at least visibly could not find any defects. Since the rear A/C apparatus was in the cargo area, I decided that it must be leaking. Having little to no knowledge of what to expect, I took the time to remove the third row seat to allow ample working area. I then took a very careful approach to remove the housing and panels in the rear cargo area to expose the A/C unit underneath. Upon exposing the area, there was clearly water in the "tray" that was underneath the A/C unit. Therefore, obviously (or so I thought) the unit MUST have a leak. However, no matter how much I looked and no matter how long I ran the A/C with it exposed to my eye, I could not find a leak. Yet the water continued to accumulate and encroach on the carpet.

After spending the time removing all of the parts to expose the unit, it occurred to me that perhaps there was a drain somewhere to this area. Sure enough, I looked underneath the rear of the vehicle and found a "drain" that had a short piece of rubber hose attached to it. Upon closer inspection, the rubber portion seemed to be "squished" together. I simply pulled the rubber component of the exterior drain off and watched all the water drain out normally. A project that should have taken--with common sense--a few minutes to repair ended up taking numerous hours...

Note to self: anything that has condensation will have some sort of drain. Always check this first. The carpet has remained dry ever since.

Steve in Texas

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 RockAuto 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!

In 2019, more vehicles were built in China than _____.

A. Germany
B. Japan
C. United States
D. All the above
E. All the above combined

Answer below

The coolant temperature gauge needle on my '86 Mustang GT frequently hovers over the "A" in "NORMAL" printed on the gauge's face. My infrared thermometer showed the engine's metal thermostat housing was 210 F (99 C), confirming the coolant was indeed in the "normal" temperature range.

The original equipment steering knuckles on my '92 Dodge B250 van look like they were hammered into shape by a blacksmith. The brake calipers mounted on these imprecise knuckles are prone to binding up if caliper pins are not lubricated enough. My infrared thermometer lets me compare brake rotor temperatures to determine which calipers/brake pads are stuck.

Infrared thermometers (find under “Thermometer” in the "Garage Equipment" category of the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab) can dramatically speed up diagnostic work by reducing the need for disassembly and making it easy to compare identical parts. If there is one relay, fuel injector or microchip that is hotter or colder than all the rest, then that could be where to investigate first.

Something to be aware of when using an infrared thermometer is that its laser beam is just a laser pointer. It helps aim the thermometer but has nothing to do with actually measuring temperatures. The laser beam on an infrared thermometer is similar to having a laser sight mounted on a shotgun.

The thermometer measures the temperature of a circular area or "spot." Infrared thermometers are typically labeled with a Distance to Spot Ratio that tells you roughly how small the spot can be with the thermometer an ideal distance away from the object. For example a 12:1 ratio means the temperature spot will be about 1 inch (3 cm) in diameter on an object that is about 12 inches (30 cm) from the thermometer.

This means an infrared thermometer probably will not be able to accurately measure the temperature of a very small, isolated area like a spark plug's terminal or a bolt head. I sat a dime on top of a hot radiator hose (see photo) and surrounded the dime with strips of damp rag. The thermometer measured ~89 F. Without the rag pieces, the thermometer measured ~145 F. The laser beam was centered on the dime, but the thermometer was measuring the temperature of a larger circle/spot surrounding the dime. The temperature dropped if the cool rags were in the spot.

Different materials have unique thermal "emissivity." This means the temperatures of parts made from similar materials should be compared. For example, to study the performance of a radiator, compare the temperatures of the upper and lower radiator hoses instead of comparing the temperature of the rubber upper hose with the temperature of the aluminum radiator outlet tank.

RockAuto's infrared thermometers are designed to measure a wide range of temperatures on a variety of materials. Specialized infrared thermometers, like those used on humans, may be designed to calculate temperatures for only one type of material, such as human skin.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

It took a long time to find a BMW E39 wagon with a manual transmission, and when I finally did, this 1999 BMW 528i had a lot of issues. It was a decent car, but had not been truly cared for in a number of years...but it was cheap...I bought it and set about bringing it back to its proper glory. In particular from RockAuto I got all the filters, almost all of the top end gaskets on the engine, spark plugs, starter, most of the A/C system, rotors, pads, and much, much more. Now, the car has 212K miles and along with driving it every day in the non-winter months, I do track days and autocross events with it. Everything works great and it never lets me down.

Thank you, RockAuto!
Tim in Wisconsin (RockAuto customer for over five years)

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, RockAuto social media or other commercial use. New, old, import, domestic, daily driver, trailer queen, classic, antique, we want to see them all! Please email flamur@RockAuto.com with the vehicle history, interesting details, your favorite images (tips for taking pictures of your car) and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

In 2019, more vehicles were built in China than _____.

A. Germany
B. Japan
C. United States
D. All the above
Answer: E. All the above combined. China=25.72 million, United States=10.88 million, Japan=9.68 million, Germany=4.66 million
(source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/car-production-by-country)

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