Throughout the month of March 2022, Power Stop is offering up to $30 in savings on their performance upgrade brake kits. This rebate not only covers Power Stop's Rotor & Brake Pad kits but extends to their Caliper, Rotor & Brake Pad kits as well! Kits feature custom-matched components designed for specific vehicles, providing increased braking performance coupled with the convenience of straightforward bolt-on installation.

Z23 Evolution Sport - Power Stop's Z23 kits are designed for drivers seeking a brake performance upgrade for their everyday vehicle. Each kit features Power Stop's low-dust, noise-free Z23 Ceramic Pads and silver zinc dichromate plated Drilled & Slotted Rotors for maximum heat, debris and gas dissipation coupled with excellent corrosion resistance.

Z26 Street Warrior - Power Stop's Z26 kits are designed specifically for muscle cars and other high horsepower, aggressively driven street vehicles. Each kit features Power Stop's silver zinc dichromate plated Drilled & Slotted Rotors and Z26 Carbon Fiber Infused Ceramic Pads designed to provide shorter stopping distances and less brake fade than stock OE pads.

Z36 Truck & Tow - Power Stop's Z36 kits are designed for Trucks and SUVs used for towing and hauling, or modified trucks with lifted suspension and/or larger tire/wheel upgrades. Each kit features Power Stop's silver zinc dichromate plated Drilled & Slotted Rotors and Z36 Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Ceramic pads that are formulated to provide severe-duty stopping power for Trucks and 4x4s.

RockAuto has the Power Stop brake upgrade kit you need. Find them in the "Brake & Wheel Hub" category of the RockAuto.com catalog under "Caliper, Rotor & Brake Pad Kit" and "Rotor & Brake Pad Kit." Do not delay, the current rebate ends March 31st, 2022!

During March 2022, Standard Motor Products (SMP) is offering RockAuto customers a 10% instant manufacturer rebate on their new Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensors! SMP is committed to the highest MAF sensor quality; every sensor is precision calibrated to exact OEM specifications and rigorously tested to optimize engine efficiency and performance. SMP's completely new sensors use upgraded ceramic printed circuit boards, which provide superior thermal stability/reliability during extreme underhood temperature swings.

Find SMP's new MAF Sensors for your specific vehicle in the "Exhaust & Emission" category of the RockAuto.com catalog. Simply add a qualifying part to your cart and instantly save even more on RockAuto's reliably low prices!

More Rebates!
Go to the Promotions & Rebates page to see details for the Power Stop and Standard Motor Products rebates along with additional rebates offered by ACDelco, AMS Automotive, KYB and Valvoline.

While shopping, watch for the Promotion & Rebate Star in the catalog next to the part names to help you save even more on RockAuto’s reliably low prices!

BAT Auto Technical is an automotive technical website founded by Bruce, Alan and Tony (B.A.T.). Their goal is to provide a comprehensive source of automotive repair info; a place where people can come to get the knowledge they need to take care of their vehicles, save time/money and prevent headaches. In this forum, professional mechanics can help people with their vehicle problems by providing professional, quality information. It is a site where the professional and do-it-yourselfer mingle and learn.

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.

In my younger years, as part of overhauling a Mercedes 190D, I was faced with frozen brake caliper pistons. The fix was easy enough...a high pressure grease gun to pop the pistons. When I reinstalled the calipers, I could not get the brakes to bleed up to a firm brake pedal. I went as far as replacing the brake master cylinder as part of my diagnostics. I finally threw in the towel and took it to the local Mercedes dealer. After working on the car for two hours, they called an all shop meeting in their conference room because they could not solve the problem either. I was able to watch the meeting through a glass window. After some discussion, one of the mechanics finally pulled out a manual and pointed to a picture.

The meeting ended and the shop manager came to me and said: "Sir, next time you work on brakes...do one wheel at a time. You have the calipers upside down and the bleeder screws are on the bottom." Bleeder screws should be at the top of a caliper in order to bleed the air from the lines. I have since then made other bonehead repair mistakes, but I have saved thousands of dollars in repair bills by buying my parts from RockAuto.

Jim 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 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!

The Fiat 124 Spider sold in North America from 2017 to 2020 was based on which vehicle?

A. Alfa Romeo 4C

B. Honda S2000

C. Mazda MX-5 Miata


Answer below

Last week, my teenage daughter was involved in her first and hopefully last wreck. The other driver started to change lanes and her right mirror hit the left mirror on my daughter's 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The huge mirrors on modern cars significantly increase vehicle width. When mirrors are included, the midsize SUV Santa Fe is about a foot wider than my large 1971 Ford LTD! The good news is that the big mirrors frequently act like modern "curb feelers;" preventing much more traumatic and costly sideswipes.

Rather than involving an insurance company and/or body shop, I suggested that the lady driving the other car simply order my daughter a mirror set that includes both the right and left Outside Mirror & Glass Assemblies (found under "Body & Lamp Assembly" at RockAuto.com). By ordering two new black mirrors, we would not have to try to paint the new left mirror to match the original right mirror's body colored plastic. The other driver readily agreed, ordered the mirrors and had them shipped right to our house.

We prepared for the fun father/daughter repair by watching a Youtube video. That turned out to be a good lesson on how videos can be helpful, misleading or a bit of both. The man in the video removed his Santa Fe's door panel and laboriously pried out a wiring harness retainer clip before popping off the piece of trim that covered the mirror's mounting bolts. To us, it looked like the door panel in the video had not actually been overlapping the piece of trim. The guy also hinted during his video that some of his work might have been unnecessary.

I decided to check to see if the trim piece's edges were free by tentatively inserting a credit card. I started at the top of the trim piece, and just the edge of the credit card was enough to pop the trim right off. I never got a chance to use my sturdy Panel Removal Tools. We had instant, easy access to the three nuts that held on the mirror and the mirror's electrical connector. Over the decades, I have had lots of "just 20 minutes" repairs that ended up taking hours. This time, I was expecting at least an hour, and instead, it took about 15 minutes to replace each mirror. Despite conventional wisdom, newer cars are often surprisingly easy to fix!

Replacing broken or weathered mirrors can be a satisfying project for a DIYer. The exceptionally easy to replace Santa Fe mirrors were especially good for a budding DIYer like my young daughter.I just hope it was not so easy that now she will actively be looking for other SUVs to joust mirrors with!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

This is my 1974 Ford Maverick. I found this car wasting away in a cow pasture when I was 18 years old and spent about 8 years repairing and restoring it myself. It was originally an inline 6 cylinder base model with bench seats and column shift, but I have since installed bucket seats, floor shifter, repaired the rust and painted it to replicate the 1972 Maverick Grabber. The performance has also been drastically improved by installing a 5.0 HO roller cam engine with an AOD transmission.

I have purchased lots of items from RockAuto for this build, including the 3.80 gears and bearings for the differential, all of the front end components, shocks, ball joints, control arms, tie rods, Power Stop brake kit, brake hoses, rear drum brake parts, to some interior parts like the carpet, window seals and lights. I also just ordered a bearing set and synchros to build a T5 manual transmission I plan on swapping in at some point. The car has been a part of my life for over 14 years, and I still enjoy working on it and trying to improve it anywhere I can, and thanks to RockAuto’s low prices, I am able to accomplish a lot more for a lot less!

Darin in Minnesota

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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! For submission instructions and tips for taking pictures of your car, please visit our Photography Tips & Submission Info page

The Fiat 124 Spider sold in North America from 2017 to 2020 was based on which vehicle?

A. Alfa Romeo 4C

B. Honda S2000

Answer: C. Mazda MX-5 Miata (The most significant difference between the two cars is the engine. The Fiat 124 Spider is powered by Fiat's turbocharged 1.4L while a Mazda 2.0L is under the hood of the MX-5 Miata.)

Fiat 124 Spider


Mazda MX-5 Miata