Eliminate the Squeals, Squeaks & Grinding: Give your dad a pair of new Wiper Blades and help him regain maximum visibility and reduce the streaking, skipping, splitting or squeaking (found under "Wiper & Washer"). Improve brake performance and stop the grinding with a Rotor & Brake Pad Kit (found under "Brake & Wheel Hub"). Take advantage of the Power Stop Father's Day mail-in rebate and save an additional $10 or $30 on select brake kits at RockAuto.com through June 18, 2018.

Spruce Up Dad’s Interior & Exterior: Replace the stained and heavily worn Floor Mats (found under "Interior"), cracked Grille, shattered Fog / Driving Lamp Assembly or broken Outside Mirror (found under "Body"). Detail Dad’s car inside and out with Interior Cleaner, Metal Polish or Wax (found under Fluid in the "Body" and "Interior" categories of the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab).

Replace His Slowly Failing Parts: Door Lock Actuators, trunk/hood Lift Supports (found under "Body") and Struts/Shock Absorbers (found under "Suspension") are just a few examples of parts that fail gradually over time. Dad will notice and appreciate how the years roll back when these parts are replaced!

Not sure which parts or tools your dad needs now or down the road? A RockAuto Gift Certificate, available for any amount, will let your car enthusiast choose the parts or tools he needs. Update Dad’s RockAuto Hat and T-Shirt collection, help Dad keep his beverage hot or cold with a RockAuto Tumbler, or add to his RockAuto magnet collection with a Magpack!

Ranger-Forums.com is a premier resource for all Ford Ranger enthusiasts. The forum covers a wide variety of topics, from detailing to the upcoming 2019 Ranger. But, the most active forums are related to the technical aspects of the Ranger. You will find How-To and DIY articles on all models and variants of Ford's popular compact pickup here.

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.

Back in the '70s, my sister bought a well used Chevrolet Malibu station wagon. One day it would not start. It would crank over just fine, but would not run. A quick inspection revealed that the carburetor was not getting any fuel. We secured a new fuel pump, and the installation went quickly and without drama.

Standing back to admire our handiwork, my brother and I called Sis out to "fire her up." Crank, crank, crank--no start. Checked the carb--no gas. Hmmm... When we pulled the old pump out, gas started siphoning from the tank line, so we knew we were good there. The aftermarket glass fuel filter was clean and not plugged up. We disconnected the fuel line from the carburetor, cranked the engine and had plenty of fuel flow. Hmmm...

I called my girlfriend's father to see if he had any ideas.
"Did you check the fuel filter?"
"Yes, we can see gas in the clear fuel filter and were getting flow to the carburetor."
"No, not that filter, the one in the carburetor."
"Huh?"

This particular carburetor, and many others it turns out, have a fuel filter in the carburetor fuel inlet. Hers was completely clogged. So, 89 cents and twenty minutes later, Sis was happily back on the road. Lesson learned--check the simple stuff first and make sure you know what the heck you are doing!

Jim in Virginia

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!

What is a "jiggle pin" and what does it do?

A. A jiggle pin fits in a small hole in the thermostat and helps air bleed out of the cooling system. The jiggle pin should be located at the top of a vertically mounted thermostat.

B. A jiggle pin is a spring loaded electrical contact that disconnects the fuel pump's power source if the vehicle is in an accident. There is usually a switch in the trunk (boot) or cargo area to reset the jiggle pin.

C. Jiggle pins are small bimetallic strips inside the steering wheels of semi-autonomous cars. Heat from the driver's hands expand the jiggle pins to close switches that tell the computer the driver's hands are safely on the wheel.

Answer below

Back in 2015, I wrote about how I stopped erratic fuel gauge needle movements by pouring Fuel System Cleaner into my '92 Dodge B250 van's gas tank. The chemicals likely cleaned the film of tarnish off the contacts at the end of the fuel gauge sending unit float arm and the variable resistor that those contacts slide across.

The van's fuel gauge worked until mid-2017 when the needle started staying on empty unless the fuel tank was nearly full. A few months later, the fuel gauge needle always stayed on empty. Fuel system cleaner did not help this time.

My family frequently uses the van and the 35 gallon (132 liter) fuel tank kept getting filled up. It took about six months more before I got organized and closely watched the odometer as the fuel tank ran nearly dry. The plastic fuel tank weighs more than 220 lbs. (100 kg) when it is full. It is a feathery light ~30 lbs. when empty. After 355 miles, I inserted my Siphon, but there was not enough gas left in the tank to activate it.

Many vehicles come from the factory with a fuel pump access panel conveniently located under the backseat. Otherwise, the fuel tank needs to be removed. There are plenty of videos online showing people sawing through the floors of their vehicles in search of their Fuel Pump & Housing Assemblies. It is easier and safer to drain the fuel tank, remove a few nuts and lower the fuel tank to the ground. A deep socket is usually needed to reach the nuts on the long bolts at the end of the Fuel Tank Straps. My van has traveled many miles down salty winter roads, but even its nuts came off with just a socket wrench and a few squirts of penetrating oil.

A large nylon ring screws onto the fuel pump assembly and holds it in the plastic fuel tank. A dozen gentle taps with a hammer and screwdriver loosened the nylon ring. All the plastic parts made it seem more like a kitchen project than a garage project. If only there was a way to make gasoline fumes smell like chocolate chip cookies. My son helped me lower the fuel tank because I was not sure how much gas was still in it (only 1/2 gallon!), but I reinstalled the tank by myself.

Electrical contacts worn down after 25 years

Two problems led to the demise of the old fuel gauge sending unit. The electrical contacts on the float arm and variable resistor were worn down after 25 years of rubbing against each other. Excessive play in the float arm was likely the problem that finally killed the sending unit. The variable resistor showed a normal 10 ohms (tank full) to 100 ohms (tank empty) when I held the fuel pump assembly horizontally so that the weight of the float arm helped push the electrical contacts together. The float arm sagged away from the fuel pump assembly when it was held vertically as it would be when mounted in the fuel tank. The electrical contacts on the float arm no longer made contact with the variable resistor. With infinite resistance present, the fuel gauge always read empty.

Hopefully, the float arm on the replacement Fuel Pump & Housing Assembly is attached with a sturdier bushing. Just in case I need to go under the van again 25 years from now, I probably should write in the repair manual, "You are pushing your luck if you try to go more than 350 miles on a tank of gas..."

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 father purchased this 1978 Ford F-150 Custom new. It was manufactured with a 302 V-8 and a four speed overdrive manual transmission, which it still retains. I bought it from him my senior year of high school (1980) and drove it until 1986. That is when I decided to sandblast and paint the entire body before putting it in storage - for quite a long time...

In the winter of 2011/2012, I started restoring the truck. Everything was disassembled, rebuilt, refurbished or replaced as needed. After over three years of meticulous reassembly, the project was complete. I performed as much of the work as I could myself, with the exception of body work, engine rebuilding, interior, etc. Some parts purchased from RockAuto include the drivetrain, suspension, steering and various other under hood parts. In July 2015 it went on the road, and I put 3,000 miles on that season. The truck currently has 7,000 miles on it since its resurrection, and is now awaiting another season of cruising.

Bill in New York

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.

What is a "jiggle pin" and what does it do?

Answer: A. A jiggle pin fits in a small hole in the thermostat and helps air bleed out of the cooling system. The jiggle pin should be located at the top of a vertically mounted thermostat.

B. A jiggle pin is a spring loaded electrical contact that disconnects the fuel pump's power source if the vehicle is in an accident. There is usually a switch in the trunk (boot) or cargo area to reset the jiggle pin.

C. Jiggle pins are small bimetallic strips inside the steering wheels of semi-autonomous cars. Heat from the driver's hands expand the jiggle pins to close switches that tell the computer the driver's hands are safely on the wheel.

Back up to trivia question