Bando Belts

RockAuto now offers the complete line of Bando automotive belts. Bando broadens RockAuto's selection of name-brand, reliable, and low-priced serpentine belts, V-belts and timing belts.

For more than 50 years Bando has been an OEM supplier to many car manufacturers, including Honda, Toyota and Ford. Bando belts include EPDM rubber, which provides increased elasticity and higher resistance to heat, water and other debris. This almost doubles the life of the belt compared to neoprene belts.

Bando belts are available for everything from the 2012 Acura MDX, to a 1989 GMC pickup, to the 2000 Volvo C70. If your belts are starting to fray, crack or lose tension, find your replacement in the "Belt Drive" (serpentine or V-belts) or "Engine" (timing belts) categories in the RockAuto catalog.

Forum of the Month

DodgeDurango.net is a friendly community comprised of owners and enthusiasts of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation Dodge Durango. The forum covers many areas of interest, including general Durango discussion, purchasing information and tech tips. Durango pictures and free photo galleries are available for all members.

To take full advantage of the site, all you need to do is register - it's quick and free.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

I have a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid with about 100K miles that I recently bought for my daughter. A critical service item on these cars is the CVT Transmission fluid, so being a good dad, I decided to change the fluid before my daughter put many miles on the car.

As part of changing the fluid, I removed the battery and air filter box to make it easier to access the fill tube. While this was all out of the way, I realized that the EGR manifold also could be cleaned. I had done this before on a similar car and it was an easy job. Just pull a metal plate and clean out the carbon. Unfortunately, after putting it all back together and changing the fluid, the car wouldn’t start (no crank). It was such a mystery to me why changing the tranny fluid would cause a no crank condition.

When I tried to start it, the tach and speedo needle jumped around, and the dome light would blink out a strange "1-3" code over and over. After suspecting everything from the shift position switch, to the engine and hybrid ECU, to the immobilizer system, I finally got the factory manual and started going through the diagnostic trees. An "odd" voltage of 2 volts on the neutral position switch when it should have been "0" got me on the right track. When I had taken apart the EGR manifold, I forgot to tighten a bolt that held the ground wire to the entire engine/ECU. The engine and ECU were getting their ground through the instrument panel (and not a good one at that).

I tightened the blankety-blanking ground lug, and it started up like new. Lesson learned: always retrace your steps when a repair gives you an unexpected response. And don’t underestimate the importance of all those ground lugs in odd places.

Jim 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 e-mail 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!

Automotive Trivia

What is an "Interference Engine?"

A. The pistons are divided up evenly on opposite sides of the crankshaft. Also called a flat or pancake engine.
B. Combustion is initiated by compression rather than spark plugs.
C. Internal engine parts like pistons and valves will be damaged if the timing belt breaks or slips while the engine is running.

Resurrecting an Ancient A/C System

RockAuto is a family business and the family has a lot of cars. My brother started out his engineering career working for GM. That made him sentimental about old rear-wheel-drive GM cars. He bought a 1979 Oldsmobile Delta 88 this summer.

An elderly lady owned the Olds, but she did not even drive it to church on Sundays. After her husband passed away, the car just sat in the garage for twenty years. The blue velour upholstery is still plush. Even the car’s vinyl top is in great shape. The only major problem was a broken air conditioner.

The drive belt slipped and smoked when the A/C clutch engaged. The A/C compressor (GM’s R4 design) had seized up and the system would not hold pressure. The previous owner’s records made no mention of the A/C. We did not know if the system had recently lost its refrigerant and lubrication or if it had been nonfunctioning for thirty years.

Tackling an antique A/C system can seem daunting. What if the system is riddled with leaks? Why not just wait for cooler weather to return in the fall? My brother pushed aside the misgivings. It would be embarrassing for an auto parts retailer to be afraid of a repair that his customers tackle routinely.

Installing and charging up an A/C system is too big of a job for our do-it-yourselfer skills and tools. We needed professionals. After getting an A/C Compressor and Component Kit from RockAuto, we took it to a shop. The shop provided the refrigerant and lube oil.

compressor & accumulator circled

The shop owner recommended switching the A/C system from R-12 to the newer R-134a refrigerant. Production of new R-12 was banned around 1994. Filling up the empty A/C system with R-12 would have cost more than the new compressor and all the other parts in the A/C kit! Many shops no longer keep R-12 on hand because demand for it is infrequent and a 30 lb. canister of it can cost thousands of dollars. A major difference between R-12 and R-134a is the oil used to lubricate the compressor. There was no R-12 left in our system and we were starting with a new compressor. It made sense to start off using R-134a and its lubricant (PAG A/C oil).

I picked up the car from the shop for my brother. I showered the mechanic with praise for resurrecting the ancient A/C system. He humbly indicated it was just like any other day’s work. The compressor is the only piece of the system with moving parts. The new compressor and other pieces of the kit (accumulator, orifice tube) meant the system is now more new than antique. It was about 90 degrees (32 C) that day. The cold air and velour seats felt mighty nice!

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

This is my latest find and project, a 1960 Ford Fairlane 500 with the original 292 Y-block with 73K miles. This town sedan was a daily-driver up until the early 80s when the vehicle was sold by its original owner and stored. 26 years and 162 miles later I became the 3rd owner. The majority of this classic is still in its original condition with the exception of what appears to have been the passenger doors replaced due to a side-swiping (impressive considering it made it through 55 years of Wisconsin winters, road-salt and sand). The most unique feature is a full-custom front seat cover with the original owner's name embroidered big and bold in the middle of the bench.

A set of push rods, valve seals, ignition components, wheel cylinders and a carb rebuild kit were all that was needed to breathe life back into this four-wheeled time capsule. RockAuto has been an excellent source for this project. The accurate pictures of every part and the additional cross-referencing numbers under the info tab have allowed me to order the correct parts with confidence.

Thank you RockAuto for making this project a true joy!

Jeff in Wisconsin

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