RockAuto now has KYB Strut-Plus Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assemblies for over 250 additional popular cars, trucks and SUVs. KYB Strut-Plus assemblies restore original equipment (OE) control and handling, while also providing ease of installation. Each Strut-Plus assembly features KYB's popular Excel-G strut, which is built on the same KYB assembly lines as their OE parts. Excel-G struts are calibrated to compensate for wear caused by vehicle age and miles driven.

Additional features:

• Includes a new and improved coil spring custom tuned for corner-specific ride height and vehicle design
• OE quality bearing plates and insulators optimize steering smoothness, quiet operation, and help maintain proper front end alignment
• A new polyurethane boot and travel-limiting bumper protect KYB’s highly polished chrome strut shaft from road dirt and debris
  

To see the KYB Strut-Plus Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assemblies we have for your vehicle, go to the RockAuto.com catalog and click on the "Suspension" category.

Save even more now through September 30th, 2019, with KYB's Feeling is Believing promotion. Get up to $100 back with a purchase of four qualifying KYB Shocks, Struts or Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assemblies.

CobaltSS.net is a website where you will find threads on various topics ranging from tuning for performance or hypermiling, discussions on problems/service/maintenance, comprehensive "How to" guides and more. If you drive and maintain a Chevrolet Cobalt, this friendly and informative forum is one you should visit.

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.

I had spent a long weekend wrenching on my Jeep, and towards the end of the day, decided to replace the transmission oil. It started out okay, but I realized the fill plug was stripped beyond repair so I opted to fill it through the top where the shifter is. That all went fine until it was time to back the Jeep off the ramps. It would not budge.

It started fine and the motor was good, but neither reverse nor any other gear would move. I then checked connections, sensors, fuses...and swore...a lot. After almost an hour of this charade, and confused at how a simple fluid change could have locked up my transmission, I looked down and discovered the issue.

The transfer case was in neutral! I never looked at it the whole time. A quick bump forward of the shift lever back to 2WD and all was well. Relieved and quite embarrassed, I parked the Jeep, packed away my tools and called it a night.

Mark in Wyoming

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 VW Beetle enthusiast took one look at the engine and said, "Doghouse-style, that motor must have been pulled from a 1971 or newer Beetle." What does "doghouse-style" refer to?

A. 1971 and newer Beetle engine blocks were made of magnesium, the same metal used to make fire hydrants in Germany at that time.

B. VW increased horsepower in 1971 by installing dual Bund Hütte brand carburetors. Bund Hütte was similar to Hundehütte, the German word for dog house.

C. 1971 and newer air-cooled Beetles got a higher capacity engine oil cooler built into a new fan shroud nicknamed "doghouse." The 1970 and older fan shroud design became known as a "non-doghouse" fan shroud.

Answer below

My '86 Mustang's original equipment (OE) thermostat housing has a hole partially cast into it. That hole on the replacement thermostat housing is drilled out, threaded and sealed with a removable plug. Maybe that threaded hole is needed for engines that came with other options or emissions sensors. More likely, it is a Coolant Air Bleeder. The venerable Ford 5.0L (302 cu. in.) in my Mustang was installed in countless vehicle models and other types of machinery/equipment. Coolant air bleeders make it possible to remove air from the cooling system even when the radiator is mounted lower than most of the other cooling system plumbing.

Aerodynamic modern vehicles are even more likely to have the radiator located somewhere down low. The "radiator cap" might actually be the cap for the plastic Coolant Recovery Tank or a T-fitting spliced into a radiator hose. These newer vehicles are even more likely to have one or more coolant air bleeders (GM V6 engines, BMWs, and others frequently have two bleeders). Some typical bleeder locations are the thermostat housing, coolant recovery tank and/or the fittings near the water pump bypass hose.

GM, BMW & Chrysler Coolant Bleeder Valves

Before I knew better, I might have been tempted to leave coolant air bleeders alone, thinking they might be hard to reseal once they are opened. If they are there, then it is important to use them. Replacement coolant air bleeders, o-rings, thermostat housings and other parts are much less costly than what could potentially be damaged if an engine seriously overheats. The replacement parts RockAuto carries are often better and easier to use than the OE parts. For example, RockAuto has brass coolant air bleeders to replace the fragile plastic OE bleeders on BMWs.

After changing the coolant or replacing parts (hoses, radiator, heater core, etc.), air must be bled out of the cooling system. Consult the Repair Manual for your specific vehicle (found under "Literature" at RockAuto.com) for specific coolant bleeding instructions.

A typical bleeding procedure might include:

• Pour coolant into the radiator cap opening to fill the system
• Gently open any coolant air bleeders to give trapped air another way to escape
• Start the engine
• Turn on the heat to ensure coolant flows through the heater core
• Add coolant through the radiator cap opening to keep the system full as the water pump circulates the coolant and air escapes
• Watch the temperature gauge to make sure the engine is not overheating
• Close the coolant air bleeders once air bubbles stop escaping and coolant starts coming out
• Install the radiator cap and drive the vehicle around until the engine warms up completely but does not overheat
• Look for leaks, let the engine cool down and then add coolant and/or repeat the above procedure as needed

Find everything from new Coolant Air Bleeders to Coolant Recovery Tanks to Radiators to fresh Coolant/Antifreeze under "Cooling System" in the RockAuto.com catalog. Heater Cores and Heater Hoses / Pipes are listed under "Heat & Air Conditioning."

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

This is my 2008 Subaru Outback XT. One of my three cars that are in various states of “project car” status. This one is pretty much done with the help of parts from RockAuto. Subarus are like Legos; meaning that most parts that are offered as a standard part for one car will fit on another car. In this case, there are many parts that are on other Subarus as standard equipment but act as performance upgrades to what originally came on a 2008 Subaru Outback XT. So what you see here is the body of an Outback, on Legacy GT Spec B suspension and brakes. The car also has its fuel system, ignition components, filters, coil packs, spark plugs, etc. from RockAuto. I use RockAuto as my go-to parts source to keep all of my cars running.

The Outback was bought cheap and built to be a "canyon carver" that I can take my dogs in and use for day to day utility duties. It does these jobs very well. So in short, it is a track-ready dog-mobile!

James in California

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 your vehicles history, interesting details, your favorite images (tips for taking pictures of your car) and what parts from RockAuto you have used.

The VW Beetle enthusiast took one look at the engine and said, "Doghouse-style, that motor must have been pulled from a 1971 or newer Beetle." What does "doghouse-style" refer to?

A. 1971 and newer Beetle engine blocks were made of magnesium, the same metal used to make fire hydrants in Germany at that time.

B. VW increased horsepower in 1971 by installing dual Bund Hütte brand carburetors. Bund Hütte was similar to Hundehütte, the German word for dog house.

Answer: C. 1971 and newer air-cooled Beetles got a higher capacity engine oil cooler built into a new fan shroud nicknamed "doghouse." The 1970 and older fan shroud design became known as a "non-doghouse" fan shroud.

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