During September 2021, BSE is offering RockAuto customers a 10% instant manufacturer rebate on new BSE Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensors! BSE 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. BSE's completely new MAF Sensors use upgraded ceramic printed circuit boards, which provide superior thermal stability/reliability during extreme underhood temperature swings.

Find BSE's new Mass Air Flow (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!

RockAuto is excited to offer Prestone Coolant / Antifreeze products! Since 1927, Prestone has protected drivers and their vehicles with cutting-edge fluids. Their iconic yellow jugs of vehicle-specific blends are carefully formulated to provide long-lasting protection. With patented Cor-Guard® technology, Prestone's vehicle-specific Coolant / Antifreeze protects against system-clogging, engine-damaging contaminants like rust, corrosion, scale and buildup for up to 10 Years!

Prestone also offers a unique "All Vehicles" formula, suitable for all makes, models, years and fluid colors. This formula is perfect for small volume top-off or a complete drain and refill of the cooling system.

Keeping your coolant clean, fresh and full is critical to the health of your entire Cooling System and the engine it protects. Find Prestone and Prime by Prestone -- the original green formula for most old to very old GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc. vehicles -- in both 50/50 Prediluted Mix (ready to use) or Full-Strength Concentrate (to be mixed with distilled water) under the "Cooling System" category for your specific vehicle, or in the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab listed under "Cooling System" and "Fluid/Chemical" in the RockAuto catalog.

AlfaOwner.com is a friendly online Alfa Romeo Club. If you are considering buying or you are already an Alfa Romeo owner, join AlfaOwner.com today to help get the most enjoyment from your car.

With almost 7 million posts and over 190,000 members, if you are looking for Alfa Romeo information, you will almost certainly find it on this forum.

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 do most of the maintenance on my 2010 Cadillac CTS Wagon. A front wheel bearing & hub recently started to growl, so I naturally ordered the parts from RockAuto. The first replacement went really fast ... maybe 30 minutes start to finish. When I got to the other side, I pulled the caliper and rotor and tried to remove the wheel bearing & hub. No luck, it was not budging.

Let me try a little penetrating oil, nothing. It’s not moving. Ok, let me try a lot of penetrating oil. Nope. How about some heat (torch) ... still nothing. Time to get the big hammer. I beat on that thing for 25 minutes along with heat and oil. It was tighter than Excalibur in the stone. I even resorted to an air hammer with no results. I had to take a break.

When I came back a couple hours later and sat down, I looked at my project and noticed the one thing I forgot to do. REMOVE THE AXLE NUT! After I removed the nut, the assembly practically fell off on its own. The lesson is always make sure you remove ALL of the attaching hardware.

Dennis in Kansas

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!

Why do some off-roaders prefer to use a winch spooled with tow rope rather than steel cable?

A. Taut tow rope is less likely than steel cable to flail about and cause damage if it were to ever snap.
B. Tow rope costs less than steel cable.
C. Synthetic tow rope is stronger than steel cable.
D. All the above

Answer below

Last weekend, I got to do a little four-wheeling (mostly as a passenger) with a fun gaggle of Gambler 500 enthusiasts at Wooly's off-road park south of Nashville. “Four-wheeling” is a bit of an exaggeration because some vehicles only had two-wheel-drive, including a battered rear-wheel-drive (RWD) Nissan 300ZX with eerily blinking (formerly) hidden headlights and a roofless front-wheel-drive Chrysler minivan that could still seat up to seven brave souls.

In addition to “Mad Max” style transportation, to be part of Gambler 500 you need to enjoy cleaning up trails. Massive dumpsters are filled with trash at many Gambler 500 events. The dystopian vibe is further enhanced once the motley off-roaders are loaded up with discarded sofas, tires, refrigerators and other refuse to haul out.

The Gamblers were as eager to help each other as they were to pick up trash. When all the vehicles' best, still-working features were pooled, then almost anything could be accomplished.

A transmission failed and an engine sucked in water and hydrolocked, but surprisingly some vehicles just sorely needed inexpensive (at RockAuto.com) maintenance parts. That Nissan kept falling behind because its spark plug wire boots were so dried out that they repeatedly bounced loose from the spark plugs/distributor cap! RockAuto.com currently has Wholesaler Closeout spark plug wires for '80s era Nissan 300ZXs starting at less than $10. Keeping up with maintenance makes driving more enjoyable whether it is a serene drive to work or a mad charge through some Tennessee woods.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

Hello from across the pond!

Finding parts for my 1996 GMC Suburban has been a cinch with RockAuto. A Suburban is a very rare sight here in the UK, mine is rarer still becuase it is right hand drive! That's right, it was designed to be driven on the other side of the road!

Built in Mexico, my Suburban was shipped to Japan where it was repainted black and white and used as a police vehicle. It was repainted to all black before being imported to the UK. After a lot of repairs, it is now back on the road with 250k miles on the clock, running fitter and stronger than ever thanks to the availability of parts from RockAuto.

Why did I want a Suburban in the UK? Well, you can blame my father for that. I was born in the UK, but we lived in Detroit in the '80s and '90s when my father worked on the design team of the GMT400 chassis and the Suburban body that was fitted to it! As you can imagine, for a young boy growing up in Motown this was quite the adventure, and left a huge mark on my heart. I will never forget what I regard as my second home, and this is the reason for my love of American cars, particularly GMs from the 80's & 90's. I also have a 1988 Pontiac Sunbird GT Turbo, a 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood and a 1999 Cadillac STS. I keep my entire fleet running with parts from RockAuto.

We have toured all over Europe in American cars! There is no better way to get around than in a big old yank-tank! Where's the sense of adventure if you fly somewhere? Why not make a road trip out of it and explore the world - get out there and drive!

Dave in the UK

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

Why do some off-roaders prefer to use a winch spooled with tow rope rather than steel cable?

Answer: A. Taut tow rope is less likely than steel cable to flail about and cause damage if it were to ever snap.
B. Tow rope costs less than steel cable.
C. Synthetic tow rope is stronger than steel cable.
D. All the above

Back up to trivia question