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Repair Mistakes & Blunders

While in college, I was typically strapped for cash and tried to do as much of my own repair work as possible. When the clutch went out in my 1999 Saturn SL2, I decided, with the help of a good friend, to fix it myself. The repair went well, and we were able to get the new clutch in and running fine. Several weeks later I started to notice a very unique banging/knocking noise coming from the front end of the car, especially while going over bumps or in tight cornering. I spent nearly a month attempting to diagnose the problem. I replaced control rods, struts, wheel bearings and tie rod bushings with no luck; the noise remained an enigma.

Several more weeks passed, and while changing my oil, I noticed a head of a bolt from the lower transmission mount was not flush with the frame. After inspecting it, it looked like while reassembling the car we forgot to fully tighten this one small bolt, which was probably one of the last items we reinstalled. After a couple weeks of driving, the bolt must have loosened up a bit more, which allowed the engine and transaxle to move up and down about an 1/8", slamming the bolt head into the frame and causing the source of all my frustrations.

I replaced the bolt with a new one and torqued it to spec. I never heard the noise again. The brand new suspension in the front of the car gave it a great new ride as well! (I also got a lot of new refrigerator magnets from RockAuto to remind me of the whole ordeal!)

Thanks,
Paul in Pennsylvania

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!

Automotive Trivia

Where did KIA Motors get its name?

A. Kia is the Korean word for the highest level of training in the martial art Tae Kwon Do.
B. In Chinese, Kia means to "arise or come up out of Asia."
C. Kia is derived from Kiang, a fleet-footed herbivore native to Tibet.

Answer below

Replacing a Cigarette Lighter Just Got Easier

Most of the cigarette lighters in my family's fleet have never been used to light cigarettes, but they get heavy use as 12 volt power outlets for GPS units, spotlights, phone chargers and an ever increasing number of gadgets. Years of shoving in and yanking out plugs can bend or break metal retention tabs inside a lighter receptacle. Powering heavy loads like coolers for hours on end can gradually burn away the electrical contact.

Removing and replacing a cigarette lighter just got easier thanks to the recent revelry at my house. Over the holidays I was adding an additional power outlet to my wife's '93 Ford Tempo and needed to remove the existing cigarette lighter receptacle. There are different lighter designs, but by far the most common uses an outer metal can behind the dash trim panel and an inner metal piece that screws into the can from the front side of the dash. I needed to remove the electrical connector from the backside of the cigarette lighter receptacle and then simply unscrew the inner metal piece.

For past projects, I did the unscrewing by either jamming my finger into the receptacle and hoping the metal piece started to turn before the skin on my finger was ripped off, or I awkwardly used pliers while trying to avoid damaging the receptacle or dash trim. Thanks to the holiday merrymaking, this time I thought to use a wine bottle cork. The cork fit perfectly into the cigarette lighter receptacle, applied even pressure and enabled me to effortlessly unscrew the inner piece in seconds. I imagine the caveman who discovered fire felt similar elation!

The cork fit perfectly into the cigarette lighter receptacle

In the photo you can see the tan colored synthetic cork I used. A natural cork would work as well. The durability of the cork is one more thing to ask the waiter about while selecting a bottle of fine wine. Find replacement receptacles, multiple outlet adapters and other cigarette lighter parts under "Interior" below the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab or by clicking here.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

Patrick's 1975 Triumph TR6

This is my '75 Triumph TR6 that I have been working on with the invaluable help of RockAuto. I've had the car for about two years now, but only this summer did I get a chance to finally work on it.

It is a bit of a mongrel since it does not have the original engine and transmission. All the person I purchased it from could tell me was that he thought it had a Mazda engine and transmission in it, since he did not build it himself. The car was rust free with a new paint job, so I figured with no body work to do, how bad could it be? I bought it, and brought it home.

I took the car to the local Mazda dealership to see if they could determine what engine was in it. The mechanics were able to narrow it down to a specific engine family, but not a year, make or model. The engine is actually a Mitsubishi G54B, not a Mazda at all. It turns out that Mitsubishi had supplied this engine to Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Plymouth and Mazda. What a fine kettle of fish, you say. Well, this is where RockAuto really helped out. After finding a picture of the engine, I researched the engine's history online to discover all its variants, and under what various brand names it had been sold. In particular, I needed a new valve cover gasket, tune up parts and a transmission filter. This engine has a crankcase breather in the cylinder head. Other variants have the breather in the valve cover. By looking up the valve cover gaskets for all the variants of the engine in the RockAuto catalog, and looking at the pictures of the parts, I was able to identify the engine as coming out of a '77 or '78 Plymouth Arrow with the attached Dodge A904 automatic transmission. All the parts I ordered matched right up and worked perfectly.

Why were the original engine and transmission replaced? The flanges that hold the radiator cap in place were broken off. Apparently, the engine was allowed to overheat. Thank goodness for RockAuto's on-line catalog! Without access to pictures of individual parts by year, make, and model, I would never be able to make this work out and finish the build. I will continue to buy parts from RockAuto and recommend you as an invaluable resource for the old car hobbyist.

Thanks Again,
Patrick in North Carolina

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