From everyone at RockAuto, we extend our best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year! Thank you for being our customer and letting us serve as your auto parts supplier!

Last Minute Gift Solution!
Need a Christmas gift in a hurry? A RockAuto Email Gift Certificate would make a fantastic last-minute gift! E-Gift delivery is immediate and free. Simply choose the Email format and your friends and family will conveniently receive the E-Gift in their inbox. RockAuto Gift Certificates are available for any amount, are easy to purchase and even easier to use!

Take advantage of current promotions and manufacturer rebates at RockAuto and save even more on our reliably low prices!

Rebates Expiring December 31st:

• ACDelco Air Filters, Cabin Air Filters & Wiper Blades
• AMS Automotive Clutch System Kits
• Autolite Spark Plugs
• Energy Suspension Polyurethane Suspension Parts
• KYB Shock & Strut Rebate
• Westin Step/Nerf Bars & Running Boards

Go to the Promotions and Rebates page to see details for these rebates and an additional rebate for USA Standard Gear Drivetrain parts. While shopping, watch for the yellow Promotion/Rebate Star in the RockAuto catalog to help you save even more on RockAuto’s reliably low prices!

SubaruForester.org is your destination for Subaru Forester information. General topics, engine/drivetrain tech, suspension, brakes, performance...all this and more are discussed on this comprehensive and easy to use website.

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.

Back around 1998, I bought a '94 Buick Skylark. One day soon after, the left turn signal stopped blinking but then started again. It would blink, then stay solid for a bit, and then start blinking again. I went back to the dealership to have them look at it. The tech spent almost two hours going over the entire system but could find nothing wrong.

A couple months went by without any problems, and then the turn signal started acting up again. It might only stop long enough to sit through a red light, or it might go all day without working. I took the car to two different shops, but no one could find anything wrong. I finally decided that I was going to devote a Saturday and find the problem.

I pulled the front turn signal out of the fender and checked everything there was to check. I then removed the tail lamp. I had been troubleshooting for a couple of hours by this time and was holding the tail lamp up watching it blink. The assembly held the backup light, the side marker, and brake/turn/tail bulbs, so it was kind of heavy, and at one point I needed to relax my wrist a bit. When the housing tilted it stopped blinking.

I saw the problem and did not know whether to face palm or shout for joy! The filament in that bulb hung vertically and was broken at the bottom. The vibration of the car would make the filament swing and stop working, and then it would swing just right and make contact again while there was electricity applied to the bulb, and it would stick to the contact and work again. All that time putting up with this just because of a bulb!

My point to this story (other than just being funny) is when you are trying to troubleshoot something always start with the simple things first.

Robby in Mississippi

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!

In 2018, the top five best selling passenger vehicle brands in the USA were Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan. Which brand was number six?

A. Dodge
B. Jeep
C. Kia

Answer below

The 5.7L V8 in the late-model Toyota Tundra, Land Cruiser, Sequoia and Lexus LX570 has problems with its air injection system (Exhaust & Emission) that demonstrate why it is so important to identify problems' root causes in order to avoid prematurely damaging freshly installed parts. This repair also shows it is still the same old familiar hazards: moisture, corrosion, rodents and abrasion that destroy high-tech parts on new cars just like they destroy low-tech parts on old cars.

Since the '70s, most emissions systems have included an Air/Smog Pump Check Valve to send fresh air into the catalytic converter to enhance its performance. The original simple mechanical valves were replaced by computer controlled solenoids that could precisely meter the flow of air. The Toyota system (A.I.R.) has two electric Air/Smog Pumps inside a front fender that send air to Air/Smog Pump Check Valves mounted underneath the upper intake manifold.

Air/Smog Pump & Check Valve

Even professional trade journal articles sometimes incompletely diagnose/repair the Toyota air injection system because the vehicles' original symptoms vary so widely. There may be trouble codes and warning lights on the dash. The truck may only run in limp-home mode. The engine may not start or run at all. The computer may be detecting emissions systems problems or the computer might be in a state of confusion because a failing solenoid in the Air/Smog Pump Check Valve has shorted out one or more of the computer's input/output signals. If the original problem was, "the truck will not start" then a mechanic may think the problem is completely solved when a new Air/Smog Pump Check Valve finally gets the engine to start.

To understand why that freshly installed Air/Smog Pump Check Valve might only solve the problem for a relatively short time, we just need to follow the hazardous route the fresh air follows:

Moisture and Corrosion:
The Air/Smog Pumps inside the front fender suck in fresh air through plastic tubes. The fender liner offers the pumps and tubes some protection and the tubes extend upward, but water still enters the tubes and gradually collects in the Air/Smog Pump. Some of that water is pumped out to the Air/Smog Pump Check Valve where the resulting corrosion destroys the valve and/or seizes up a solenoid. If the Air/Smog Pumps in the fender are not replaced or at least drained and those plastic air intake tubes are not covered with some sort of easily fabricated protective lids (like the plastic tubes on the newest Toyotas are), then water will still be in the system and will destroy the new Air/Smog Pump Check Valve.

Rodents:
The Air/Smog Pump Check Valve is located under the upper intake manifold. On most engines, this is the favorite nesting spot for rats and mice. The rodents chew up the wiring, connectors and hoses causing electrical shorts/opens and air leaks that can damage the solenoids inside the Air/Smog Pump Check Valve, generate trouble codes and/or confuse/damage the computer.

Abrasion:
Sandwiched between intake manifolds, the electrical connectors and nipples on the Air/Smog Pump Check Valve are exposed to abrasion from neighboring plumbing, wiring harnesses, etc. Care should be taken to separate and protect neighboring parts as much as possible.

Of course the air injection system parts on the Toyota/Lexus also face normal wear and tear caused by heat and countless duty cycles, but to prevent premature failure of this or any new part, be sure to always look up-stream in the system for hazards (like dirty water lurking inside an Air/Smog Pump).

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

I have owned this beast (1972 De Tomaso Pantera) since 2001 and go to numerous cruise-ins with my car buddies throughout southwest Ohio during the driving season. I work on the Pantera during the winter months and drive it all summer, weather permitting, of course. I drive it as much as I can while I can still get in and out of it! Parts from RockAuto include engine (Ford 351C) parts, Bosch electrical switches for power windows and many other miscellaneous parts.

Regards,
Ron in Ohio (RockAuto customer for over seven years)

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

In 2018, the top five best selling passenger vehicle brands in the USA were Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan. Which brand was number six?

A. Dodge
Answer: B. Jeep (Interestingly, FCA sold twice as many Jeeps than Dodges. source: https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/u-s-auto-sales-brand-rankings-september-2018-ytd/)
C. Kia

Back up to trivia question