KYB, an OE supplier of shocks and struts to new vehicle manufacturers worldwide, is currently offering a rebate on select Shocks, Struts, and Strut / Coil Spring / Mount Assemblies. Now through April 15th, 2021, buy four qualifying KYB products, and receive a pre-paid MasterCard for up to $75! KYB ride control products are vehicle specific and designed to restore or improve upon the original ride quality of the vehicle. Find KYB parts for your car, SUV or truck under the "Suspension" category in the RockAuto.com catalog.

More Rebates
Go to the Promotions and Rebates page to see details for the KYB rebate and additional rebates for Clutch System Kits by AMS Automotive and Cabin, Engine, Fuel and Oil filters by ACDelco.

While shopping, watch for the Promotion and Rebate Star in the catalog next to the part names to help you save even more on RockAuto’s reliably low prices!

MitsubishiForum.com is a comprehensive resource and a large community of Mitsubishi owners and enthusiasts. This forum is active with friendly members sharing information on all aspects of these cars and SUVs, from answers to technical questions to general all around Mitsubishi camaraderie. Although the majority of topics cover the Eclipse and Outlander, you will find active discussions on all Mitsubishis, from the 3000GT to the Zinger.

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.

When I was in college, I was the proud owner of a 1978 Ford Fiesta. I drove that car through college and my first several years of work. It was reliable and economical transportation.

The problem started one day when I was leaving work. When I turned the key it only clicked. Luckily the car was a lightweight manual so I pushed it across the parking lot and jumped in to start her up! I later removed the battery, and it tested fine so I reinstalled it and the car started right up! It started without problem for about two weeks...and then the same click again! I pushed it again to get it started. When I got home, I took both battery cables off and cleaned all connections, and the car started right up again! Two weeks later, I received the dreaded click when leaving work again. I eventually learned to park on a hill at work every day, just in case! This time I replaced the positive battery cable because it had insulation damage and "looked bad." Car started for two more weeks, and I got the click again. This time I replaced the starter, and the car started again for about two more weeks. With the simple electrical system in the Fiesta (It did not even have a radio!) I decided to replace the negative battery cable (that looked fine) to the engine block/ground as I was running out of things to replace.

While removing the negative battery cable, the engine-end terminal pulled off the wire! When I looked at the terminal and cable, I found that the terminal was crimped on but not soldered. Every time I worked on the car I would move that ground cable and get enough connection in the engine terminal to start the car for a couple of weeks until corrosion inside the terminal opened the connection again.

The car started flawlessly with the new ground cable until I sold it years later. My lesson was not to replace items by guessing or because of their looks, but to measure voltage and resistance for electrical issues.

Scott in Iowa

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!

How did Shell Oil get its name?

A. Ben van Schelp founded Shell Oil in 1917. Schelp is the Dutch word for shell.
B. In 1907, Shell Oil resulted from the merger of Southern Chemical Ltd. and Hellpen N.V.
C. Shell Transport and Trading Company was founded in 1833 as a seashell importer.

Answer below

Have you been casually wondering if electrophoretic or electrostatic spray deposition is the coating you prefer to have on your new control arms? Or perhaps you have been trying to decide if GEOMET® 360, Grey Fusion 4.0™, SurfaceLok™, TechShield 360™ or Repel-TEK™ is the ideal coating to have on your new brake or suspension parts? I will try and simplify these seemingly intimidating coating choices. (Picking an anti-corrosion coating is kind of like choosing an ice cream flavor; disappointment is unlikely.)

There are three primary types of anti-corrosion coatings used to protect suspension, brake and other parts exposed to road salt and other under-car hazards:

Powder Coating (electrostatic spray, fluidized bed)
An electrical charge is applied to the part and the opposite electrical charge is applied to a dry paint powder. The paint is pulled to the part as if by a magnet. The paint powder is either sprayed on the part or the part is dipped into a "bed" or cloud of powder. The part is subsequently heated to meld the powder into a durable hard finish.

Manufacturers in countless industries have been using powder coating as heavy duty protection for rocker panels, wheels, tractors, bulldozers, etc.

Types of Anti-Corrosion Coatings

Electrocoating (e-coating, electrophoretic deposition, cataphoretic coating, Grey Fusion 4.0™, TechShield 360™)
An electrical charge is applied to the part, but this time the opposite electrical charge is applied to a tank of liquid paint that the part is dipped into. The flow of electrical current draws the liquid paint into every nook and cranny in the part. The part is subsequently baked (and/or exposed to UV light) to cure the coating.

Electrocoating is what nearly all car manufacturers use to apply primer to car bodies. It is extremely durable. In the late '80s and early '90s, car production in the USA switched to water-born paint top coats (the car's color) to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere.

Some of the car/paint manufacturers had not yet perfected that process. There are now lots of late '80s, early '90s cars driving around with their paint top coats peeling off hoods and roofs. But, the exposed gray electrocoat primer paint underneath usually is still holding up just fine!

Zinc Electroplating and Hot Dip Galvanizing
Zinc electroplating dips the part in an electrolyte bath where electrical current pulls zinc from zinc anodes to the part which acts as the cathode. Hot dip galvanizing dips the part into a tank of molten zinc. The layer of zinc protects the part. Countless miles of chain link fencing demonstrate the durability of galvanized steel.

To help with marketing, coating manufacturers sometimes use clever product names instead of just powder coating, electrocoating or electroplating. However, some paint/part manufacturers have hybrid coating methods that are harder to pigeonhole. For example, GEOMET® 360 is applied similar to powder coating but the "paint" is full of zinc and aluminum flakes; resulting in a finish similar to zinc electroplating.

All three of the core coating methods have gone through decades of real-world testing and improvement. For example, Ford started electrocoating Lincoln Continentals in the early '60s but soon discovered that putting a positive electrical charge on the car body and a negative charge on the paint was not a good idea because iron particles were drawn out of the metal body panels into the paint, eventually leading to surface rust. Since then, car/part manufacturers have known to positively charge the paint and negatively charge the steel part. A coated part is a good choice...

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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

RockAuto has helped me fix all kinds of cars which I enjoy doing in my spare time. One of my current beauties is this 1976 Cadillac Coupe DeVille D'elegance. It was sitting in a field before I restored it with parts from RockAuto. I am a huge fan of Cadillacs and have owned nine from the '60s to '00s. Older Cadillacs are big and easy to work on at home. I rebuilt the engine, transmission and suspension of this DeVille with parts from RockAuto. Along with those parts, I also updated/repaired the interior and other systems with a dash cover, speedometer cable, ignition cylinder, u- joints, door strikers and lots of other little parts to bring this car back to its original glory.

Scott in Nebraska

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.

How did Shell Oil get its name?

A. Ben van Schelp founded Shell Oil in 1917. Schelp is the Dutch word for shell.
B. In 1907, Shell Oil resulted from the merger of Southern Chemical Ltd. and Hellpen N.V.
Answer: C. Shell Transport and Trading Company was founded in 1833 as a seashell importer.

Back up to trivia question