Repair-It

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

Ouch!

Back in the summer of 1978, I owned a 1974 Chevy Impala with a 350 V8. It was not my car of choice, but it was affordable, since it was given to me.

Wild, young and dumb, a few friends and I decided to go swimming at a popular state park about thirty miles away. We piled in two cars and started our journey. Being young (and wild, and dumb) we drove faster than we should have, so it did not take us long to get there. When we arrived and pulled in the parking spots, I immediately shut my car off and KABOOM, steam went everywhere! I should have let the car cool down a bit first.

We opened the hood to see the radiator split down the side seam. Oh great, now what do we do? Being in a remote area with no phones, I was pretty much stuck. I knew I had to pull a miracle. I found a pair of pliers in my trunk full of junk. I pinched the seam back together the best I could. Alas, it was nowhere close to holding water. I dug around some more in the trunk, and I found a tube of Plastic Wood. You know, that stuff you fill holes and scratches in wood with. Anyway, I got the bright idea of patching my seam repair with it. I forced it in the cracks with a hefty dose on top. We then went swimming to give it a chance to harden.

About a hour later we were ready to test my "MacGyver" repair. We refilled the radiator with water from the swimming hole, and to our surprise, it held water! My Plastic Wood radiator repair allowed me to make the trip home.

Ron in Tennessee

What was the first American car equipped with four-wheel hydraulic brakes?

A. 1922 Duesenberg Model A
B. 1934 DeSoto Airflow
C. 1939 Lincoln Series K

Those Ingenious VVT Systems


While peering under hoods at classic car shows, I frequently have or overhear conversations about how uncluttered engine compartments used to be in the good old days. Engine compartments from the 1980s look like the "good old days" when compared to those from the 1990s. Every new model year seems to include some new system or adds additional parts to an old system.

Tone down the nostalgia and take heart! There is one automotive system, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) that not only has peaked in complexity but also has been disappearing from engines built in the last 10+ years. The EGR valve routes some exhaust into the combustion chamber to lower the temperature. This prevents engine knock and reduces nitrogen oxide emissions. After their debut in the early 1970s, EGR systems became steadily more complex as more motors, sensors, etc. were needed to fine tune the flow of exhaust back into the intake manifold.

Newer engines have variable valve timing (VVT) systems that adjust the opening and closing of the engine intake and exhaust valves. VVT helps engine designers improve performance, increase fuel efficiency, enable cylinder deactivation and do other good things including reducing emissions.

If VVT provides precise control over an engine's valves, then why not just use opening/closing of the intake and exhaust valves to retain some exhaust in the combustion chambers rather than tacking on a complex EGR system somewhere downstream in the exhaust system. Keep some exhaust in the combustion chamber by opening the exhaust valve later and/or opening the intake valve a little sooner. EGR valves were no longer needed and engine compartments became slightly less cluttered!

Typically the best way for a vehicle owner to protect one of those ingenious VVT systems is to religiously change the engine oil and use the oil viscosity (0W-20, 0W-40, etc.) recommended by the engine manufacturer. VVT systems typically use oil pressure for control. As can be seen in the photo of a Variable Timing Solenoid, small orifices and tight screens can easily be blocked by dirt or oil that is too thick (wrong viscosity).

Check to see if your engine has an EGR valve by looking under "Emission" in the RockAuto catalog. Mechanical and electromechanical VVT parts are found under "Engine."

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Choose the Brands You Prefer

RockAuto

It is reasonable to assume that counter people at chain auto parts stores usually do not give customers a choice of part brands because the store only has room for one choice. Every year brings new car models and parts, but the stores' shelves are not getting any bigger. Feel lucky if the part is in the store at all.

Stores have limited space, but why is a choice of brands rarely offered even when the part needs to be brought in from the chain's warehouse? Maybe only one manufacturer makes the part. Maybe the counterman is choosing the brand he personally has had good luck with. Maybe he is picking the brand with the lowest price. Maybe he is picking the first brand he sees because he needs to keep the line of waiting customers moving. There are lots of guesses about what might be running through someone else's head. One thing you might not guess is that the counterman could be getting money, earning points towards a free jacket or getting some other incentive when he sells a specific brand.

We are all familiar with manufacturer rebates for customers. Visit the Current Promotions & Manufacturer Rebates page to see incentives that part manufacturers are offering RockAuto customers. Rebates let customers save even more money on RockAuto's reliably low prices. Manufacturer rebates for customers are good for customers. Now let's talk more about "rebates" that go to sales people rather than customers.

Some manufacturers offer counter people incentives to sell their brand rather than other brands the store carries or could carry. These incentives are structured very much like the rebates for consumers, but the reward goes to the sales people. For example, XYZ Company runs a promotion for counter people. A counterman sells sets of XYZ brand brake pads. Before the promotion ends, documentation verifying the sales and a rebate form are sent to XYZ Company to collect cash, clothing or some other reward for the counterman.

Chain store customers need to guess if the part on the counter is the best part, the only part available or the part that will get the counter person a $10 prepaid cash card. RockAuto customers do not need to guess about what is going on behind a parts counter or what parts they might be missing out on. We always give you access to our complete inventory of parts, and we want you to choose the brands you prefer, not the brand that could get us a new hat or colorful beach towel.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Before fuel injection became common, cars had "downdraft" carburetors. Is there such a thing as an "updraft" carburetor?

A. Yes. An updraft carburetor is one located below the intake manifold. Engine vacuum pulls fuel upwards. One advantage is less chance of flooding. Excess fuel can fall back into the carburetor instead of into the intake manifold.

B. No. The first carburetor designs in the 1800s drew air across a pool of gasoline. "Downdraft" applies to all other carburetor designs that dispense liquid fuel rather than only fuel vapor.

The Weather Eye was a trade name for a Nash Motors-designed fresh-air system for automobile passenger compartment heating, cooling, and ventilating.[1] The Nash "All-Weather Eye" was the first automobile air conditioning system for the mass market.[2] The use of the Weather Eye name for automobile passenger heating and air conditioning systems continued in American Motors (AMC) vehicles.

The design principles of the Nash Weather Eye system are now in use by nearly every motor vehicle.[3]

In 1939, Nash added a thermostat to its system, making it the first thermostatic automobile climate control system.[4] The Weather Eye "was the first truly good heating and ventilating system."[7] Additionally, defoggers (defrosters) were incorporated with the introduction of the 3900 series cars that year.[6] The Nash HVAC system was designed by Nils Eric Wahlberg and it continues to be the basis for use in modern automobiles.[3] Nash included the first automatic temperature control for the airside of the heating system with the thermostat sensing the temperatures of the incoming outside air, the heater's discharge, and interior of the car; so that a change in any of these three air temperatures resulted an automatic adjustment to maintain passenger comfort.[8] Nash's Conditioned Air System heater was now marketed as the "Weather Eye" and consumer sales literature explained that the thermostat's "mechanical eye" watched the weather, hence the name.

In 1954, Nash-Kelvinator capitalized on its experience in refrigeration to introduce the automobile industry's first compact and affordable, single-unit heating and air conditioning system optional for its all Nash Ambassador, Statesman and Rambler models.[9][10] It was a true vapor-compression refrigeration system with a compact under the hood and cowl area installation.[2] Combining heating, cooling, and ventilating, the new air conditioning system for the Nash cars was called the "All-Weather Eye".[11]

The 1954 Nash models were the first American automobiles to have a front-end, fully integrated heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system.[12][13] This was the first mass market system with controls on the dash and an electrically-engaged clutch.[14] This "first true refrigerated air conditioner system" for automobiles was also compact and easily serviceable with all of its components installed under the hood or in the cowl area.[1] With a single thermostatic control, the Nash passenger compartment air cooling option was described as "a good and remarkably inexpensive" system.[15]