Used Car Parts News

Oil Cooler Parts:  Know your stuff

An Oil cooler  is a device that cool down the oil in your car.   It is a separate and smaller radiator from the engines main radiator.   The supply of oil is maintained at a constant level at optimal temperature.    The reason this is done is that maintaining the temperature of the oil at an optimum level will prolong the life of the engine or transmission.   The oil cooler also transports oil from the moving parts of the engine/transmission to the oil pan. 

Hot stuff:  A typical oil cooler radiator.    

Typically the optimum temperature for oil is around 80 to 95c.   Problems occur when the oil rises above this level due to the changing properties of oil at this temperature.  Oil at this temperature begins to lose its abilities to lubricate, break down and has an inability to cool.  

There’s a large parts market for this part.  Including spares.  car spare finder  greats a great number of requests for  these parts.  With a plethora of suppliers, often the request for a part is acquiesced.

Sunroofs come in many different forms from the ‘crank-open’ method on an older Nissan Micra to the Solar sunroof that is found on the 2010 Toyota Prius, electrically operated and powers the cars ventilation system.

I will be honest one of the things that always slips my mind when looking at a new car is if it has a sunroof or not, but up until the 1970’s cars didn’t really have sunroofs’. You either had the roof up or down.

Only recently when looking at new cars have I also found that they seem to be referring to them as ‘moonroofs’ which seems to be the new term for them. Most modern day varieties are made from a glass panel.

But what I bet you didn’t think was possible is installing a sunroof from scratch, so if you did forget to check and don’t mind getting your car cut up then you can have one fitted as the video below shows.

To tell the difference between a factory installed sunroof and one that has been added later all you need to do is open the sunroof and look at the edge of the opening in the vehicle roof (the hole) and if the painted metal goes down over the edge of the hole then it is factory installed. If it has a black or silver frame overlapping the roof skin then it’s a pretty good chance that your sunroof has been installed after purchase.

Although installing a sunroof after purchase has no detrimental effects on the cars structure and can increase the value on certain models. If you want to install a sunroof on your vehicle or you need a part to repair you current one take a look at CarSpareFinder who will search local dealers to find the best price for you without you having to leave the house.

UK car production figures sharply up compared with previous year.

The number of cars produced in the UK rocketed in June compared with previous figures.  Almost 118, cars rolled off the production line. 

Compared with the figures for the same period last year, production had risen 28.6%.

This is a continuing trend of production increase.  The last eight months have seen increases  in production with the month of May showing the largest increase at 54%(compared with the same period last year). 

Some put the trend and good figure down to investment and technologies.   Paul Everitt, The SMMT’s Chief executive said:

“Continued investment in new products and technology is helping us sustain growth for the sector”

In addition, Other figures show that UK new car sales had risen in June by 10.8% compared with the same period  in the previous year.   

This is welcome news after the automotive industry suffered during the global downturn.    The industry was hit with sales figures which were the lowest seen for 25 years in 2009.  The Government introduced the scrappage scheme in order to boosts sales.  The scheme ended in march this year and the fact that sales figures have continued to rise is seen as encouraging by the industry.

Quote Source:  BBC

Thieves are on a rampage around the country stealing catalytic converters.

Since late May, there has been a spate of thefts of the essential exhaust part.  The crooks, which the police believe to be operating as a gang are cutting the devices off vehicle around the country.  

When speaking to the Oxford Mail, PC Marstin of the West Oxfordshire Auto crime team said:

“Having 23 Stolen in the past seven weeks is a massive percentage increase in terms of catalytic converter thefts.  Someone has the idea and is maximising the opportunity.”   

The Police believe the devices are being exported and sold for the valuable material contained within them. 

What are Catalytic Converters?

Catalytic converters are essentially in simple terms a box in your exhaust system.  Their purpose is to reduce the the toxicity of emissions from you engine.   Inside the ‘box is an environment in which chemical reactions take place.  The result of these reactions is that substances from your engine are converted in to much less toxic substances.  Their job essentially is to make the air a little bit cleaner.   They quite valuable because they contain materials like Platinum. 

brief history:

Catalytic converters have been in use since 1975 where they were fitted to American automobiles in the U.S. market.   They are also used on other types of engines including, trucks, buses, trains and generator sets. 

Car leasing gives you the opportunity to drive a car that you could only dream of owning – whether you can’t afford to buy outright, want to make a good impression to your clients or you just like to change car every few years then leasing could help you.

Leasing a car allows you to have the flexibility to pick up whatever car you require and pay at a monthly rate, for example you can hire an Aston Martin DB9 for around £2000 a month and that includes any repairs and services. Using the Aston as an example if you were to buy one brand new you would be looking at paying out a fee of well over £100,000.

The contracts also allow for regular car changes, depending on contract lengths which is a brilliant opportunity  for people who like the latest models. Businesses also benefit from leasing as certain costs can be tax write offs.

A lot of companies will even include Insurance as part of the monthly fee so it allows you to pay everything in one payment.

So looking at it leasing can be a good option for anyone – the businessman who wants to give a good impression and save the money, the younger person who may not be able to afford their own car straight away, the trendsetter who wants the latest sports car every couple of years. Whatever category you class yourself in you should really take a look at leasing.

Interested in leasing? Take a look Leasebam who will search all dealers local to you and find the best price available.

Need spare parts for your motorbike but sick of trawling from scrap yard to scrap yard and still not finding the one that you need? A service called BikeSpareFinder may be able to help you.

The service which is quickly becoming one of the biggest part finders in Europe for two wheeled road users aims to find any part that you need quickly and at the best price for you.

With over 70 brands of bike parts available from Harley Davidson to Lambretta, the service will search specially selected part suppliers even taking into account factors such as next day delivery, so that you get what you need quickly.

Once it has found your part you can view price updates live on screen, so you can choose which dealer you think is the best for you.

To request a quote for a part all you need to do is fill in a form on the companies website detailing the make and type of part you want, the rest is left to BikeSpareFinder.

Quotes can be returned in as little as 10 minutes and part suppliers are rated and measured on their response time.

BikeSpareFinder also guarantee that they will only search suppliers that carry the brand parts that you require and with a part find success rate of 85-90% they offer savings of up to 80% compared to buying a brand new spare.

It’s estimated that there are 1.2 million active motorcycle riders in the UK and this could possibly grow due to two wheeled vehicles being exempt from all congestion charges and why spend what you save on parts when BikeSpareFinder can help find them cheaper for you.

Anyone wanting to get a quote or more information should visit the BikeSpareFinder website

Once upon a time a car needing a replacement engine would spell the end and you would need to fork out on a new model but now the availability of replacement engines means you can give your motor a new lease of life.

The engine is as you would expect one of the most crucial parts of a car, turning fuel into motion through a process know as internal combustion.

The availability of replacement engines has increased massive amounts in recent years and many now view an engine as a customisable feature of a vehicle.

The video below shows a 3D representation of how a car engine works and is put together.

Sick of phoning numerous dealers trying to find the car part you require? A unique service has been launched to help you consolidate it all into one phone call.

1 Call Does It All   is a new service for trade and consumers alike, it allows users to find the part they require for the best price in one phone call – saving both time and money.

The service works by searching four of the biggest stockists of spare parts and compares the prices whilst users wait on the phone.

1 Call Does It All searches 1st Choice Spares, 247 Spares, Breakeryard and Car Spare Finder all of which are independent from the service, this helps guarantee users the best possible price.

The four services have been personally chosen by 1 Call Will Do It All based on their reputation and standing within the industry.

The one of a kind service prides itself on helping customers find parts easily and for the cheapest possible price, saying:

“This is an ideal service for those in the trade who are short on time or just do not have access to a computer.”

Although the service is available to everyone the creators of the service believe that it will be of huge benefit to garages and other part finders, adding:

“In business time really is money, so saving time saves money.”

With the automotive industry going through  difficult times and many not being able to buy new cars this service allows people to find the parts needed to keep their current vehicle on the road without breaking the bank.

Any enquiry that is made to the service is dealt with by highly trained staff before being sent onto the four chosen parts dealers.

Anyone wanting to use the service should contact the team on 0907 005 6003 (call cost £1.50 per minute) with their vehicle information and details of the part they require.

Further Information can be found one the 1 Call Does It All website at www.1calldoesitall.co.uk/

A Mercedes GP PETRONAS formula one Steering wheel can cost as much as £25,000, which is a lot of money considering you can get a new A class on the road for around £12,000.

The F1 steering wheel enables the driver to fine tune many elements of the car from the cockpit. According to Wikipedia, The F1 steering wheel has the facility to change gears, apply a rev limiter, adjust the fuel air mix, change break pressure, and call the radio.  It can display data such as rpm, lap times, speed and gear selection on its LCD screen. It is made out of carbon fibre and weighs in at just 1.3kgs.

There is one thing the Wikipedia article doesn’t say the wheel can do and that’s change the direction of the car!   The Mercedes PETRONAS team have listed this ability on their website though.

If you’re after something a little simpler, maybe something that can change the volume or CD track on the radio.  Then you can look for car parts elsewhere and they are less expensive than £25,000. Prices for new steering wheels from £199 for a basic model, but some used part can be much more cost effective.

Don’t forget, by using used parts you’re also doing your bit for the environment.