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Hahn Automotive Acquires Carparts Distribution Center
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By Counterman
FleetPride has acquired the assets of Zender’s Truck & Equipment, Parts & Service Inc., based in Bellingham, Washington.
Zender’s has been providing parts and service to the heavy-duty trucking industry for more than 20 years. This acquisition is part of FleetPride’s strategy to continue expanding its presence in the heavy-duty aftermarket.
“We’re delighted to welcome Bruce and the entire Zender’s team to the FleetPride family, with their wide-ranging expertise, outstanding service, and loyal customers,” said Mike Harris, FleetPride president of parts and service. “Zender’s Truck & Equipment has a strong culture, which is reflected in their talent and robust customer following that fits very well with our vision and values. We look forward to supporting the Zender’s team.”
Bruce Zender, owner of Zender’s Truck & Equipment, Parts & Service, added, “Joining FleetPride is a tremendous opportunity for our team and customers. This move will help us to continue to provide superior customer service and support for our customers.”
This acquisition gives customers in northwest Washington access to FleetPride’s advanced supply chain and provides future employees with career development opportunities, including FleetPride Tech University. In addition, it marks the company’s first service location on the West Coast.
“Establishing a comprehensive parts and service national footprint maximizes our ability to support customers with technical expertise in local markets we serve,” added Harris. “It also enables large regional and national fleets to leverage our scale for greater uptime, and lets them access our broad assortment of products, and e-commerce solutions on FleetPride.com.”
More information on joining the FleetPride network is available at
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By Counterman
When you fix cars for a long time, you hear some crazy stuff – like putting cornmeal in the radiator to stop a leak. It’s true. That used to be one of the “backyard” remedies floating around. I hate to earn the “Captain Obvious” nickname, but I’m willing to take the chance. So just in case, before I go any further, let me be clear: Do NOT do that.
Another old falsity that used to float around was that if your thermostat was stuck, causing engine overheating, all you had to do was simply remove it. In an emergency, this would at least get you home, but again, not an acceptable repair. This one, however, is at least understandable as we get into the evolution of thermostats.
The majority of early automobiles utilized a cooling system known as a thermosyphon system. There was no thermostat or water pump. The hot coolant would rise upward through the engine, out through the upper radiator hose and into the upper radiator tank. Water becomes denser as it cools, and as it did, it would fall downward through the radiator, into the lower tank and then back into the engine.
This type of system worked fairly well for the time, but heavy use often caused overheating, and the use of a thermostat and water pump was a necessary advancement as cars got heavier and more powerful.
Bellows-Style Thermostats
Leaving out a few obscure short-lived designs, early thermostats utilized a bellows system (see Figure 1). Inside the bellows was a liquid that, when heated, would change into a gas. As the liquid boiled and changed to gas, the bellows would expand, opening the valve to allow coolant to flow. These were susceptible to failure, and they also were affected by pressure changes. This was not a problem early on, because early cooling systems were not pressurized. Once we began to utilize pressurized cooling systems, the pressure built in the system sometimes would force these shut and cause overheating.
link hidden, please login to viewFigure 1 The solution was the wax-style of thermostat (see Figure 2) in which the wax changed from a solid state to a liquid, eliminating the pressure effect on the previous liquid-to-gas style. A piston in the wax pushed a rod that opened the valve. A spring was utilized to force the valve shut as the wax cooled and returned to a solid. This style of thermostat became the standard thermostat of the time, and by the 1960s was the primary thermostat in use for new cars, as well as direct replacement for any that still had a bellows-style.
link hidden, please login to viewFigure 2 Double-Valve Thermostats
While this overall design stood the test of time, there was one evolutionary change to it with the double-valve thermostat (see Figure 3). The double-valve thermostat, in conjunction with cooling system design, allowed more precise temperature control. To understand this, you first have to understand thermostat bypass. It is beneficial for coolant to flow through the engine when the thermostat is closed – to eliminate hot spots, allow the engine to warm up evenly, improve fuel vaporization and allow sufficient warm coolant to flow past the thermostat so it opens when needed.
link hidden, please login to viewFigure 3 Although various different bypass designs were used on early thermostat-controlled systems, most American cars in the 1960s utilized an open bypass (a whole other article) along with the traditional wax thermostat in Figure 2.
Fuel injection, fuel economy and reduced emissions demanded more precise temperature control, and that’s where the double-valve thermostat came into place. When the thermostat is closed, it allows all the coolant to circulate back through the engine to provide an even warm up. As the thermostat begins to open, it allows some coolant to flow to the radiator, yet some to circulate back into the engine. When the temperature rises above a certain point, the thermostat opens fully, blocking the bypass and sending all coolant to the radiator. This overall operation allows the engine to remain at a very consistent operating temperature by preventing a drastic hot/cold change each time the thermostat opens.
A review of what a thermostat does is the best way to understand why they’re so important on today’s engines. By blocking coolant flow to the radiator, it allows the engine to warm up quickly, which is important for drivability, heater performance and emissions. The thermostat opens fully at a specified temperature to allow coolant to flow into the radiator. A thermostat rating is part of cooling-system design because they also must give the coolant enough time in the radiator to cool off. Installing a cooler thermostat doesn’t always mean the engine will run cooler. Even more critical as engine-management technology continues to advance, extremely precise control of engine temperature is necessary to maximize fuel economy and minimize emissions.
Electronically Controlled Thermostats
This need for this precision brought about the latest thermostat in the evolutionary chain: the electronically controlled thermostat (Figure 3). Fuel economy, power output and emissions all are affected by engine rpm, load and temperature, and to obtain the highest efficiency possible under all operating conditions, we must have infinite control over temperature. With the electronically controlled thermostat, the vehicle computer now has that control.
Their operation is almost exactly what we’re already used to. They’re still wax-operated but designed to open at a failsafe temperature to keep the engine from overheating. The electronic part is a heater that heats the wax to cause the thermostat to open or close exactly as needed. If the electronic circuit fails, the thermostat still will open in time to prevent overheating. An electronic thermostat requires a scan tool for circuit monitoring and control during diagnosis. Coupled with other cooling-system advancements such as electric fan control, variable-flow coolant pumps and active grille shutters, it’s safe to say modern cooling systems are dialed in. It’s a far cry from throwing the thermostat out and dumping in some cornmeal.
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By Counterman
Photo caption: GM ASEP students from Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Iowa, Joseph Njue (left) and Tyler Tessman (right) work on an engine donated by GM in October 2022. (Photo courtesy of Des Moines Area Community College)
In recognition of National Skilled Trades Day, celebrated on the first Wednesday in May each year, General Motors Customer Care and Aftersales (CCA) is recognizing the vital role that the more than 40,000 skilled auto technicians across GM dealerships bring to the GM owner experience.
Through “Bring Us Your Talent,” GM’s marketing initiative to help GM dealers recruit and train new talent to fill the technician gap, unique career stories and journeys will be shared across several GM platforms including:
The future of automotive talent – A video highlighting GM Automotive Service Educational Program (ASEP) students sharing their journeys with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who knows firsthand the importance of under-the-hood expertise. What GM-certified automotive technicians are saying: Stories from automotive technicians at all levels on why they chose their career path, life on the job, advancement and more. These stories, along with information on pursuing career opportunities as an automotive technician at a GM dealer through GM ASEP, are live on
link hidden, please login to view. GM brand social channels will also be featuring content honoring the experts who help keep us on the road. “With the progression of automotive technologies and the shift to electric vehicles, there is an ever-growing demand for skilled technician talent,” said John Roth, GM global vice president, Customer Care and Aftersales. “Not just today, but every day, we appreciate our dealership technicians who bring us their skills and continue to advance their training to take care of our customers.”
“Bring Us Your Talent” launched in May 2021 to coincide with National Skilled Trades Day and targets potential talent with educational content on automotive technician career opportunities. The initiative also provides marketing and advertising assets to dealerships to help them drive technician recruitment and industry awareness in their markets.
These efforts have helped to attract and build a pipeline of talent. Enrollment in the 51 ASEP schools across the United States is the highest it has been in 10 years.
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By OReilly Auto Parts
SPRINGFIELD, Mo., April 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (the “Company” or “O’Reilly”) (Nasdaq: ORLY), a leading retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry, today announced record revenue and earnings for its first quarter ended March 31, 2023.
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By OReilly Auto Parts
SPRINGFIELD, Mo., April 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- O’Reilly Automotive, Inc. (the “Company” or “O’Reilly”) (Nasdaq: ORLY), a leading retailer in the automotive aftermarket industry, announces the release date for its first quarter 2023 results as Wednesday, April 26, 2023, with a conference call to follow on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
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