Horrible auto parts store experience and heater core ?

The night starts off harmless enough, I go to Checker, pick up some Heater Hose, Antifreeze, Power steering fluid, and a set of plug wires.....

I have had a short heater hose in a loop from the T-stat housing to the water pump because I needed to drive the XJ but didnt have enough hose(put the engine back in last week and converted to an open system and didn't want to put the jungle gym of heater hoses back in). After replacing the hoses and burping out the system, all was well except I couldnt get it to go from defrost in any mode....No biggie, I found the disconnected Vaccume line under the hood, hooked it up and bingo, heat works great as does the heater controls now. SUCCESS**

I had to replace the old Plug wires cause two of the old ones were arcing to the block causing the engine to run rough, I replaced the wires and now she purrs like a kitten! SUCCESS

The power steering pump was whining but not real bad So i figured a good flush might me just what it needs, I go to pull the return line off the reservior and SNAP I broke the plastic nipple off and cracked the reservior real bad.....Oh well, Sh!t happens, prolly needed a new pump anyhow.... Heres where the real fun starts. I go online to Checkers website (also known as Schucks or Kragens depending where you are) and I find a pump with reservior for $61.99, not a bad price, and there is only one store in the city that has one, autozone and bumper to bumper both have to order it . I get there, get the part, bring it to the counter to pay and it comes up as $86.00 plus core, I argued with the little prick behind the counter about the price discrepancy and he tells me he wont pricematch the online price WTF NOW I'M P!SSED. I wasn't quite sure of the policy, so I bought the pump cause I really need it for the weekend. I get home and look on the online store again, check the part numbers yadda yadda, and find out you can buy it online for the $61.99 and pick it up from the store, again WTF, by this time Its too late to try and sort this out with the dipstick at Checker so WWIII will commence tomorrow morning and I WILL GET MY $26 bucks back or heads are gonna roll.

Now if that wasnt enough, on my way back from checker I called autozone cause I needed a power steering pully puller (checker didnt have one) and it was 10 min before autozone closed 7:50pm I tell him I will be there in 5min to pick it up. I get to autozone and the door is locked, I pound on the door (already p!ssed about the Checker ordeal) and he comes to the door, I ask him if I can pick up the tool and he says "Sorry, I already closed out the till and I can't let you take it cause I need to run your info through the computer for the deposit and such". OMFG at this point I think I am going to have an aniorism (sp) I spout off a few choice words and realizing he really wasnt' gonna let me take it, I left for home.

Here I am now at home, removed the old pump, Paid $26 too much for the new pump, have no way of removing the old pulley, and to top it off, I find a small puddle of coolant under the jeep, could be runoff from when I filled it or it could be a leaking heater core How big of a pain is it to replace the heater core if that ends up being the prob? I really don't have the gumption to investigate the leak any further tonight

I need Therapy and about 18 of these after this night:cheers:

Don't like to pile on when a guy is already down, but replacing the heater core is a PITA. Can't do it from the engine side -- you have to pull the dashboard.

LOL, I never notice the leak before I pulled the engine, but I could have easily bumped the nipples hard enough to crack a solder joint or something, I am assuming that the heater box has a drain thingy out of it and thats why there is a puddle outside rather than in the jeep, if this is not the case please someone tell me the good news cause there is now way that its the core then and I will have to look elsewhere, I took a hot show to settle down and I am in for the night so I really won't know till tomorrow Gotta take lifes good with the bad, maybe tomorrow will be a better day....

Is it coolant or could it be condensation from the AC system?

Regarding online parts houses, Autozone is the only one I know that harmonizes its in-store and online prices. PartsAmerica (Schucks, Kragen, Checker) used to do it but now plays games, although I've found that if I print out the online price and take it in to the store they ususally match it. NAPA is the worst--apparently NAPA online is independent of the stores and actually competes against them. The guys at my local NAPA store just smirk if I ask them to match an online price. Rock Auto uses a java applet that must vex those with slow dial-up connections, but their prices aren't bad. And as for Pep Boys, arrgghs what a useless site. It's all very interesting from a competitive perspective. While I don't buy a lot of parts from Autozone, this seems to be the only one which understands that the purpose of integrating sales channels is to attract customers, not piss them off.

Erik
88 Comanche

Agree with Erik 110%. 75% of the reason I buy from Auto Zone is that I can easily navigate their web site, look up a part, see the price, AND know if it is in stock at my local store. Can't do any of that using Pep Boys or Advance (Parts America). I have Pep Boys and Auto Zone right across the street from each other and Advance half a mile away from those two, so the one that makes it easy for me is the one that gets the business.

UPDATE:

I called the phone # on Parts America's (checkers) website and talked to a rep, He informed me that there was no reason the guy at checker could not have price matched the online price, He was very helpful and even called the manager at the Checker store and demanded that I got the differnce refunded to me, He had us on 3 way and the Manager of this particular Checker was trying to say that they recently adopted a new policy that they would no longer match the online price because the store looses money due to handling and so on.

Anyhow, I got the pump for the online price and got it all sorted out, The strange thing is that you can buy any of the parts online and then you have the option to choose a local store to pick it up from providing they have it in stock, Now how does the Store manager expect to aviod giving up the part for the online price when its already paid for and you come to his store to pick it up with a purchase order?????? I think he was full of crap and was just trying to pocket money for the store and make himself look better. This is not the normal Location I deal with, and Will not be dealing with them again, the one by my house is much better, however, they are getting a little stingy on prices also, there are a few things I have noticed that they wont even price match Autozone for!!!!

Autozone will get most of my business from now on, they seem to have it all together so at least I know what is going on when I get there, even if the turd behind the counter doesn't, Totally depends on the people running the store, so as a word of caution, be a bargain shopper and check around and make sure your getting the deal you are thinking you are getting...

Josh

Edit: Also concerning the autozone closing early and not letting me take the puller I needed.... I went up there in the morning and told the manager the situation the night before and he readily appologized and said that they have had probs with this particular employee in the past and this might be the final straw in his employment Just goes to show, you can't judge on just one experience, they have been great otherwise

Parts stores

I drive past 2 other stores to get to the NAPA -- I have found the are very helpful both locally and when I have a problem on the road.

About that heater core possibly leaking...

I just changed mine (95) cause I was getting antifreeze on my pass floor board (no carpet, obviously green.) It sucked... You have to get your AC evacuated first, so you can disconnect the ac lines that go through the firewall.

If your coolant is under the engine area, I don't think it would be your heater core, as there is only a few inches of heater core piping sticking into the engine compartment. It looks like any leak on the heater core would show up in the cab.

Whats wierd is that I can't find the leak on my old heater core??? The new one is in, and my floor is dry though.

Hopefully you don't have to do this job.

CB

NAPA!

I love NAPA. They are more expensive but they usually have better quality parts. At least the ones I have needed recently. I was in major need of the tie rod end that connects to the center of the draglink bar on my 1988 XJ. Pep boys, Autozone, and Advance(Parts America) all had the wrong part! The threads were too big and the wrong direction! I went to Napa and they had it. It was a Dana part to boot! Manufactured 1.5 hours from my house in Toledo Ohio. They have my business from now on. When I need some Fast and the Furious crap I'll go to the others.

Burley

NAPA NAPA NAPA - for many parts they offer the junk parts to compete with the other chains; however, they also offer quality parts. Around here you get a 7+% discount with a AAA card. I seem to buy enough parts that it pays for the AAA. It's a mile and a half from my house and I drive right past it on the way home from work. The only downside is that they close at 6.

Geez - I wasted three years behind the counter at Kragen's, so the only thing I'll buy there now is "staples" (mostly fluids - I even go to the hardware store for my cleaners since they have LPS Precision Clean...) and I drive right past them to go get parts a small chain called "All Parts" - great guys - I throw them curve balls and they run with them! Half of the guys there either now drive or will drive or used to drive Jeeps, nearly all of them have trucks, and none of them mind when I come in swearing is six languages because something else blew up in my face! Another nice thing about the little outfits - send them business and keep coming back, and your prices start to fall... Between getting jobber at the local and jobber at the dealership (they know me real well there too!) I've probably saved enough to buy a couple more XJ's...

Short form - DO NOT shop at Kragen's/Checker/Schuck's for anything you don't already know what it is...

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