Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Success rates with cheap parts?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Agree that it's a crap shoot, especially with suspension/steering parts. Have heard of Moogs demise as well. Rock auto does at least have a spec sheet for most of their stuff....first go too rather then the auto part store cartels. Put on mevotech end links and ball joints on my 78 about two years ago with no issue.



    1978 Grand Marquis 460 2door "Blue Bomber"

    1987 LTD Crown Vic Canadian Tow Package 351w aka the "MI Mountie"

    1989 Colony Park ....Marge still lives!

    1979 Marquis creamy goodness

    Comment


      #17
      That Sugarland TX warehouse (seems most of my rockauto orders come from there) is an auto parts liquidation warehouse ( http://www.surplusparts.com/ ). I stumbled on their website once, they buy up old stock, and resell it. So that ultrapower sticker may be more tied in with being a liquidator than actual part source. You could conceivably order two of the same parts with the ultra power sticker, and one is in a carquest box, the other might be in an acdelco box.

      Alex.

      Comment


        #18
        Ahhhh, that makes more sense. Ultra-Power may not be a "brand" at all, it's just the "brand" of white box parts that come from World Trading Surplus Auto Parts when they can't say (legal reasons) what "brand" the part really is (e.g. CarQuest in the case of my one tie rod end, made by yet another company and we don't know who that is).

        So...that means there are probably some really good parts in the Ultra-Power brand and probably some very bad parts, and everything in between.

        Current driver: Ranger
        Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
        | 88 TC | 91 GM
        Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
        Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
        | Junkyards

        Comment


          #19
          Probably a good analysis. So far the stuff I've got from there was recongnizable brands (AC Delco & Dayco.) Probably old stock with packaging that was discontinued, cheaper to sell it off than rebox anymore (they used to rebox parts when packaging designs got changed). No matter, I figure if I get a dud in the bunch, I'm still money ahead compared to what we pay up here for parts. Sad when you can buy a made in Canada part cheaper on rockauto, including shipping to your door, than buy it from a local vendor (blower motors for instance).

          Alex.

          Comment


            #20
            Originally posted by GM_Guy View Post
            That Sugarland TX warehouse (seems most of my rockauto orders come from there) is an auto parts liquidation warehouse ( http://www.surplusparts.com/ ). I stumbled on their website once, they buy up old stock, and resell it. So that ultrapower sticker may be more tied in with being a liquidator than actual part source. You could conceivably order two of the same parts with the ultra power sticker, and one is in a carquest box, the other might be in an acdelco box.

            Alex.
            Those were the guys that had the power steering feed hose for my 93. $35 sure beat the hell out of $200+ from Ford.

            Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
            rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
            Originally posted by gadget73
            ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
            Originally posted by dmccaig
            Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

            Comment


              #21
              Another good thing to get from them, battery cables, when on closeout anyway. Extremely cheap. I got a couple here that are ridiculously long that I got for less than 10 bucks, I think they where originally for a cadillac, couple pig tails on them, plenty long for everything I own, originally bought them just for the cable. Then I got to looking more often and have added to the battery cable collection with cables that are the right size and have more than enough pigtails to do whatever I want in the future. Never paid more than 5 bucks each for any of those. Can't make them from scratch for that kind of money. I'll use them eventually. Still thinking about doing a 3AG conversion on the GMC.

              Alex.

              Comment


                #22
                I have had decent results with MOOG.

                I have complete uppers from MOOG on my '08 that looked really nice. Lowers, the boot has leaked since day one on both sides; as though it is made to. Maybe it is? All of our Crown Vics (my family has 5) have MOOG front end parts; from a 1990 through 2010. The quality has not ever been suspect for me.

                The only MOOG parts I have been disappointed in were the UCAs on my '04 Ram. They did not last. 30K maybe?

                I replaced them with Raybestos Professional, which seem to be hard to find, and they were excellent.

                I don't buy anything from NAPA or the local chain stores, other than tire shine. They are too expensive, and most of the stuff is garbage. Napa is better than most, but the prices are outrageous. I use Rock Auto because the prices are awesome, even with the shipping charges, and they have a great selection of brands that I can't find locally. I understand the Canada folks may be challenged by the tariffs/ taxes/ whatnot, but I never never once had them mess up an order, and I don't have to deal with parts store buffoons that ask me if my car has cupholders or not when I am trying to buy spark plugs. RA is tough for unplanned repairs (waiting for shipping), but thats why I have 5 cars and do preventative maintenance
                **2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302: 5.0/ 6 spd/ 3.73s, 20K Cruiser
                **2006 MGM,"Ultimate": 4.6/ 2.73/ Dark Tint, Magnaflows, 19s, 115K Daily Driver
                **2012 Harley Davidson Wide Glide (FXDWG):103/ Cobra Speedsters/ Cosmetics, 9K Poseur HD Rider
                **1976 Ford F-150 4WD: 360, 4 spd, 3.50s, factory A/C, 4" lift, Bilsteins, US Indy Mags, 35s Truck Duties

                Comment


                  #23
                  I would not deny that Moog are among the better options on the market, but anecdotally, they are not the premium part they once were. They are now somewhere above/hanging out with your standard white box part but inferior to the factory-installed part (and it's important to understand that the part being sold at the dealer parts counter may not be the factory-installed part, it may just be one of those white box parts living in a Motorcraft box).

                  Worth noting: some of those anecdotes heavily lean on the "production moved overseas" argument without factual support like statistics for come-backs at the parts counter. These probably can't be trusted to mean anything. Overseas is perfectly capable of building things to the exact same standards as we ever did here, but may not for various reasons.

                  Moog boasts certain product benefits like the special grease bearing in the ball joints; whether it actually benefits the life/wear of the part is something we'll never know until people replacing these parts take them apart for autopsies.

                  As for the leaking boots, Moog parts specifically have an engineered-in grease relief (a tunnel of sorts) in the boot which is designed to let grease escape to the specified direction (supposed to be inboard onto the control arm). The joints will naturally force pressurized grease out until they are depressurized and that isn't really a problem, as long as dirt is not allowed to enter and the joint is greased on an at least occasional basis.

                  I guess what I'd really like to know, but which is impossible to know, is what of the off-brands or white box parts are roughly comparable to the longevity of Moog parts (or better).

                  I suspect the derby world might have a word or two to say about it. The serious guys building expensive cars to last multiple events are putting in premium, top dollar parts to make sure the car will last.

                  My experience with parts stores, both here and in the US, is roughly as follows: they'll generally sell two lines of a given part, sometimes more. The lower line will have a short warranty and be a 'white box' part which may be a store brand, or just no brand at all, and is probably one of the mystery white box brands you can get from RockAuto.

                  The upper line will have a long warranty and sometimes (often?) it's a Moog part.
                  Last edited by kishy; 09-17-2018, 01:38 PM.

                  Current driver: Ranger
                  Panthers: 83 GM 2dr | 84 TC | 85 CS
                  | 88 TC | 91 GM
                  Not Panthers: 85 Ranger | Ranger trailer | 91 Acclaim | 05 Focus
                  Gone: 97 CV | 83 TC | 04 Focus | 86 GM
                  | Junkyards

                  Comment


                    #24
                    I bought a $50 odd lot of clearance stuff from Rockauto a few days ago, included were some cheap end links. Will see how those work out. Its an endlink though, its virtually impossible to screw up.
                    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                    Originally posted by phayzer5
                    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X