Poor quality parts

[Des]

Time for a rant, shitty replacement parts, I renewed my vans front calipers and rear shoes / cylinders last summer with proper branded stuff, Girling / Lockheed or whatever, from a proper supplier, not some wanky ebay chancer in which case I'd deserve all the shit I get and then some. At the time I didn't think much of the discs, but the pads were still quite meaty so left them for later, later being today, changed them and whipped off the drums for a clean / adjust and found the dust boots on the cylinders have shrunk and popped off, and same on the calipers, although not shrunk, in spite of a wire clip to retain them. And look at the state of the approx 4 year old leads.

 

 

A pretty atrocious state of affairs for cocking genuine parts, wish I could remember where I bought the stuf from, need to keep receipts in future and go all not fit for purpose on someones arse.

I've a stripped block on my bench waiting for me to build it up with a whole shebang of new internals I've gathered, really wondering now if it's worth bothering, will it be any better than the wheezing rattly old 140K donk it would replace.

[Bobthebeard]

Sympathise,

But don't think you would get very far claiming that failed four year old HT leads were not fit for purpose TBH.

[Squire_Dawson]

Even in the 70s HT leads were often guaranteed for 5 years. It's all a load of bollocks, as usual.

[Junkman]

Shiny shit from China.

 

Although, were those brake parts NOS and you used DOT4?

[Des]

Parts were new, proper brands, I took all feasible steps to avoid buying crap, it's not the fluid, the dust boots have dried out and shriveled up yet the ones they replaced, made in the eighties were still fine, contained the sploodge of fluid the old cylinders had oozed. Just remembered I changed the rubber fuel pipes on the engine a couple of years ago with new ones from a specialist with a website that blathered on about how they only supply quality parts as used in their own workshop, those bastards were perished and pissing out fuel within a year.

From now I'm going to be a pain in the arse for anyone selling me crap, plug leads should last longer than 4 years, that's not durable quality. Henceforth I'm being a litigous invoice gathering bastard

[mouseflakes]

I've often been let down by the poor quality of my parts.

[Junkman]

Rover P6 autos have the gearbox cooling pipes connected to the radiator by two rubber hoses, about six inches long.

When the gearbox of the RoD was replaced, those 38 year old rubber pipes finally started to split and leak, so they were replaced with new ones, of the correct specification. Two days later, one of them burst, with spectacular results.

My old school tame mechanic's comment: That's the quality you get nowadays, why am I not surprised?

So we replaced them again, this time with non-automotive stuff intended for high pressure hydraulic machines.

 

My tip hence: Try to use as much stuff as you can that's intended for real machinery, and automotive spares only where you must.

[garethj]

I'm sure there's a market for decent quality parts.  When I had a Beetle a few years ago, getting a decent set of points was almost impossible.  Even ones in a Bosch box were crap.

 

I know parts are cheaper than they were in my youth, but I'd rather pay £10 instead of £2 if it means I don't have to touch it for 6 months instead of 3 weeks.

[Ratdat]

This is why I hoard parts. Nearly all the parts I use are NOS, either genuine OEM stuff or pretty old branded stock. Almost everything new going into my 510 SSS is very old stock and mostly genuine Nissan. At least that way I know it will last.

 

Most modern replacement parts I have been forced to buy in recent years due to a lack on old stock... even supposedly decent branded stuff, is just total shit.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Modern rubber components cause me so much trouble. Particularly aftermarket suspension bushes and other safety-critical parts for old stuff like my Mini. 

Some of the stuff doesn't make it from one MoT to another, what the hell do they make these parts out of?! 

Stupid thing is, I would pay twice as much if I knew the part would last as long as the original, but in most cases, this isn't an option.. 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I also try to use new old stock stuff as much as possible for my old shitters. Regardless of the box they come in, most parts nowadays are poorly made and have appalling quality control.

 

ALL MODERN PARTS R SHITE etc.

[dave21478]

Yeah, when I was restoring my mini van, I fitted all new balljoints and track rod ends. In the six months after fitting them it did a grand total of about 200 meters being shuffled about in the yard and turned around in the garage etc. and when it went in for inspection the rubbers were perished and cracked to the point of failure.

 

I also find non brand bearings last less than a year too.

[Geep]

Modern rubber components cause me so much trouble. Particularly aftermarket suspension bushes and other safety-critical parts for old stuff like my Mini. 

Some of the stuff doesn't make it from one MoT to another, what the hell do they make these parts out of?! 

Stupid thing is, I would pay twice as much if I knew the part would last as long as the original, but in most cases, this isn't an option.. 

All rubber based parts these days (oo-er missus) seem to have a lifespan measured in months rather than years. Why is that? it comes out of trees doesn't it, how hard can it be to mess it up?

[Junkman]

Probably those trees are vastly overfarmed nowadays, due to the increased demand for rubber in the new economies

(the usual racist 'them bleedin Russians, Indians, and Chinese should walk' goes here, just to piss Breadvan72 off),

so there could be a decrease in rubber quality.

 

However, this can't be the reason for the general decline in quality, which is also seen in parts that have no rubber content.

My guess is that it's them bloody accountants again, trying to coax every little bit of shareholder value out of a factory.

At the same time, loads of people are moaning about the cost of spares, and this includes a fair number right on this forum.

[Geep]

I had to replace the track control arm on the front of daughter's matiz last year. right sod with a seized bolt in bush and no room, but did it in the end. New one was from local motor factors I use. Mot earlier this year, play in ball joint. less than a year old and about 4000 miles, if that. Got it replaced FOC with the factors, put new one on and sent it for mot. failed, play in ball joint! Went back and got a different make this time, It turned out to only be about £3-00 dearer but was fine. let's see if I have to do it again next year! Wish they'd supplied that one in the first place. Can't remember make of faulty one now but was well used name, even mot guy was surprised.

[mat_the_cat]

At the same time, loads of people are moaning about the cost of spares

 

I wonder how many of us sort by price when browsing eBay?

 

Couple of years ago I bought a set of drop links from my local factor for the BX. Only £9 each, and not the usual make they supply. Sounded too cheap but I figured that they are so easy to change, who cares if they only last a year?

 

Exactly one month later:

 

The loud bang and lurch when going round a corner were not fun. If there had been someone coming the other way at the wrong moment I'd have hit them.

[forddeliveryboy]

Anything suspension or steering needs to be the best possible quality available. Just not worth the risk, imo. I noticed NGK spark plugs dropped off in quality about 5 years ago - I was finding about 1 in 20 or 30 had higher resistance which son turned into infinite resistance after a couple of thousand miles. I imagine with individual coils and electronic control you can get away without noticing these - with two cylinders and points, it is very obvious. At first I thought it was the shift to production in France, but even when 'Made in Japan' reappeared on the boxes, they were stlll as unreliable.

 

Denso ever since, they're all good - their racing ones in particular are extremely good.

[Bren]

Bought a thermostat housing for a fiesta that had the integrity of the titanic.

 

A ford item did the job admirably.

 

I have had dizzy caps that were a loose fit, radiators that did not locate in the right places - i could go on.

[barefoot]

The original carburettor on the t2 lasted for 28 years, it's replacement lasted for two.

Fortunately I suspected that this might happen and in the two years sent the original carb to a little old bloke with thick glasses, pen holders and the comensurate inkstains on his breast pocket.

He replaced all the bearingy bits with phosphor bronze and lots of other diaphragamy things and painted it, charged me about the same as the replacement carb had cost. It's been back on for the last four years.

I've been running Mercedes hubcaps for a long time, ever since the cheap replacement VW ones went rusty the very second I turned my back on them.

[mrbenn]

Bought a new low tension wire (among other ignition bits) for the Minor recently. Bugger me if I didn't have to spend some minutes with a file making the damn thing fit. Was crap quality too, and wasn't exactly cheap. Ordered some proper bits and it went in the bin as soon as they hit the mat.

[New POD]

Anything from mini spares, moss, Mx5parts, and my local motor factors will be dubious.

[forddeliveryboy]

It gets many times worse when a car has been out of production for 20 years or more - even the quality branded parts drop off in quality. If it lasts for a year, it seems that is sufficient. So don't throw away old bits which could be reconditioned. Hmmm.

[laser wheels]

How do NOS parts hold up even if unused for 30 years? Does the rubber still degrade over time? As an example would a 30 year old Motorcraft timing belt for the Sierra still be as good as the day it was made?

[Lankytim]

I suspect these parts are churned out in a Chinese factory somewhere for a fraction of a penny per unit..therein lies the problem.

 

Even the parts which are made in the EU will use mega cheap chinese components.

[Leyland Lawrence]

Thought it was just me. When I had the mgb 8 years ago the new parts were very poor. I went through two fuel tank senders in three months and suffered a deep cut from rough steel edges from fitting new wiper arms. Both parts from well known mgb suppliers.

[Rusty_Rocket]

How do NOS parts hold up even if unused for 30 years? Does the rubber still degrade over time? As an example would a 30 year old Motorcraft timing belt for the Sierra still be as good as the day it was made?

NOS stuff is your best bet to be honest, even if they are 30+ years old... with one exception- timing belts!! Always go for something recently made if you can. Luckily, we seem to be pretty well catered for by companies such as Gates in that dept. 

[Morgan84]

There is so much cheap rubbish on the market, and human nature wanting to save money means the market for ' crap ' is pretty big; the less caring car dealers will spend the least they can on punting a motor out, and so will not care if it doesn't last so long,as it's the next owners problem. If you stick to brands you know and trust like TRW, Bosch, Girling, Bendix, Quinton Hazel, Unipart etc and leave the unknown internet ' bargains ' and budget lines from some of the motor factors you have a fair good chance of things working out.

[mat_the_cat]

How do NOS parts hold up even if unused for 30 years? Does the rubber still degrade over time? As an example would a 30 year old Motorcraft timing belt for the Sierra still be as good as the day it was made?

 

Part of the degradation of rubber is heat and UV radiation, so it's storage dependant. An old timing belt, if properly stored, is *probably* going to be OK. But the consequences of it failing are obviously more serious than a rubber boot starting to perish...

[New POD]

I was party to a decision this morning to disassemble and rebuild some very expensive aerospace parts, because they have been sitting on the shelf too long. They need new seals, as the seals come with a use by date.

Not sure I understood this because the actual product is designed for 20 years with no maintenance including seals, but the fact that they have been sitting for 6 months is reason to replace the seals. It seems to be a paperwork thing, as each unit, has to go out with a Cert of Conformity, and the CoC has in it a declaration that the seals used are in date.

[forddeliveryboy]

How do NOS parts hold up even if unused for 30 years? Does the rubber still degrade over time? As an example would a 30 year old Motorcraft timing belt for the Sierra still be as good as the day it was made?

 

I'd buy a new tb - they've improved them down the years, plus I'm not sure I'd want to rely on a 30 year one, even unused. Otherwise, I'd prefer low mileage s/h parts off a car from the right vintage rather than new shite. Shock absorbers can be a problem if you're hard on them and Bilstein or another proper manufacturer don't offer something off the shelf, if the car is raced then a set of adjustable racing ones may make sense.

 

As an example, all 2cv dampers are shite nowadays, even the properly made ones designed to work horizontally - Lip or Lipmesa (which used to be superb and everlasting). Find a used racing set of Avos for £50-£100 and they're about £50 a corner to have rebuilt. They'll work out far cheaper than new ones and work way better.

 

Citroen spheres aren't a patch on what they used to be, either. The design of the damping orifice has been made as cheap as possible, creating a wooden ride. It's actually fairly easy to re-machine for a vast improvement.