Aftermarket parts quality comments

No offense taken. I feel pretty the much the same about Advance. Mostly due to their crap GP sorenson line.

BrianEsser wrote:

The problem is people shop by price, not brand.

you got that right!!!

I bought a Duralast battery from Autozone that lasted over six years. I was very satisfied with the quality performance from that battery.

Yeah, Duralast is a good brand of battery. I would stay away from Advances batteries as they are now mad by the same supplier as Wal Marts POS batteries.

Yeah recently I saw Duralast uses Johnson Controls batteries. They are good. A rare bright spot for Duralast!!!

There are only 3 major battery makes that I know of - Johnson Controls, Interstate and a 3rd I can't remember. Johnson's have always been good. My brother works part time at NTB for fun - he said lately they've had so many Interstate batteries coming back bad they switched brands!!

Duralast has special reinforcements added to their plates to prevent damage due to vibration and such. They have come a long way. Kind of sad since Advance's batteries were rated the best only a few years ago.

deekster_caddy wrote:

Yeah recently I saw Duralast uses Johnson Controls batteries. They are good. A rare bright spot for Duralast!!!

There are only 3 major battery makes that I know of - Johnson Controls, Interstate and a 3rd I can't remember. Johnson's have always been good. My brother works part time at NTB for fun - he said lately they've had so many Interstate batteries coming back bad they switched brands!!

The third is Yuasa, they are made here in the USA. A lot of people think it is an import due to the name.
Sorry to hear about problem with Interstate's batteries, I used to use them exclusively before.

I bought a trnsmission filter from Fram for an 85 camaro that had a defective design and did not fit the intended application. I've also learned over time not to buy anything from Pepboys as the junk they sell appears worse than even the other discount parts stores. I've had parts not fit, parts fail in a short time, and I've even open a box only to see crappy used parts. Come to think of it that Fram filter came from Pepboys....

BrianEsser wrote:

The problem is people shop by price, not brand.

I wish more people would do the opposite. Reputable brands give us a reason to pay more. It's not all just marketing hype - it's reputation, quality control, warranty, and customer service that often come with a good brand. A good brand found at a good price, now that's a good value!

In general I find it's best to get factory parts and do the work myself, *except* if there is an engineering issue (such as seems to often be the case as with suspension components such as ball joints) and then it's best to get hig quality aftermarket (Moog, Meyle, NAPA's premium lines, or such).

Albertj

I went through four sets of wheel bearing assemblies from duralast before I bought timkens through Amazon online for the same price. Although I will say Autozone covered the four sets for free even though they were out of warranty. For that reason alone, I actually shop at autozone for most of my stuff now. They didn't have to do that, but they did. Although it probably helps all of them greet me by my first name when I walk in now. I just don't bother buying the duralast stuff anymore. I shop by feel and quality not price anymore.

AA, how many miles are on your timkens? I'm paranoid with the luck I've had.

Albert, did you seriously get over 200K from a waterpump? I'm coming up on 100K and from talking with a team of engineers that was visiting the local GM plant, waterpumps in the 80s and 90s for GM were rated for roughly 110K before it would show signs of replacement. Hopefully I get that 200k figure from mine....

My problem with Autozone is that they have and push that duralast crap. Mostly that's their only option, with few exceptions. It's the cheapest shit they can get made. I do still occasionally shop at AZ because it's convenient and cheap, but I won't buy anything under the cheapo brands they carry.

GMFreak8 wrote:

I went through four sets of wheel bearing assemblies from duralast before I bought timkens through Amazon online for the same price. Although I will say Autozone covered the four sets for free even though they were out of warranty. For that reason alone, I actually shop at autozone for most of my stuff now. They didn't have to do that, but they did. Although it probably helps all of them greet me by my first name when I walk in now. I just don't bother buying the duralast stuff anymore. I shop by feel and quality not price anymore.

AA, how many miles are on your timkens? I'm paranoid with the luck I've had.

Albert, did you seriously get over 200K from a waterpump? I'm coming up on 100K and from talking with a team of engineers that was visiting the local GM plant, waterpumps in the 80s and 90s for GM were rated for roughly 110K before it would show signs of replacement. Hopefully I get that 200k figure from mine....

Yes, got over 200K from the OE pump. I think the reason is just about all of my driving is highway, and the Riv engine is not turning but so fast at highway speeds. So although my Riv has high mileage, the water pump actually has not run as much as it would have on a car in city/suburban use.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

I went through four sets of wheel bearing assemblies from duralast before I bought timkens through Amazon online for the same price. Although I will say Autozone covered the four sets for free even though they were out of warranty. For that reason alone, I actually shop at autozone for most of my stuff now. They didn't have to do that, but they did. Although it probably helps all of them greet me by my first name when I walk in now. I just don't bother buying the duralast stuff anymore. I shop by feel and quality not price anymore.

AA, how many miles are on your timkens? I'm paranoid with the luck I've had.

Albert, did you seriously get over 200K from a waterpump? I'm coming up on 100K and from talking with a team of engineers that was visiting the local GM plant, waterpumps in the 80s and 90s for GM were rated for roughly 110K before it would show signs of replacement. Hopefully I get that 200k figure from mine....

Yes, got over 200K from the OE pump. I think the reason is just about all of my driving is highway, and the Riv engine is not turning but so fast at highway speeds. So although my Riv has high mileage, the water pump actually has not run as much as it would have on a car in city/suburban use.

Albertj

That's good news for me. I drive 50 miles to work each day all highway just about. Although I do love to pass people and hear the super charger whine...

deekster_caddy wrote:

My problem with Autozone is that they have and push that duralast crap. Mostly that's their only option, with few exceptions. It's the cheapest shit they can get made. I do still occasionally shop at AZ because it's convenient and cheap, but I won't buy anything under the cheapo brands they carry.

I'll usually special order the better part. It's still quick with either same day or next day delivery. I'll usually check amazon first considering I have prime which makes that just as fast.

GMFreak8 wrote:

albertj wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

I went through four sets of wheel bearing assemblies from duralast before I bought timkens through Amazon online for the same price. Although I will say Autozone covered the four sets for free even though they were out of warranty. For that reason alone, I actually shop at autozone for most of my stuff now. They didn't have to do that, but they did. Although it probably helps all of them greet me by my first name when I walk in now. I just don't bother buying the duralast stuff anymore. I shop by feel and quality not price anymore.

AA, how many miles are on your timkens? I'm paranoid with the luck I've had.

Albert, did you seriously get over 200K from a waterpump? I'm coming up on 100K and from talking with a team of engineers that was visiting the local GM plant, waterpumps in the 80s and 90s for GM were rated for roughly 110K before it would show signs of replacement. Hopefully I get that 200k figure from mine....

Yes, got over 200K from the OE pump. I think the reason is just about all of my driving is highway, and the Riv engine is not turning but so fast at highway speeds. So although my Riv has high mileage, the water pump actually has not run as much as it would have on a car in city/suburban use.

Albertj

That's good news for me. I drive 50 miles to work each day all highway just about. Although I do love to pass people and hear the super charger whine...

Automotive water pumps, as such pumps go, are inexpensive - just a fan shaped impeller with vanes on a shaft. I have not seen other styles (roller cog, etc.) used on passenger cars, but I'm not a mechanic either. You might find this site interesting, shows WPs for OE, buses, hi performance cars and such.

For common car water pumps in my experience all you need to do is listen to the car idling while it's warmed up. Mine idles smooth - no misses, no squeaks, and the only ticking is the click of the fuel injectors. If you've a well maintained engine you'll hear the water pump going a while before it quits entirely - it will make a sound very, very much like if you put 3 or 4 common marbles in an empty soup can and shake it such that the marbles rattle about in the bottom of the can. I am certain this can't be true for all the WPs out there in cars, though. True enough for the Riv, however.

Albertj

Quote :

AA, how many miles are on your timkens? I'm paranoid with the luck I've had.

Both sides have over 100k miles. I'm also rocking an OEM water pump with 212k miles.

Wow. Wish me luck guys. I've needed it with this car.

BTW, are noisy injectors normal? Mine literally can be heard from within the car....

GMFreak8 wrote:

Wow. Wish me luck guys. I've needed it with this car.

BTW, are noisy injectors normal? Mine literally can be heard from within the car....

Noisy injectors?!? not so sure. My injectors can be heard with the hood up and engine cover off. They are faintly audible with engien cover on and hood up. With the hood down you can't her them and you sure as heck can't hear them in the car. You can hear the SC in the car if you know what to listen for and I punch the loud pedal. You can not really hear the exhaust but you can "see" it with a sound meter on A weighting.

I imagine that if you removed the sound insulation (engine cover and hood liner) the injectors might be audible. If not, my guess is its valves or some such.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

Wow. Wish me luck guys. I've needed it with this car.

BTW, are noisy injectors normal? Mine literally can be heard from within the car....

Noisy injectors?!? not so sure. My injectors can be heard with the hood up and engine cover off. They are faintly audible with engien cover on and hood up. With the hood down you can't her them and you sure as heck can't hear them in the car. You can hear the SC in the car if you know what to listen for and I punch the loud pedal. You can not really hear the exhaust but you can "see" it with a sound meter on A weighting.

I imagine that if you removed the sound insulation (engine cover and hood liner) the injectors might be audible. If not, my guess is its valves or some such.

Albertj

It really sounds like the injectors. It's more a clicking noise than a ticking noise and seems to come from the top of the engine. Not extremely loud, but with everything off inside and sitting at idle you can faintly hear it if you listen close enough.