47-55.1 Asian crap parts to avoid

[vintovka]

Was reviewing my 7+ year old build thread and thought i might spare some the pain and expense associated with most shoddy Asian (Chinese) parts.

Feel feel to add yours!

Asian crap parts to avoid:

HEI ignition modules
copper coated aluminum wire
rebuilt power steering boxes
rebuilt water pumps
oil water and temperature and amp/voltage gauges
low end LED dash bulbs
low end Headlight bulbs
low end flood lights
fuel filters
distributor caps and rotors
Sheet metal parts, fenders ect
Aftermarket timing and valve covers
any Asian made seal or gasket
tie rod ends and ball joints
mechanics stools, creepers or roll arounds
door handles and locks
door handle "shields"
Nuts and bolts
Battery terminals
reproduction insignias
reproduction parking light housings
peep mirrors.
Electric Wipers

[mr48chev]

it is hard to answer that one without stepping on some toes.

Many levels of manufacturing regulated out of business in this country is a major issue. There are very few hotrod partss manufactures left in california. Most having Moved to Tennesee, Alabama or Texas. add in that the families of a number of manufactures have sold the companies to holding companies.

1200 dollar US Radiator brass radiator or a 250 Dollar Champion that came from China.


i've got a box full of ebay halogen headlights in the shed. some that the bulb melted the glue on. all china junk.

[1project2many]

Remember when "Made in Japan" meant junk?
Then "Made in Taiwan?"
Then "Made in Mexico?"
Then "Made in India?"
Then "Made in Korea?"
Now "Made in China?"

If companies didn't continue to offer cheap junk, the price for quality wouldn't seem so high.

[vintovka]

Now "made in japan" is a good thing.

[vics stuff]

My thoughts on this , is that these manufacturers are making parts based on what is specked out , not their quality of product. To shed some light on this as a fact.
I have attended several industrial trade shows in Thailand with my wife , whom is from Thailand. I had spoken to several manufacturers reps regarding some items which I am wanting to reproduce. They will build anything you want to your specs , so I commissioned them to make a few parts to my specs. They not only look great but are as well made and or better than the NOS original part.
The bottom line is , the company that is having these cheap parts made are the blame . They are just taking advantage of the fact that , some of these parts can be made to look the same , but in detail these parts fit and material compound make these parts Junk. If you can find out whom these parts are made for , these companies need to hear from you. Once you find out who sells these parts , let the word out to boycott that manufacture.
Vic

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by vics stuff

My thoughts on this , is that these manufacturers are making parts based on what is specked out , not their quality of product. To shed some light on this as a fact.
I have attended several industrial trade shows in Thailand with my wife , whom is from Thailand. I had spoken to several manufacturers reps regarding some items which I am wanting to reproduce. They will build anything you want to your specs , so I commissioned them to make a few parts to my specs. They not only look great but are as well made and or better than the NOS original part.
The bottom line is , the company that is having these cheap parts made are the blame . They are just taking advantage of the fact that , some of these parts can be made to look the same , but in detail these parts fit and material compound make these parts Junk. If you can find out whom these parts are made for , these companies need to hear from you. Once you find out who sells these parts , let the word out to boycott that manufacture.
Vic

Now THAT is all that needs to be said. THOSE are the FACTS.

Brian

[vintovka]

Add my recently discovered 4 year old failed heater valve to the list. Despite it being a
NAPA brand and using good quality anti-freeze this POS is Horribly Corroded through and leaking on garage floor.

[jerry moss]

eveN MOOG stuff is now made all over the planet, and just because the box states made in the USA the part might be made overseas. several times we have purchased ball joints for customers vehicles and when we take them out of the box you can definitely see the difference, now we have to specify we want matched parts.

[vintovka]

It doesn't dawn on many UNTIL they replace the same part 2,3,4 times???

[nvrdone]

Boy, I understand this one. Its interesting that a parts store can offer a lifetime warranty on parts and are happy to replace one when it fails. Doesn't decrease their profit margin by much.
When I ran auto repair shops this was a constant problem and inconvenience for our customers. Most people don't keep their cars long enough to experience this kind of problem, but the next owner usually takes the hit.
I've replaced many parts on my vehicles over the years. The latest and most exoensive was a radiator hose failure on my 5.7 grand cherokee. Replaced the radiator and hoses with dealer parts. Unfortunatly the radiator hose connection was metric and the hose was sae. Within a short time the top hose came loose, overheated the engine and dropped a valve. Estimated repair cost was about $4200.00. The dealer said they would only warranty the parts and not additional damage. So I sold the jeep for parts.

[mick53]

I agree the chinese will make whatever you order. They have a rover on the moon. If US companies order the cheapest parts they can that's what you get. I painstakingly order American parts, make them or have them made right down to the bolts. My crankshaft was $8500. My damper $1000. My cam $4500. But that's OK. I know the guys who made them. I understand that sometimes you don't have that option but I do my best. Maybe it's the Veteran in me. Thank you for your time.

[mr48chev]

They do build to a price. On the other hand they can make a flat screen tv that sells for under 200 US that will last for years on end unless something external causes an issue.

When I can I buy old stock US made Chassis parts off Ebay. You have to have the parts number but i've picked up a number of things from vendors who buy pallet loads of parts and sell them at low buy it now prices.

[vintovka]

Some local auto repair places now saying stating they can't warrant parts they provide and install!! How's that going to work??

[dsraven]

that came out a little confusing, you mean they warranty parts THEY install or YOU install? not too many parts stores do installed where I live, some did but they closed that section during covid and it never started up again. we have a store called Canadian Tire and they sell parts and do installs. I suppose they have the warranty on stuff they sold AND installed. most parts have a replacement warranty on stuff that is a manufacturer defect but no labour is paid, just a new part exchanged, over and over in some cases. I had an alt for a Mustang that was replaced about 4 times in the course of 2 days. finally the parts guy just gave up as the new unit they had, and I insisted they test before I left and it sounded like a airplane crashed when he put it on the tester, so he gave me the purchase price back and I went to an alt rebuilder and got one. it worked properly right outta the chute (they did run it up on their tester and gave me the output results, which came out as more than the rated capacity, lol).

[mick53]

Originally Posted by dsraven

that came out a little confusing, you mean they warranty parts THEY install or YOU install? not too many parts stores do installed where I live, some did but they closed that section during covid and it never started up again. we have a store called Canadian Tire and they sell parts and do installs. I suppose they have the warranty on stuff they sold AND installed. most parts have a replacement warranty on stuff that is a manufacturer defect but no labour is paid, just a new part exchanged, over and over in some cases. I had an alt for a Mustang that was replaced about 4 times in the course of 2 days. finally the parts guy just gave up as the new unit they had, and I insisted they test before I left and it sounded like a airplane crashed when he put it on the tester, so he gave me the purchase price back and I went to an alt rebuilder and got one. it worked properly right outta the chute (they did run it up on their tester and gave me the output results, which came out as more than the rated capacity, lol).

My Mechman alt was sold at 250 Amps and they tested it out at 256 Amps and 198 Amps at 800 RPM. I think it was $500.

[vintovka]

Originally Posted by dsraven

that came out a little confusing, you mean they warranty parts THEY install or YOU install?

Said right first time. Replacement parts have become so unreliable some local installers will either NOT warrant them or cover the replacement labor regardless of who provides the parts. This is what we have come to. They do warn you up front.

[dsraven]

I usually have pretty good luck with the Napa premium starters and alternators. on older stuff, like the mustang, it is usually not in stock so they gotta order it. in this casw the ford alt had some issues so wiring needed to be checked/upgraded at the plug etc. I have a rebuilder that I use for the odd stuff if I don't really trust the aftermarket stuff. sometimes its an exchange, which is nice because they are across town for me so about a 45 minute drive if not rush hour, but having them rebuild the unit I give them usually means a day or two and a trip across town again. ok if I have other erands but otherwise it sucks AND ties up my bay unless I put stuff together enough to drive it outside and park it. thats a waste of my time that can't get charged out though.
I'm kinda done with fixing other peoples vehicles now though. unless they are family or close friends or elderly and broke.

[1project2many]

Boy, I understand this one. Its interesting that a parts store can offer a lifetime warranty on parts and are happy to replace one when it fails. Doesn't decrease their profit margin by much.

Look at your pricing. "Lifetime warranty" parts are almost 2X the cost of "minimal warranty" parts. Seems like you're buying the next part right along with the current one.

[michael bustamante]

so sheet metal i agree 100%, i used to work for keystone and national auto parts and even the CAPA certified has a 20% difference in production..
that could either be thinner metal, mounting holes incorrect, part a little bit too long or short in one corner, it doesnt matter.. they only need to be 80% correct..
also, most taiwan or other manufactures will use old dies, meaning the part wont have sharp corners and such

[jerry moss]

at the shop where i work my boss likes orielly garbage, my head mechanic and myself have tried too many times to get him to purchase OE parts- they fit, they function as intended and lots of times are equal to or cheaper than aftermarket crap that you end up changing multiple times under warranty. trying to convince him that comebacks cost the shop double is impossible. fortunately for me he has another shop and lets me run the one where i work most of the time. we will install customer supplied parts with no warranty and it states that on our repair orders that must be signed by the customer prior to repairs being started.

[vintovka]

Guess i should drop the "asian" from the heading even tho China is in the lead. seems many nations, including this one, are producing sub par parts at an alarming rate. This should give anyone with a brain pause before buying parts and put a real dent in the thought of anyone considering a restoration project Common sense would dictate that if restoration becomes totally cost-infective the value of those items to be restored may plummet. The old clause of parts cost plus 2x for labor is having a whole new meaning.

[VWNate1]

Subscribed .

I know people who've had Chinese repop stuff made, they send an original part to be copied the pre production parts comes back and it's *perfect* so they sign the contract and then get slammed with zero quality junk .

Many simply don't care, they know up front that most retail buyers will accept the cheap crap and won't bother to make an complaints .

I went through this with repop 1956 ~ 1959 VW turn signal switches and when I took a bad one back they had a jig set up on a work bench to "test" them and the sales guy SLAMMED the switch hard, you cannot do this when it's clamped to the mast jacket, they know it, tough tukis buddy .

[_Ogre]

thought i might spare some the pain and expense associated with most shoddy Asian (Chinese) parts.

If you throw in black vendors, maybe pollock vendors and just use white vendors, you can get quality parts! The problem is that most white vendors actually don't want to work for low bid, under minimum wages.
You get what you pay for. It's not the Chinese, black or pollocks that make faulty stuff, it's the vendors who shop around for the cheapest price, at quality be damned prices that you have your beef with.
Yeah, this rubbed me wrong. Racism in any color is wrong.

[Rickysnickers]

Ok, well, I think it's about time to close this one. If you all want to just list "Crappy Parts" thread, then go ahead.