Parts brands - OE Volvo, trusted aftermarket, and bad

[WhatAmIDoing]

Volvo original parts are expensive, and for anyone that can always afford it, go for it.

I used Hutchinson mounts and am more than satisfied. But I have a control arm to replace and it costs 200 euro which is quite substantial, but I cannot compromise ride quality, unless someone knows of a cheaper, but equivalent control arm.

One of the bushing on the control arm is torn, in fact I think one of the knocks I have is coming from the play in there.

Lemforder is listed as OE on FCP. Half the price of Volvo and very likely the same part. Meyle HD half the price of that, but I think I will be buying Lemforder when the time comes.

[dikidera]

That's the thing though, you can never be sure if they have not compromised in quality.

[abscate]

Parts supply chain quality is a moving target , and one of the big reasons these Fora are so valuable. I did my last control arm two years ago, so what I order today may or may not have resemblance to the parts of 2021

[BlackBart]

This is so true - old names don't always mean what they used to. Old reliable companies are outsourcing to cheaper labor.

[jsrnsis]

Whatever IPD is selling under their generic "aftermarket" for the passenger side "front" engine mount for AWD P80s is not worth it. After 5000 miles I was getting some pretty bad vibration at idle, and I found that the mount had already partially collapsed. I put the original, unknown mileage Volvo mount back in, problem is mostly gone.

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It turns out that these mounts are just the regular p80 mounts with a little clip holding them onto an aluminum plate, so you can just buy the FWD mounts and use the plate you already have.

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I have a Rein mount for the same place, which seems like higher quality rubber, but it still needs to go some miles before any verdict can be made.

[MrAl]

Whatever IPD is selling under their generic "aftermarket" for the passenger side "front" engine mount for AWD P80s is not worth it. After 5000 miles I was getting some pretty bad vibration at idle, and I found that the mount had already partially collapsed. I put the original, unknown mileage Volvo mount back in, problem is mostly gone.
20230819_210630.jpg

It turns out that these mounts are just the regular p80 mounts with a little clip holding them onto a steel plate, so you can just buy the FWD mounts and use the plate you already have.
20230819_210702.jpg

I have a Rein mount for the same place, which seems like higher quality rubber, but it still needs to go some miles before any verdict can be made.

Hello again,

Wow, after hearing about this and what Steve said just before this in this thread, I have to wonder if this is what I was seeing with the 'new' gas door hinge I bought some time ago. The 'pins' broke so easy I cannot see how they could possibly work. I barely touched them and they broke right in half. I followed the directions and worked very carefully. Even after I found that one pin had broken, I then found that there was no way to install the other pins (which might have been enough) without breaking them too. That's what led me to the rivet nut solution.

I just can't stand for crap on a cracker when it comes to car parts, or electronic parts. There were cheap fake capacitors being sold in the past originating from China. They got sued, however. There have been all sorts of stories like that including Li-ion battery cells that had smaller cells mounted inside. They looked like the real thing but could not have the same capacity rating because the cells inside were too small, and there is a physical limit on how low you can go on the volume vs capacity ratio, so there's no way they could have been rated for what the larger case size would state.

I would think that if a web site sells parts even if they are not OEM, they should at least work for a reasonable amount of time, otherwise they have to be liable for a replacement and possibly more for the time it takes to replace a faulty part.

The last story to come out was that a company changed a part such that if you install it by hand the connections will be reversed. It's a RF connector. It had a notch on a corner that was adjacent to the 'signal' pin of the connector, and on the other side was the 'ground' pin. They changed that very part such that the notch was oriented 180 degrees from where it was, so now if you go by the notch (as is the way a lot of electronic parts are aligned) you end up grounding the signal pin on the PC board and also grounding the external connection, shorting that out as well. The thing is, when something like this is done the part number should be changed, but they didn't do that. This could mess up a lot of PC boards in production.

Lately I have been paying a lot of attention to the USB C Power Delivery standard (USB C PD compliant devices). There is a standard, then there are companies that manufacture devices that are said to be PD compliant. The thing is, the manufacturers have their own idea what the PD standard is or at least *should* be and how it should be handled when making various chargers and devices. That means one company may make a device that is not the same as another company. It's really messed up but I don't want to get into a long rant about this just thought I would mention it because now we have to be careful what we plug into devices like our cells phones. There is at least some chance that a charger that has a USB C connector on the end could blow out the charging system on a cell phone if it is not completely compliant.

[abscate]

Feedback 09-2023 from clarkerussell on driers and hoses for AC

Four seasons robust unit

My issue is that the 22mm flare nut was seized. I had to unscrew the entire drier from the hose assembly. I tried to reuse the old hose thinking that's how the hose was supposed to work, but it just stripped the threads on my 1st replacement drier. That one was from UAC and it SUCKED... the threads and body were all aluminum and stripped like crazy. The Four Seasons one was MUCH better and nearly as solid as the original Volvo unit.

Regardless, the two hoses and the drier were only about $50 at Rock Auto, so not a big deal. The only real issue is that the hose from the drier to the compressor is straight while the original one had a slight bend in it to go under the oil cooler hose a little better. Not a huge deal, but I'll keep my eye on it over time to make sure it's not wearing through... and yes, I did keep the oil cooler as I already had new lines...

[WillieBeamen]

So I'm a cheap ass, and this summer was brutal in the 98 with a leaking condenser. So I tried repairing it as economically as possible. here are the results of my struggles. figured this is a good place for this.

Factory condenser is a USA made Zexel. very nice quality, hard to bend the fins. The list price is something like 450ish for a new OEM Volvo.


Next we have the cheapest one listed on eBay. Not terrible at this price point. I am sure it would work for the northern guys where you only need it for a month out of the year. though I'm sure there would be suboptimal high side pressures for hotter climates. It was returned.



after that, I tried matching the side brackets with the photos hoping to get what was pictured. Bait and switched. Also arrived like someone stomped all over it.




The third time is a charm, right? Buyautoparts is a legitimate supplier, right? WRONG. I noticed this company also was appearing more and more under different names peddling the same thing This one kinda aggravated me for the price point, and was a major bait and switch. Same china crap as paying almost 40 dollars more. returned.



#4 from EEuroparts.com cheapest name brand I could find after hours of searching. Denso branded made in Taiwan. This piece came in excellent condition even tho Eeuroparts seems to be hit or miss after partscontainer took them over. who knows what kind of oil got spilled all over it during shipping. actully very nice for the money spent in my opinion.




I hope this helps someone. I couldn't find anyone else reviewing or replacing condensers in the forums. I did replace everything, (evap 4 seasons) (scantech orings missed some) (napa brand oriface tube) (reused ac lines because the aftermarket lines fit like hot garbage).

My ac now blows 30-40 degrees again just in time for winter.

[WillieBeamen]

Just to redeem myself from anyone who thinks I'm crazy for gambling with questionable online parts purchases. This actually turned out to be a really good deal. My compressor(zexal OEM for 1998) was leaking at the middle split Oring seal. I was pleasantly surprised when this zexel arrived for just 129 dollars. I do return a lot of parts that don't meet my standards.


Made in Japan

[S Carlson]

Bought SKP brand oil cooler lines from Rockauto to replace the original ones that were weeping and seeping. Figured that for the price, even if all I got to use from them was the o-rings and clips, I'd still be getting a decent deal. I also didn't want to futz around with rebuilding my own, if I could get even some halfway decent replacements. Plus then the wife could drive the car while I had the original ones off to rebuild at my leisure. At any rate, I'm ready for the "I told you so" from y'all out there.

Well, the "outlet" (goes from close-to-engine hole on oil thermostat to top of rad) was fine. Fit like a glove. We will see how it lasts.

The "inlet" (SKP part number SK625911, going from far-from-engine hole on oil thermostat to bottom of rad) did not fit. Basically, the welded-on bracket that bolts to the block does not line up with the threaded hole in the block. I tried to bend it a little, but nothing helped. It is simply too short.

From looking at the available aftermarket oil cooler lines (Dorman, SKP, unbranded from ebay), I am betting that they are mostly all from the exact same factory. The Sunsong ones look different in their stock photo, FWIW. Maybe they are better. Maybe their stock photo is just different.

For now, I am rebuilding the original inlet line using some Gates hose and Oetiker clamps, and the car is out of commission until the correct hose and Oetikers come from Amazon, since no local stores had trans cooler line bigger than 3/8".