Chinesium in two takes

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BillGrissom

BillGrissom

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Not driving my 1965 Dart 273, but needed to move it. Would only idle cold. Once warm, needed accel pump shots and overheated. Closing the choke helped so running lean, probably a vacuum leak. Plugging the brake booster hose didn't help. Then found the PCV cap at the valve cover fell off. The rubber grommet had fallen apart. A purty after-market part. Even the rubber trim rings peeled off.

Second picture is adapter for 4 bbl air cleaner on a 2 bbl. I barely leaned on the air filter housing. The way it cracked doesn't look like a tough plastic (ABS or nylon). Another purty Chinesium product. Their new apartments with paper-mache stucco look purty too but don't last 2 years.

PCV gasket failed.jpg
Carb adapter failed.jpg
 
You get what you pay for. I just wish there were more USA made products to choose from as I would be happy to pay double or triple the price for a quality part.
 
mgoblue9798 said:
You get what you pay for. I just wish there were more USA made products to choose from as I would be happy to pay double or triple the price for a quality part.
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Amen. I think for years that we, including me, wished for cheaper parts. Now we have our wish. It's just that the quality went in the toilet along with the price. I guess it is true, be careful what you wish for.
 
I spent 3 hours calling everywhere in Colorado to find a starter for my jeep XJ that is made in America. Or remanned in America.
Couldn't find one. There were ones that were owned by American companies, but nothing is made or fixed in America.
I'm going to take a used one off of a parts jeep I have instead of sending more money over seas. Every dollar counts.

American made is better, plain and simple.
 
Find a local rebuild shop and start taking every one of your alternators and starters to them. Keep them in business. You will get a much better product. And the cores don’t get thrown around all the way back to the China (CCP) Rebuilders.
 
413 said:
Find a local rebuild shop and start taking every one of your alternators and starters to them. Keep them in business. You will get a much better product. And the cores don’t get thrown around all the way back to the China (CCP) Rebuilders.
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Totally agree, use your local rebuilders. Keeps their doors open and you get a better product. Also, you can "date code" the products by bringing your own cores in. Many times, a better price.
 
BillGrissom said:
Not driving my 1965 Dart 273, but needed to move it. Would only idle cold. Once warm, needed accel pump shots and overheated. Closing the choke helped so running lean, probably a vacuum leak. Plugging the brake booster hose didn't help. Then found the PCV cap at the valve cover fell off. The rubber grommet had fallen apart. A purty after-market part. Even the rubber trim rings peeled off.

Second picture is adapter for 4 bbl air cleaner on a 2 bbl. I barely leaned on the air filter housing. The way it cracked doesn't look like a tough plastic (ABS or nylon). Another purty Chinesium product. Their new apartments with paper-mache stucco look purty too but don't last 2 years.

View attachment 1715950048 View attachment 1715950049
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Yep, You'll have that now days. My carb adapter ring is from a inexpensive aftermarket air cleaner. I robbed the base reused the filter, and sold the chrome top. My PCV cap is a original HP 273 cap that fits on the stove pipe on the OEM valve cover. You must be running aftermarket covers. They don't do a very good job providing quality grommets and caps for those.
 
413 said:
Find a local rebuild shop and start taking every one of your alternators and starters to them. Keep them in business. You will get a much better product. And the cores don’t get thrown around all the way back to the China (CCP) Rebuilders.
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Where do you find rebuilders anymore? You purchase an alternator or starter and get charged a core charge, so someone is rebuilding. Ask the parts store about an alternator kit. Not available is the story. Used to be able to get them anywhere, and the rebuilders have them. Used to be able to get wiper refills with just the rubber and the stainless supports, slide them in. Cost $5 for a pair. Now you have to buy the blade. Cheap in $CDN is 15, each. Then you get into the fancy crap that does not last and costs $40 each.
Nor hard to figure out, profit margins. A reman alternator cost me $275CDN for my '99 Chev. A rebuild kit would probably be $50. At 20% markup, their bank account balance looks a lot better with the reman. Mine looks like **** though!
 
Dale Davies said:
Where do you find rebuilders anymore? You purchase an alternator or starter and get charged a core charge, so someone is rebuilding. Ask the parts store about an alternator kit. Not available is the story. Used to be able to get them anywhere, and the rebuilders have them. Used to be able to get wiper refills with just the rubber and the stainless supports, slide them in. Cost $5 for a pair. Now you have to buy the blade. Cheap in $CDN is 15, each. Then you get into the fancy crap that does not last and costs $40 each.
Nor hard to figure out, profit margins. A reman alternator cost me $275CDN for my '99 Chev. A rebuild kit would probably be $50. At 20% markup, their bank account balance looks a lot better with the reman. Mine looks like **** though!
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No, you can still get wiper refills. I don't even mess with the parts stores with those. Those idiots don't even know what you're talkin about. I order mine online.
 
RustyRatRod said:
No, you can still get wiper refills. I don't even mess with the parts stores with those. Those idiots don't even know what you're talkin about. I order mine online.
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Lots of stuff available online, but shipping kills us in Canada. Only way there is get a number of items, but you have to make sure they all get sent out of one warehouse. Otherwise they may ship from different warehouses and add shipping and handling fees to each item.
 
Cuda Hunter said:
I spent 3 hours calling everywhere in Colorado to find a starter for my jeep XJ that is made in America. Or remanned in America.
Couldn't find one. There were ones that were owned by American companies, but nothing is made or fixed in America.
I'm going to take a used one off of a parts jeep I have instead of sending more money over seas. Every dollar counts.

American made is better, plain and simple.
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Where in the mountains are you? I also used to have an XJ (got rear-ended and totaled last summer sadly) and after getting some junk-OOTB parts store stuff I just get low-wear parts from the salvage yard now (Andersen's in Greeley typically). Power steering pumps, brake master cylinders and power boosters, alternators, starters, things like that you get for pennies on the dollar from a yard and it's still superior quality.

I bought a bunch of silicone vacuum line from a company in Co. Springs because rubber quality for underhood parts is just awful these days, got sick of having to replace vacuum caps and lines every few months on all my vehicles. IIRC most of that rubber comes from India or Korea, might be wrong but who cares it sucks.
 
I'm up in Salida. 4.5 from Greeley.
I don't get to the big cities very often. When I do I go to the pick n pulls and load up jeep parts before they get crushed. I agree, OEM parts are waaaay better. I hit the pick n pull in Co. Spgs. as often as I can.
Good idea on the silicone lines.
 
Guess where the popular OEM mini style RAM starters are built? Those are super easy to rebuild BTW. Alternators have 3 moving parts minus the brushes. Rotor and 2 bearings. Replace the 2 bearings and 2-3 brushes and you got a new performing alternator if your no wear diodes are good.
 
Cuda Hunter said:
@MopaR&D Is there a jeep yard in Greeley? Or was it in Erie?
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Andersen's Salvage in Greeley isn't Jeep-specific but they always have a good selection of XJs, ZJs and WJs in the Chrysler/AMC section, and they're a U-Pull-and-Pay type of yard. However seeing you're in Salida I don't think you'd get much better results coming all the way up to Greeley since you're down south. Andersen's is decent but I've been to better yards they just don't get a whole lot overall, the pull-and-pay in Denver off I-76 is pretty good I went there a few times when I lived in Denver.

There is that "FN Jeep" place in the Springs but they overcharge like crazy on anything remotely desirable. I did once buy a 3.07:1 gear set for a 8-1/4" rear from them that I swapped into a 1989 Chrysler Fifth Avenue lol, dirt cheap because nobody wants gears that tall for a Jeep.
 
I think it's more shame on sellers in the USA. My local parts stores are plum full of parts from China. These parts palaces buy in bulk for CHEAP from over seas and then pad their pockets with our money at the point of sale. China is sitting back laughing that someone is buying the junk anyway.
 
66 Valiant wagon said:
I think it's more shame on sellers in the USA. My local parts stores are plum full of parts from China. These parts palaces buy in bulk for CHEAP from over seas and then pad their pockets with our money at the point of sale. China is sitting back laughing that someone is buying the junk anyway.
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Do I put the blame on China, NO. I put it on all of us. I need the part or item, "FAST", I need it inexpensive, I don't want to work in a factory and as a supplier, I don't want it to last, so I can sell them another. China has it down to a science. Have noticed, just when the warranty runs out, the item does also. What frigthens me is, what are they adding to our products that can be used against us, as nations in conflict.
 
Dale Davies said:
Lots of stuff available online, but shipping kills us in Canada. Only way there is get a number of items, but you have to make sure they all get sent out of one warehouse. Otherwise they may ship from different warehouses and add shipping and handling fees to each item.
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I think it's ridiculous. Between Mexico, USA and Canada, we're all on the same hunk of dirt. It's all a big money grab, plain and simple.
 
Swinger 340 said:
Do I put the blame on China, NO. I put it on all of us. I need the part or item, "FAST", I need it inexpensive, I don't want to work in a factory and as a supplier, I don't want it to last, so I can sell them another. China has it down to a science. Have noticed, just when the warranty runs out, the item does also. What frigthens me is, what are they adding to our products that can be used against us, as nations in conflict.
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Just look at the cat and dog food scare several years ago. They were using poisonous fillers, even cardboard and sheetrock. I can only imagine what they're doing now that we're not on as good a terms as we once were.......although that was an illusion, I'm sure.
 
j par said:
Like our western railroads originally were... We're the ones who set the standard for cheap parts and they make them... And then we blame them for cheap parts lol...
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We are a Wal Mart society. Buy cheap junk and when it breaks, go buy another. Harbor Freight stores come to mind. How much of what they sell is Chinesium? Yet we still continue to buy their junk. And brag about it. :BangHead::BangHead:
 
toolmanmike said:
We are a Wal Mart society. Buy cheap junk and when it breaks, go buy another. Harbor Freight stores come to mind. How much of what they sell is Chinesium? Yet we still continue to buy their junk. And brag about it. :BangHead::BangHead:
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It's our business model we can't get anybody here to build it cheap so we can make a profit so we send an alternator to China and say how cheap can you make one of these? I say man we could make one of those for $3.. You're like cool we'll take a thousand of them for six bucks each... Then we put them on Amazon for $46 each.. ca-ching....$$$$...
When we're making the money we call it the American way when somebody else is making it well that's cheap China junk and it's all the Chinese fault...
 
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