79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
Of the top of my head, the only good things they sell at O'Reilly, is Fel Pro gaskets, and Wagner brake parts. Everything else is shit.
CK5
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F*ck this truck...
- Thread starter Cntymnty77
- Start date
I agree that the ignition switch and column are just a part of the problem.
I have been around trucks that had horrible steering columns, and they would still start and run for the guy to go hunting and daily drive.
I still say start going to NAPA . I'm not saying that they have the best stuff, but better than the others.
Or Rockauto may be an option. It depends on what they have. I haven't looked at their starters.
I have been around trucks that had horrible steering columns, and they would still start and run for the guy to go hunting and daily drive.
I still say start going to NAPA . I'm not saying that they have the best stuff, but better than the others.
Or Rockauto may be an option. It depends on what they have. I haven't looked at their starters.
The truth is,most of the "chain stores" sell the same parts as the supposedly "better" stores like NAPA --they all get their parts from a giant warehouse ,that boxes them under different trademark names--also most of the parts stores here use Rock Auto as a warehouse,and simply charge you a lot more ,when you could buy direct from them yourself..
When I worked at parts stores,most of them carried a "quality" line of remanufactured starters and alternators,usually AC-Delco,and they also had cheaper "bargain brand" ones for those unwilling to pay the higher prices..most also had a local rebuilder who would supply them with the fastest selling numbers,and often those turned out to be the best bargain--they actually put new parts and starter drives in the starters,and new regulators in alternators,and tested them for proper operation before delivering them...
I've seen many "rebuilt" starters that came back "defective" that had no evidence of ever being opened up at all,or any parts replaced..
I bet many of them were junkyard bought and just bead blasted and cleaned up after being tested to see if they still worked..
I have had decent luck buying used starters and alternators at salvage yards,cant say that for every "rebuilt" item I've bought..
I "solved" some frustrating ignition switch problems on a few of my older vehicles as far as cranking issues,by installing a push button to the starter solenoid..beat tearing the harness apart to find where the fault was..
When I worked at parts stores,most of them carried a "quality" line of remanufactured starters and alternators,usually AC-Delco,and they also had cheaper "bargain brand" ones for those unwilling to pay the higher prices..most also had a local rebuilder who would supply them with the fastest selling numbers,and often those turned out to be the best bargain--they actually put new parts and starter drives in the starters,and new regulators in alternators,and tested them for proper operation before delivering them...
I've seen many "rebuilt" starters that came back "defective" that had no evidence of ever being opened up at all,or any parts replaced..
I bet many of them were junkyard bought and just bead blasted and cleaned up after being tested to see if they still worked..
I have had decent luck buying used starters and alternators at salvage yards,cant say that for every "rebuilt" item I've bought..
I "solved" some frustrating ignition switch problems on a few of my older vehicles as far as cranking issues,by installing a push button to the starter solenoid..beat tearing the harness apart to find where the fault was..
Nope!
I have had NAPA parts in my hands, as far as starters and alrenators, they are not the same as AutoZone. You can try to tell me different, but I have more recent experience, and have found different .
I have had NAPA parts in my hands, as far as starters and alrenators, they are not the same as AutoZone. You can try to tell me different, but I have more recent experience, and have found different .
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Probably true, but NAPA carries the junk now too. Like diesel said, they all carry multiple lines.
The NAPA "Balkamp" brand is usually their higher quality line of parts,but if you "balk" at paying the price for one,asking the counterman if they offer a cheaper version will usually result in them looking further into their computer listings and 9 times out of 10,they can come up with a part equal or cheaper in price than the places like Autozone..some of these parts are made in USA,others are China imports just like the discount stores..
NAPA here has always had the reputation for selling only higher quality parts ,but at higher prices,compared to the discount stores--but in order to stay competitive,they have to offer cheaper alternatives now..
Last June when my tie rod ends failed on my truck,NAPA had the lowest prices out of all the dozen other parts stores locally,(even less than Rock Auto after shipping was added in!)--but I did have to wait a day to get them..they were not a "good" well known brand like Moog or TRW,they were some "unheard of" brand,but they seemed to be decent --good enough for my purposes..
They did offer other "name brands" for a lot more money,but I was not interested in putting high dollar parts on it when its life span is unlikely to be long enough to ever have to replace them again..
AutoZone's parts ,especially starters and alternators,are not known for longevity or reliability--their "Valuecraft" line is the worst,made in Mexico and most of it is crap..their other higher priced parts seem decent though....(Duralast)..
My friend buys a lot from them ,his customers are usually not well off and cant afford a top dollar part--overall he probably has a dozen starters and alternators he's installed fail within the warranty period,but he probably installs 100 of them in that same time period..but he will opt for a "brand new" starter of high quality if the vehicle is one of many that are a mother-blanker to install!..
NAPA here has always had the reputation for selling only higher quality parts ,but at higher prices,compared to the discount stores--but in order to stay competitive,they have to offer cheaper alternatives now..
Last June when my tie rod ends failed on my truck,NAPA had the lowest prices out of all the dozen other parts stores locally,(even less than Rock Auto after shipping was added in!)--but I did have to wait a day to get them..they were not a "good" well known brand like Moog or TRW,they were some "unheard of" brand,but they seemed to be decent --good enough for my purposes..
They did offer other "name brands" for a lot more money,but I was not interested in putting high dollar parts on it when its life span is unlikely to be long enough to ever have to replace them again..
AutoZone's parts ,especially starters and alternators,are not known for longevity or reliability--their "Valuecraft" line is the worst,made in Mexico and most of it is crap..their other higher priced parts seem decent though....(Duralast)..
My friend buys a lot from them ,his customers are usually not well off and cant afford a top dollar part--overall he probably has a dozen starters and alternators he's installed fail within the warranty period,but he probably installs 100 of them in that same time period..but he will opt for a "brand new" starter of high quality if the vehicle is one of many that are a mother-blanker to install!..
Cntymnty77
1/2 ton status
Not true! They carry some of the best air fresheners on the market! Hahaha!!
I didn’t mean to cause an argument between everyone on who carries the best shitty parts!
Don't apologize. This is how information gets passed around. I'm not saying that @diesel4me is telling you something that he has no experience with, or believes is wrong. I like how he explained more in the 2nd post. But I have witnessed the "top of the line" AutoZone starters fail in months, where the same level starter from NAPA went for years, and was still working when truck was sold.
Look at it this way, if we all just kept quiet while you were stuck with bad parts over and over, how would you feel?
We all want to help, and sometimes it takes a little work for us men to communicate properly about a subject.
Cntymnty77
1/2 ton status
Hahaha!! Good point!
I always make sure to buy new when getting parts like alternators and starters if available. Our company trucks I'll even go to the dealer but sometimes there stuff is junk rebuilt stuff also. A dealership starter for a 6.0L powerstroke is like $400-500 ouch.
Vombrown
Mountain Man
I gotta say I have been pleased with oreilly and napa. I won't deal with any other parts houses. Mostly as they are run by a bunch of kids that don't know crap unless it pops up on their computer screen.
Yes good parts people make all the difference in where I buy my parts.
I worked at parts stores for years,from 1978 to 1994...things have changed a lot nowadays,very few "jobber" real parts stores exist now,only NAPA is left..most of the guys that knew their stuff are dead or retired now,after computers came along,we became "obsolete"...
The guy I worked for in the next town over for 5 years from '86 to 1990 just closed up shop at the end of December 2017,he was the last jobber store with a machine shop still existing there,the other one that did much more machine work closed about 5 years ago,now there is only Autozone in town,thats it..his store was in business since the mid 1940's,but he didn't own it until the late 70's..
In my town and the larger one next to it,we have only NAPA and one lone jobber store that still does machine work,other than that we have Autozone,Pep Boys,Advanced Auto,and a few other retailers that sell mostly import auto parts,that's it...the "industry" is dying..hardly anyone rebuilds an engine now,they just buy a used one from a salvage yard,if they bother to fix the vehicle at all..everything is disposeable now..
It is getting tougher to find a decent mechanic around here too--most of the places are reluctant to work on anything "older",and most are just parts replacers,not good at diagnostics..dealerships just plain rip off people..
The guy I worked for in the next town over for 5 years from '86 to 1990 just closed up shop at the end of December 2017,he was the last jobber store with a machine shop still existing there,the other one that did much more machine work closed about 5 years ago,now there is only Autozone in town,thats it..his store was in business since the mid 1940's,but he didn't own it until the late 70's..
In my town and the larger one next to it,we have only NAPA and one lone jobber store that still does machine work,other than that we have Autozone,Pep Boys,Advanced Auto,and a few other retailers that sell mostly import auto parts,that's it...the "industry" is dying..hardly anyone rebuilds an engine now,they just buy a used one from a salvage yard,if they bother to fix the vehicle at all..everything is disposeable now..
It is getting tougher to find a decent mechanic around here too--most of the places are reluctant to work on anything "older",and most are just parts replacers,not good at diagnostics..dealerships just plain rip off people..
