I ran into a set of motor mounts like that at O'reilly's recently. I couldn't believe the poor quality. Looked like they were made out of 16 ga sheet metal. I told the kid, "I'm sorry, I can't put those on my car" and went home and ordered a good set of Energy Suspension mounts online. If we don't buy them, they can't sell them. If they can't sell them, they won't make them. Pay a little more and hold out for decent quality.
H/F 4.5' angle grinder,$9.00. Bosch,$89.99 H/Dbigbox. Blang Shin ball joint, $8.99. Moog, $21.99. Oncoming traffic in the windshield, priceless. Sorry had to.
I AM NOT promoting Chinese or any other specific country's goods. But, I believe that those Countries are capable of making good/better quality parts than we often see. The difference is, who is the vendor BUYING those parts and what price point or quality level are they aiming for? If given tight specifications for metalurgy, dimensions, etc, I think they could, and do, make competive quality items. On the other hand, if the company contracting for the goods only specifies the general dimensions of the item and requires lowest possible price, CRAP is what gets made. As I see it, our only defense is refuse to buy this stuff AND write letters to the marketers of this crap and let them know we're not happy! It may make no difference, if we are a small minority, but if we don't protest, nothing will get done for sure. Ray
Hahahhaaa....someone else with my warped sense of rationality. Although, maybe they are special lightweight racing mounts.
I was looking for a pair of "non-safety" motor mounts for a Corvette I was redoing; I went through a lot of crap mounts, and ended up with the best available; Made in Isreal. What's this country coming to?
A friend of mine purchaced mounts for a 350 Chevy and the holes were so close to the sides that you couldent even get a socket on the head of the bolt.
We do tell them that! And the manufacture people tell the government"we want a tax shelter to do it, or, we cant compete on the global market" Either way, The tax paying American consumer gets stuck picking up the tax slack or the quality slack. Just my 2 cents.
Chinese plants can make absolutely top-quality stuff - and when we're talking motor mounts and balljoints you're talking about fifty, hundred-year-old tech, it's not hard to do. But...someone has to be doing rigorous and relentless QA on the stuff, 'cause there's a term of art for what happens when you stop paying attention: quality fade. Everyone's got a cousin who can get something cheaper, a steel supplier who'll kick 3% back to the plant manager (what, you mean the test sheets look like you photocopied the other guy's?), maybe the foreman will skip the finish cut on the parts that aren't visible so he can get the contracted batch done and shipped early so his crew can run the next two days' production to sell out the back door on their own.
I have to do the whole front end in my 86 c20 it was like 350 for oreilly's and 650 for moog and trw... I'm going moog and trw I aint gonna mess with it my wore out rattlin oem's are safer than these motormounts
The person buying it is ultimately responsible. The cook burnt it, the waitress brought it but you didn't have to buy it. I always look at the parts first. Went to a Harley dealership because of a bad gas tank petcock. They brought one out and said it was OEM. The parts bag read made in Japan. I refused to buy it and ended up buying a Pingle which was made in the USA.
95% or better of the parts and accessories that you buy today in any Harley shop will be made in Japan or places like that. Japan is actually about the best when it comes to anything offshore, the quality goes downhill from there rather steeply.
That is absolutely true. Stupid is an epedemic and will not easily go away. People with limited intelligence usually don't recognize their own limitations
The best cure is to return the part for a refund. The data from the cash register makes its way to corporate and gets analyzed by the bean counters. If enough returns come in it gets their attention. Competition brings out the best and worst. It's not about India, China, Japan, Mexico, Canada or the USA. They all can make good and bad stuff. It's about business and competition--- competition to make the best part and/or competition to make the cheapest part. If the good parts don't sell, they make them cheaper, if the cheap parts get returned, they make them better. The end result is supposed to be a balance between good and cheap, but it takes a long time for the dust to settle. The last time I purchased brake rotors I had a menu of manufacturers and quality levels to choose from -- anywhere from $85 to $285 for a set of brake rotors.
I am of the , stop buying it, and it will go away kind of thinking. they only survive and sell, because someone is buying it..quality can be forced from the consumer..it just takes a while. I also think they are building what they are told to build..nothing more. its about cutting cost, hell they probably dont even know what the hell it is they are making and what it does. spend a few extra bucks and get what you need
I took the mount's back and I went to Napa the mounts they had looked worse than the Korean one, but far better than the Inda Anchor mount, went to car quest same deal..... all were some form of import I wanted a oe look for the car but might have to go with polyurethane mount..
Bingo. There is your answer. Any time in the recent past when I have had to replace any mount, engine or trans I have always been disappointed in what the parts stores sell. Compared to an OEM mount they are terrible,they look something like what they should be but are generally junk and nowhere close to what an OEM part was. The urethane mounts from Prothane etc are the way to go.
yup, go with the poly mounts changed the engine in my '61 impala, original mounts were broken. picked up a set at napa, after 2 months use, the left broke. nothing like changing those mounts in the car. that was in '95, so a "quality" offshore mount still doesn't exist
We, the American people as a whole have stopped demanding quality at a reasonable price. We only look at what our initial cost is not what it will cost us in the long run. Unfortunately, it's not just auto parts, but everywhere you look they are feeding the public poor quality at a cheap price. It's our own fault. If we accept poor quality, they give it to us. If we demand good quality, eventually they will have to step up and improve the quality. Look at the furniture imdustry. Nearly everything on the market is particle board or mdf. Years ago, I demanded good quality furniture, I paid a little more for it, but in the long run it has lasted 35 years and is still as sturdy as the day I bought it, even after raising three kids. Demand quality and eventually we will get it. Don't settle for junk know matter how cheap it is. Sorry, done ranting now.
Don't post until you get several in a row that are bad. You have to remember that out of several hundred thousand that you have a bad one. If you get several bad ones it is a problem. That said I try to avoid O'Reilly's any more,you can ask for a better quality part from them and get it but normally they guve you the cheapest they have if you are not savvy enough to ask for the good parts. I don't like doing business with a place that doesn't try and give me their best up front.
Hey Benno....I understand your point, but from a business like O'Reilly's point of view, who cater more to the DIY customer, not the professional, quoting the price of better goods may cost them the sale. The very people we are complaining about here, the "cheapest price" customer, may only ask for a price with which to comparison shop and move on to one of the other chain parts stores and see if he can beat the deal. Unfortunately, if "you" (you, me, anyone) aren't in the mainstream target audience for any type of product, you got to do a little more work to get what you want. Ray
You no doubt are correct. I got the folks at the zone trained, they just go for the federal mogul part right away.
I dunno... I'd rather take my chances getting something from the guy who believes in the ten commandments and the "love thy neighbor" than the atheist who believes in the "f**k your buddy (and his wife) until you get what you want" routine... There are a few bad apples in every religion/faith/non-religion/faithless group making the rest look bad. Just sayin'.
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