Cost of parts compared to the cost of the equipment!!!

I read the Napa rant/post below. I think it is funny how some guys will buy the cheapest/junkiest parts to put on a high value piece of equipment. Even if it is not high value equipment what is your time worth when you get short life or high failure rates out of the junk parts???

I get at least a call a month where a guy's tractor quits. Go to see what is wrong and find imported/cheap ignition parts. Put in good quality parts and the guy argues with me about how mine are too high but they work. LMAO

I have not installed customer bought parts for years. I will install a used part that is in good condition from a parts tractor. What I mean is the junk bought down at the Auto Zone type of places that have everything from China.

The customer wants me to stand behind my work but would want me to use junk/cheap parts. So the parts fail and he wants me to warranty the repair. I have wasted hours because of bad "new" junk parts.

For oil filters. I go with OEM when I can. The few dollars more for the correct filter is cheap in the long run. There are much better places to save money. If you got your filters given to you for a year it would not save you very much.

Had a fellow buy Elcheapo/Fram/junk filters. Wiped out his JD 15 speed power shift because the filter restricted the oil circuit. He saved 15$ on the filters and cost himself $6500 in transmission repair. Made me money. I did tell him If I found any filter other than JD in that tractor I would not warranty any of the repair.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that factory parts are worth the extra cost even if they're more money. Here around home that's primarily JD. On items such as bearings I find JD, NH comparable on price and I believe they sell a tighter tolerance bearing that gives me more hours of use. My other thought is if Deere can still supply and sell parts for equipment that in some cases is 50 plus years old then maybe they should get all my business.

Price is the only factor the vast majority of consumers take into consideration when shopping. In a way it's understandable because people aren't made of money and every dollar counts.

(quoted from post at 03:57:02 06/22/12) Price is the only factor the vast majority of consumers take into consideration when shopping. In a way it's understandable because people aren't made of money and every dollar counts.

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I spend money where it's needed and makes sense... My kia just had the coil pack go... New one from the dealer was 250 euro, garage I usually go to could get me one for 195 euro (kia/hyundai parts), went on ebay and found them for 49 euro... Figuring the car is 16 years old, I'd just put the cheap one on it. Came today in the mail, opened it up and inside was a brand new original part in original box kia/hyundai motors coil pack. This was from a, ebay dealer and not just a part from joe blow....
We buy most things thru ebay because of experiences like that.....

JDSeller,
I agree with you to a extent. Maybe on the
parts that fit the newer equitment your on Que.
We still farm with Many 2cylinder's, I recently
Purchased points & condenser for one of the
530's we use, they lasted 2 hours & 3 ths..
I complained to the dealer & the next set
lasted 2 hours & 2 ths. I am sure J/D on
parts this old are out sourced. These new
points didn't have a felt oiler & the tab
that rides on the lobe is under 1/16 wide. They
performed great til that tiny tab wears off.
I then purchased some standerd points with a
wiper & the tractor has 15 hours on it since
installed with have to readjust.

Just my 2 cents, I feel one has to use
his/her head on every purchase they make.

RLA

rla, I put points I got from Deere in a 2 banger with a Wico distributor here at home and the points arm bent way too easy when I tried to align them. I gave it the normal amount of twist just to tweak it sideways and the arm bent in a U shape. I suppose Deere isn't making much if any money selling a low volume item like points so they are going the cheap route. Jim

I can see what your saying about good quality vs poor quality but buying the highest priced part doesn't mean you get the best part or that it's worth the premium. i.e.- drums for chevy 14b sf axle-Napa was $250 Car Quest was $119 for the same part. Both Raybestos. Same for the shoes Car Quest was $59, Napa was around $90. Both for Raybestos premium shoes. You have to shop smart. As for filters, for the tractor I normally use original stuff unless I can't get to the dealer and then I use Wix filters.

JD, I agree with you one hundred percent. Cheap parts are just that, cheap and junk. Years ago, I was the Cummins tech at a Dodge dealership. I did so many Cimmins short blocks in Dodge pickups because of Fram oil filters that came apart and plugged the piston oil cooler nozzles. I always look for the best parts available for customers rigs. It saves money in the long run.

I have to agree with you. I can run Hesston guards on my mower/conditioner til I wear them out. Quite a few years ago,I cheaped out and bought a bunch from TSC. Didn't get a round and a half before I broke the top right off two of'em. It was a constant nightmare til I went and got a set of the good ones. Of course,after buying the junk ones at 2/3s the price,then STILL having to buy the good ones,what did I gain?
Same kind of thing with disc blades and other assorted parts.

I agree JDSeller. I had a conversation with a friend who has a Gleaner R62 that he paid $85,000 to buy. He needed to replace the tie rod ends and was price shopping because the AGCO price was too high at $150. I just don't understand the mentality. He ended up buying a cheaper one, but had to replace it before the end of the season.

Jim

Fixerupper: The real sad thing is that on somethings you can't buy the good parts any more. Too many people started buying the cheap parts only and the good suppliers either went out of business or drop the part because of low sales.

I had not worked on any of the little Fords for several years. I mean major work. I restored a Ford 981. Many of the parts from Ford where just re-boxed TISCO imported junk. I was able to get better parts but had to go through a guy that sells NOS parts. When what he has is gone then we are stuck with junk imports.

JD don't know for sure but I'm thinking that when Deer designs something that has some type of filter their engineers know what the max PSI is plus just how much flow a filter has to have at the end of it's life to work and then buy accordingly. If an aftermarket filter allows bigger particles to pass through the systems it's bad as we all know. If it stops more that the OEM then it may restrict flow to the point of damage. That means that the OEM filter is most likely better than something like Fram but not as effective as another brand but meets both specs of size and life. If using a smaller micron filter it may require changing more often than OEM. So the "better filter" may remove more and small stuff but isn't meeting flow specs.

As far as hard parts are concerned for equipment I think most often you are right, OEM is the way to go. The biggest exception would be in internal engine parts. Some after market engine kids are just fine but I would be real careful about tranny or hydraulic parts. Few years ago I rebuilt an Onan CCK twin air cooled engine. I check prices with Onan (OUCH!!!) Sealed Power (OUCH again) at a parts store then was talking to a retired JD mechanic who told me to check with JD as they had used some Onans in garden tractors. Low and behold they had the best prices by far! About 1/2 of Onan and 2/3 of the parts store prices.

Rick

(quoted from post at 14:40:10 06/22/12)
I had not worked on any of the little Fords for several years. I mean major work. I restored a Ford 981. Many of the parts from Ford where just re-boxed TISCO imported junk.

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A Chitsco or Almost&Incorrect parts dealer can make a good living just by putting ignition parts on a dozen customer's tractors that see regular use, provided they don't do warranty work. Before the last one is tuned up 5 that got tune-ups already will need ignition parts again. Lots of other parts either one or both handle make you want to puke, either by visual appearance, improper fitment, or overall lack of quality of the item. Miscut gaskets are common. Chitsco ought to run a promotion: "Buy a manifold, get two pounds of casting sand free!". Both have some "decent" parts.

Many OEM's rebox cheap aftermarket crap, some tout their "gold value" line of parts (if you can't beat 'em, get in bed with 'em), or job parts out to the lowest bidder, quality be darned. Sad.

Overall, aftermarket ag parts never used to be this bad. The last 5-10 years have really changed these companies' part quality. Some OE parts are just as bad.

AG

As far as bearings and the like go, they are just like filters in that there are only so many mfgs making them. Granted you'll often see an OEM part number on bearings in many older machines, but with the proper cross refference, or using a mic you can usually get the same bearing from the origional OEM/maker, under their part number, for alot less than from the machine's OEM. I say usually because I have seen times when the bearing wasn't really anything special but it was one that saw alot of use in one particular brands tractor lineup. Because of that the tractor's OEM bought the bearing in sufficient quantity that they got price breaks and were able to pass them on to the customer. Beyond that, unless the OEM had the bearings made special for them, and they are of a propietory design (and even then one of the bearing mfgs makes them, they just aren't available from them to the public), Torrington, Dodge, FAG, NGK, Timken, and a few others are making pretty much every bearing being used, regardless of what brand or type machine they are being used in, and are usually as close as a phone call to your local bearing supply house.

The main thing when buying parts, of any type, is to know when you can go for the cheaper version and get by just as well as the expensive stuff, and when to go with the top of the line stuff right off the bat because anything else will be nothing but junk and cause problems. Like anything else there is a learning curve to the whole deal, and it changes every day as the cheap parts that were once good enough become junk, and the new, expensive parts degrade in quality and do the same thing. In the end all you can do is educate yourself as much as possible, and hope you make the right decision...

Have to agree eith everything you said NCWayne. It's more likely better quality bearing from the getgo. When I get bearings from JD with Fafnir on them I have a lot more faith it will last then the no-names from the local parts store that say nothing or China.

When have you seen fafnir on a bearing from Deere? They almost always try to give me china bearings which I always give back then go to local CNH and Agco dealer for a US or german or other just not China.I put new bearings in cutterhead on forage harvester and Deere wanted to give me China bearings.I will bet that there are no china bearings in the cutterhead of a new 3955 forage harvester.

NCWayne is dead on right.

As for filters, where is the John Deere filter factory?

Wix makes filters, lot's of filters, I expect John Deere filters come from the Wix plant.

Did some work on my 336 baler last year. All parts from Deere. Sealed bearings had Fafnir on them and all the cups and cones I put in the plungerhead gearcase were Timkens.