Cheap Small Engine Parts From Amazon / China

Hi,

As some of you probably remember I fool with small engines ,along with a friend of mine who also does . I just ordered some cheap aftermarket parts off of Amazon for the two of us . I found out that some parts are coming from China and there was a part that was cheap,but didn't order that was sold from a company that was started in 2005 and based in Florida . So it's a mix of China cheap parts and American ones ( but ,I don't know where the American ones are made ) . I know how you guys on here feel about Chinese parts as well as cheap parts and as well as aftermarket parts. Mostly the Chinese parts . My question is - How many of you have ordered the cheaper parts off of Amazon and how was their quality as well as performance . Durability ? Over all, how did they do in every aspect ? Was it worth it ? Thanks for any and all advice .


Whizkid


P.s I'm not trying to start a war on cheap Chinese parts or Amazon stuff so let's not get it deleted . On a good note, I ordered my friend a 2 pkg ( there was two pumps to an order , a two for one price deal ) of fuel pumps that would fit a Briggs ,etc. And, then I ordered myself an order of them too. The seller contacted me wanting to know if I really wanted two orders or one . If there was a mistake then he would refund my money for the second one . I thought that was really nice of him as most would have just sent two orders and forgot about it . It just goes to show that you have good and bad in all races and nationalites of people .

I for got to mention that the seller for the pumps was located in China as this was where they was shipping from !


Whizkid

The Honda GX390 muffler on the bedding chopper was completely shot. Bought a Chinese clone part off ebay. Fit fine. Seems to be holding up okay after a year. Lots quieter than the rusted out original.

I have had very good success with aftermarket small engine parts.

Especially carburetors, some are only a few dollars more than a kit.

The biggest challenge is being sure to order the correct part. I check and double check part numbers, descriptions, pictures. Some suppliers try to group applications, the part may be close, but not right.

I suspect many small engine shops also use online parts, both for repairs and resale. I have avoided a lot of frustration and being overcharged by those places by doing online research and purchasing.

A very basic but often overlooked aspect to things made in China is that there are two basically different types of products made there. First is the independently branded products. These are made to the specs of the Chinese manufacturer whose name can and often does appear to be an American name. The other type is those made for an American manufacturer under their name and license, and to their specs. The specifications and inspections usually, BUT NOT ALWAYS result in a perfectly good product. Chinese designed, specified, and produced products can be very good quality as well, but these products are where MOST of the instances of "almost right" come from, as there are of course many manufacturers who elect to not invest in manufacturing equipment and procedures that are needed to insure that the product will fit, perform and last.

I've bought a lot of Chinese or made in other foreign country things off ebay like starters,carbs,brass fittings etc and have had surprisingly good service from them.The
$125 starter for Oliver tractors cranks them better than the originals ever did.

If you buy Briggs parts in Briggs boxes, they are likely made in China, anyway, so buying OE doesn't guarantee anything. Same for OE car parts. I run my own shop and am starting to find OE AC Delco made in China stuff has just as questionable quality as any other China parts.

I have bought some of that stuff from ebay. Really good price and so far worked ?
I try and find a seller from inside the USA as I just don't trust try to order direct from China.

My experience with knockoff parts is that about half the time they?re fine and a good deal and the other half of the time (especially if the part in question is nearly inaccessible and hard to swap out) they?re inexcusably bad. Recent case in point was a starter for a Kohler engine. The clone lasted 6 months, and I ended up putting in the OEM part. Just for fun I opened up the cheapo starter and there was just no comparison in terms of construction.

I rely on Jack's Small Engine, great service

I had recently bought a piece of eq. with a Kohler M18 on it. The starter went bad. Pulled it off and it looked like new except the bushing in the drive end was GONE ! I then new what those brass pieces I seen were ! lol. I made a new bushing for it.

The few Briggs parts I have gotten including the carb for the big Vtech engines have all been fine. Everything was from china. You want to cry but what are ya going to do. When you can buy a complete $200.oo carb for around 50. Works beautiful.

My most recent nightmare was with a Mi-T-M generator. Had a valve seat jump out of the head.

Using the model and serial number of the generator and the engine:

I actually ordered the head, carburetor head gasket and carburetor mount gaskets from a Mi-T-M dealer. I figured a lean, stopped up carburetor was the cause of the failed valve seat.)

The dealer loused up the order and I only got a head and carburetor gaskets. No carburetor. Note to self: When they call you back with estimate, make them read the list of parts back to you to be sure they have everything on their list that was on your list of parts.

The head that was ordered using all the OEM numbers was different and would not fit on the dowel pins in the block. it also had a much smaller combustion chamber area, for some reason. Well, I have a metal lathe. I made some stepped dowels on it to get by.

I ended up ordering a new carburetor from an internet vendor. I googled the engine model number and all the 'hits' were for a Predator engine from Harbor Freight. So I ordered a carburetor for a Predator engine. (Keep in mind this generator doesn't say Harbor Freight on it anywhere.)

Anyhow, I got the generator back together. It ran and as far as I know the customer is happy. Although I added an extra 1/2 hour labor to his estimate, I really didn't do more than break even, after I had to get the carburetor from another source and spend some time making the new head fit on the block.

There was an even worse issue several years back with a Jing-Dong generator. But that is a story for another time.