RockAuto Daily Driver, Original Ride or Heavy Duty?

I am looking to buy a few parts for my Honda CR-V rebuild. Will be driving the car at least another 100K. At least that's the plan.
Parts include strut assemblies, tie-rod ends, ball joints, drive axles (half-shafts), some other miscellaneous small parts. My question--is there a big difference between "Daily Driver" parts they have listed, and "Heavy Duty?" I take some roads that are pretty terrible--ruts, potholes, you name it. Then they have the "original ride" category or something to that effect. Just want to get good quality parts that are going to last more than a few miles. Thanks for any suggestions.

Gerrit in Maryland

How long did the originals last? If they have gone 200k or so, then the cheaper
components should last 100k.

Ben

(quoted from post at 07:38:24 03/31/20) How long did the originals last? If they have gone 200k or so, then the cheaper
components should last 100k.

Ben

Click to expand...

Good point. For the most part, all the parts are still holding up with the exception of the struts. I notice one relatively new front strut on the 90K mile parts car, so it didn't make it to 100K but I don't know the circumstances. I don't want to put the car back together with its old parts since I'll have a lot of those taken off or at least will have easier access now.

Struts. The cheap ones should last a year, maybe two.
About 25,000 miles I believe is the recommended replacement for the lesser brand.
I finally learned with the wife's vans to get the entire assy at the top, or close to, the top of the list.
Your mileage may vary.

Today the parts you get to replace what was are no way equal to OEM . Twice now i have repaired our old stuff with replacement parts from O riles and both repairs did NOT make 20000 miles and on the one the replacement parts did not last and oil change and i change oil every 3500 miles give or take a couple hundred . With a large amount of replacement parts coming from the land of ALMOST WRIGHT ya get what ya get. I replaced the calipers on the one car and found out that calipers made in China and Waqner brake pads made in INDIA don't fit together and some alteration is required but the pads will fit the old OEM calipers just fine , the calipers are just a meer .072 off on one and .079 on the other . BUT if you place the new China made caliper on the org mounting and not use what came with it then the pads fit . Wheel bearing or i should say Hub and bearing installed them on the old trust Dodge Durango along with new half shafts and before 20000 miles the new Hub and bearings were growling and flipping around , the org. lasted 190000 miles , the new half shafts the boots were split in half and were dry as a bone . And these parts were Moog made in China , wheel bearing on the Sebring org. lasted a little over 90K the replacements lasted 3400 . So all i can say is ya might be able to keep old going but the replacement parts will not last with out replacing them several times .

here's my take.

with struts the aftermarket parts are not that great. so do some homework.. pick the struts in each category and googgle them or the manufacturer and see if you can tell what the differences are. I've heard alot of the moog and monroe parts are NOT what they used to be so you'd want to go premium (HD) if you go with those brands. I've had ok luck with Gabriel struts and suspect KYB are ok as well. I had gotten unity brand struts for my daughters car and at around 10,000 miles the upper bearing plate broke sending the strut rod up thru (almost) the hood. they had a lifetime warranty but who wants to fix things 2 or 3 times?? so buyer beware for sure.

CV joints... aftermarket WILL fail.. at least i've had 100% failure in this area. generally the boots rip in a few/20,000 miles and then of course the grease is compromised and they will go bad. >> you're better off finding low mileage used Honda axles than aftermarket.

for tie rod ends i'd try to find a good brand like TRW, Fed Mogal ect if possible or try to figure out (good luck) who made the originals and get that brand. same thing with these... moog, rabestos and monroe have lost their reputation over poor quality of these parts.

also... quite often i use Rockaauto to find the parts i want and then search for those part numbers and then go with the best deal. often RA's shipping puts their good $ parts out of the running compared to other places.

good luck.

I own a repair shop and we use the higher quality monroe struts if you want ones that will last. Moog is not
what it use to be but still better than the Napa ones. Napa and ACDelco boxed ball joints and tie rods are
spicer and even though lifetime warranty they don't hold up that well! As far as CV half shafts your choice
is rebuilt/reman or new and we've had good luck with the Oreillys new ones.

You don't say what year CRV ? but all those parts listed hold up well on the CRV's we've had. Many went 200K ? The body's fell apart and one had an engine failure take it off the road.

Thanks for the replies, sounds like OEM Honda is the way to go. Car is a 2001 CR-V, 335K miles. Complete parts car, same year with good engine and 90K miles. I'll hold onto those parts. For drive axles, since they're still good, maybe it makes sense just to change the boots or even leave them alone if nothing's leaking. Hadn't really considered all the variables in quality with aftermarket parts. Sounds like a really bad idea to replace good used Honda axles with something aftermarket just to say I have new axles on the car. Glad I asked these questions, thanks again for the replies.

(quoted from post at 11:05:31 03/31/20)
Thanks for the replies, sounds like OEM Honda is the way to go. Car is a 2001 CR-V, 335K miles. Complete parts car, same year with good engine and 90K miles. I'll hold onto those parts. For drive axles, since they're still good, maybe it makes sense just to change the boots or even leave them alone if nothing's leaking. Hadn't really considered all the variables in quality with aftermarket parts. Sounds like a really bad idea to replace good used Honda axles with something aftermarket just to say I have new axles on the car. Glad I asked these questions, thanks again for the replies.

Click to expand...

I'm curious, are genuine Honda stuts sill available for your almost 20-year-old car and at what $$$?

Yes the aftermarket is a crap shoot and price doesn't really tell you anything about quality. If the 90K axles feel good and boots still feel good and not cracked I'd think a good chance they may outlast anything aftermarket.

What ever you do save the old CV shafts you will need them... I have yet are know of anyone that used aftermarket honda shafts from anyone even if it states OEM manufacture that did not have an issue... Google it you will have a vibration I would bet on it.
"honda cv-r vibration on acceleration after cv shaft replacement"

Re-boot your shafts its not that hard life will be good...

The next issue where to find boots that fit, I have had good luck from NAPA all the others were some fitz all boots : (

Next issue the boot band clamps I buy them off amazon the ones in the kit from napa are anyone else just don't fit/work well...

Next issue you will need special tools to install the clamps we use to build them all so I have the tools.

Next issue it can be the messiest job you ever do its just part of the game... I cut the inner boot off witness mark orientation of the shaft to the outer bell/joint, pull the shaft out remove the cross cut the outer boot off install the new outer boot install the inner boot and put the shaft back in the inner...

I charge well for this the list price of a new aftermarket shaft believe it are not its not a big money maker... Price a honda shaft sit down first...

Re-boot your shafts its not that hard life will be good...

The next issue where to find boots that fit, I have had good luck from NAPA all the others were some fitz all boots : (

Next issue the boot band clamps I buy them off amazon the ones in the kit from napa are anyone else just don't fit/work well...

Next issue you will need special tools to install the clamps we use to build them all so I have the tools.

Next issue it can be the messiest job you ever do its just part of the game... I cut the inner boot off witness mark orientation of the shaft to the outer bell/joint, pull the shaft out remove the cross cut the outer boot off install the new outer boot install the inner boot and put the shaft back in the inner...

I charge well for this the list price of a new aftermarket shaft believe it are not its not a big money maker... Price a honda shaft sit down first...[/quote]

Thanks, Hobo. I appreciate the detailed info. I'll save it to a word file so I have it. Not a stranger to this work, but been awhile. Back when I had a subaru Brat, remember those--they still sold kits to rebuild the cv joints. The "spider assembly" I think they called it. The ONE TIME I did it it turned out great, did a new boot and all and of course the innards. Must have been 20-something then.

For the struts, I'll go with aftermarket, just have to be careful with what's out there. That's pretty obvious now. I guess the big names I'm used to aren't what they used to be. I'll do some research, talk to parts guys, they know what's coming back because it didn't last. For prices, here's a comparison: Needed a drive shaft to get the car through our state inspection. A little bit of play at the U-joint. This is the rear shaft, the long one that goes to the rear differential. Priced it at Honda just for laughs. $1700--plus. Bought a new one on Ebay, no problems, smooth with no vibration. Excellent fit. Delivered, $140. I appreciate all the info, will check back with any progress. Been slow going, no one ever accused me of being speedy.