Ok... you all might remember this tale...

Early Jan, 2005, the stock L98 blows a head gasket.

Early Mar, 2005, I get the car back on the road, running like a champ! A few teething issues, but otherwise, very nice.

Mid Jun, 2005, on her way to Riverside, the serp belt slid off (she was on the 91, #1 lane, at 70+MPH). She had to navigate off the freeway, cause the battery light went on and the PS quit... then she noticed the temps SOARING! I am guessing she drove at least 5 minutes, more than likely more, to find a safe parking area. The engine was still in break in, so it was full of Castrol GTX (2nd change, the first change was clean).

Mid Jun, 2005, I fix the problem by shimming the hell outta the brackets and the waterpump pulley. No more serp belt sliding off. However, the waterpump just didn't look right. The pump is an aluminum Milodon.

Late Sept, 2005, I notice that the oil pressure is low...

Early Oct, 2005, I drain the oil, metal... remove the filter, metal... drop the pan, remove #2 main, torn to hell.

Mid Oct, 2005, take the top end apart, and found that all three brackets were cracked. I assumed at this point that the brackets were the ultimate cause of the belt failures.

This week. I sent that pump to Agent86 for his project. He reported that the belt didn't fit right, infact, asked if I was loosing the belt! He did what I couldn't - he compared it to the factory GM WP and found that the pulley mounting surface was a good 1/4" closer to the pump! Also, found that the centering point, where the hub of the pulley is supposed to sit, did not fit the pulley right. Hense, the pulley was mounting out of round!

At the time (Mid June, 2005) I called Milodon and got some peckerhead who implied that their product was perfect and there were no defects. I compared the part number to the unit I had to the unit their website said I should have, and it matched.

If that's a zero defect product, I would hate to see one with defects.

This is a warning to all... be sure that the aftermarket part fits as it is supposed to.

 

I would second the caution!

This thought crossed my mind: If the people employed by the plant making the parts have no concept of motor parts and what they do & where they fit & the parts relation to other parts that it supports how can a worker "see" if a part may have suffered from a bad process?

I'm an old fart , 54, and I remember when parts were made by people who knew cars because they lived in a country where cars were common. Chances are those workers turned a few wrenches themselves and could "see" that something was not right when they were working on the line. Maybe I'm just senile or just dreaming. Who knows but answer me this, how can you make something if you have no idea what it does or where it goes or what it's supposed to look like when finished?

Sorry to all for my outburst.:o


Tom

 

Ouch! That sucks!

 

Well your kinda right I worked in a plastics plant and made interior trim for GM minivans and S10 trucks. We had fixtures to put parts into every so ofton to make sure they were not shrinking too much and that holes were the right size etc... I spun alot of wrenches then maybe more than now but still didnt understand why some of the most ridiculous measurements were being made. I knew some people who didnt care about putting a good part in the box because our pay wasnt much more than minimum wage and if bad parts were found at the manufacturer that would cause overtime and they lived for overtime.

One other thing to consider is most parts like the waterpump is its prolly made in china or bangledesh where they have never even seen a smallblock Chevy.

I'm done , Tom

 

I do know that years ago I learned to compare the old with the new.Keeps some peckerhead from sending me out the door with a part that won't work.

 

They can still fake you out sometimes. Changed out the master cylinder in my truck years ago. Looked correct. Major problem, absolutly no brakes when it was installed. Bled and bled them, nothing. Took it back and told some peckerhead that somethings the matter with it. He swore it was the right part. Fortunately they still had my old core. Studied them more closely and found that the hole where the rod pushes in the piston was about 1/2" deep on the original, probably 1 1/2"deep on the replacement. No wonder the pedal went almost to the floor. Opened up more boxes of master cylinders...all the same part number, and found one that was the same as mine. That was long enough ago that the parts were probably still being rebuilt here by a bunch of minimum wage drunks working on an assembly line.

 

Simple fact: Aftermarket companies are in the business to MAKE MONEY FIRST, and to provide a product SECOND! Hence, the product will be made with the least amount of 'quality' possible to pass industry standards. The less money a company spends on manufacturing, the greater their 'profit margin' (=MORE MONEY). Over the years, most of the products WE require for our needs hasn't changed that much, but the suppliers of these products have figured out ways to produce them with fewer/cheaper raw materials and to utilize less technically/mechanically trained labor.
I try to stick with various companies that aren't overlly diversified. This means they only produce a limited group of parts (like Scat, who only makes cranks and rods) or specialize in one area (like Baer, who only makes brake components). There is a company called CAT (not Caterpillar) who makes all kinds of parts like rods, rockers, balancers, etc. I can tell you from experience that their rockers are TOTAL SCHIT! And many of these companies DON'T always produce ALL of their own parts. They may just assemble the final product.
Regardless of manufacturer, though, I still assume every aftermarket part I purchase will NOT work 'right out of the box', and am prepared to modify or adapt as necessary. If this is not necessary, then I may praise them for a well made product. But, as of today, the list reads: 133 in the "Dammit" column, 7 in the "Nice" column .

 

The worse part? This is a part made here in the USA... talk about a joke.

 

Its absolutely crazy. We get all sorts of low quality crap from China and other countries, and we're worried about their capability of delivering nuclear warheads. Have you ever tried building something with a box of nails marked "made in China"?

 

Andy..............I feel like crap

If only I woulda known......damn!

 

This is absolutely NOT your fault!!! You had no way of knowing. It took two people to figure this out.

Don't feel bad!!!

 

AHH, so your the guilty party. You owe me 2 hours of my life. How would you like to pay Your still a top notch guy Tim, i forgive you.

Andy, the pump is made in Japan so the good old USA is off the hook.
I think i will turn the pump into a hose reel or something.