What are the best aftermarket part brands?

I am new to DIY auto maintenance and this new truck of mine seems like a great vehicle to learn on. I am really excited about this forum and how quickly people respond! Anyway... for starters... I feel completely confused by all of the dozens of choices when selecting aftermarket parts. Are the parts that are expensive really that much better? I am sure this thread will cause some debate but, it would be interesting to hear everyone's opinion. Or should I just stick to the OEM parts on mitsubishipartswherehouse? Thanks all!

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Originally Posted by new95max

I am sure this thread will cause some debate but, it would be interesting to hear everyone's opinion.

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Although debate sometimes can cause hurt feelings, temporarily, the different views are a very positive process: they help us make good choices.

My own experience is with Advanced, NAPA and RockAuto.com . I have had very good luck with all three, but RockAuto really takes the lead when it comes to replacement parts. As well, we have Mike Warme and others, here on the forum, who are very efficient at getting good parts to members.

As to expense: not in every case are the most expensive parts your best bet, but many times they can be beneficial. For example, I bought the more expensive head gasket set, and found gaskets/fittings that the less expensive kits don't offer.

It's an excellent idea for a thread and I, too, am eager to hear from the rest of the crew.

royster

Do not buy anything for your truck made in china, unless it is from the Ming Dynasty. You will find many types of available parts for our trucks, but those brands that ship the parts in from China are the worst. Engine parts especially are bad to use. If your going to replace a part that lasted for years, best to replace it with OEM or use a well known name brand that has a replacement warranty in place. You can check in the forum's LINKS section for posted links to places that can help locate parts. Ebay is ok, but again watch out for that crap stuff.

When it comes to steering and suspension if moog has it than that's what i get. If you go to advanced auto parts they will tell which parts are knock off china crap and which are good. Our shop gets a lot of stuff from a corporate wholesale company but we also get parts from advanced and napa.

I differ from most in my approach to this. Whenever possible, I buy factory parts. The "dealer haters" will disagree with me, but I do this for 3 reasons.

1. The original parts last forever. These trucks were sold worldwide including 3rd world countries where most of the roads were unpaved. As a result the trucks were robustly engineered. I still have many original parts on my truck. Ball joints, U-joints, wheel bearings etc. (With over 350K)

2. More often than not, because of reason #1, they are cheaper than you think at the dealer.

3. They are guaranteed to fit without jack legging.

The dealers are a good source, but I fully understand if the local dealer is a bandit. Some are.

:P

Flame away. LOL. This comes from me writing dealer service for 20+ years, but that said the results of doing that speak for themselves. ;]

You know it's coming too, that is funny. :lmao:

Do you know you can buy OEM at other places also, Just not the ripoff Dealers. What do you do when the parts are no longer available at the dealer Mr. Money bags, lol. One more thing, go get some new Ball joints, U-joints, wheel bearings etc because with 350k miles on a vehicle there almost noway on earth that those parts are in good shape. Mitsubishi trucks are very good at hiding those types worn parts. Recently I replaced my center support bearing on the driveshaft. It wasn't making a noise at all, but damn if it wasn't sagging like a 80 year old nutsack. My transmission mount was delaminated and split too, but never did it show a sign it was bad. These trucks again, are good at cloaking problems.

Next time you get a break, take a pair of channels locks under your truck and start squeezing those suspension parts, you'll find play in them I guarantee you. Unless your OEM parts are made from kryptonite.

This isn't a flame at you, it's just having fun with you and owning the same truck for over 27 years.:P


I luv moog too Bobby, they are tougher then OEM and look it also.

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Originally Posted by BradMph

You know it's coming too, that is funny. :lmao:

Do you know you can buy OEM at other places also, Just not the ripoff Dealers. What do you do when the parts are no longer available at the dealer Mr. Money bags, lol. One more thing, go get some new Ball joints, U-joints, wheel bearings etc because with 350k miles on a vehicle there almost noway on earth that those parts are in good shape. Mitsubishi trucks are very good at hiding those types worn parts. Recently I replaced my center support bearing on the driveshaft. It wasn't making a noise at all, but damn if it wasn't sagging like a 80 year old nutsack. My transmission mount was delaminated and split too, but never did it show a sign it was bad. These trucks again, are good at cloaking problems.

Next time you get a break, take a pair of channels locks under your truck and start squeezing those suspension parts, you'll find play in them I guarantee you. Unless your OEM parts are made from kryptonite.

This isn't a flame at you, it's just having fun with you and owning the same truck for over 27 years.:P


I luv moog too Bobby, they are tougher then OEM and look it also.

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Hey I don't know if I got a good one or what.

But I can assure you I am looking over over the shoulder of the tech doing the maintenance. Always a dealer mechanic who does side work. I also don't neglect the grease fittings on the ball joints, watch him when he checks them for play and all that. I am not the run of the mill Joe when it comes to cars and maintenance. I oversaw dealer service for over 20 years and watched many a master mechanic work on cars for years. I was an ASE certified service consultant. Definitely not the average Joe...

I don't spare any expense when it comes to maintaining my vehicle but many friends and family members have gone through 3 or 4 vehicles to my one. So who's spending more money in the long run? *wink*

So there. :P

My method goes against "conventional wisdom" but I spend less on my cars than 98% of the people I know. I don't spend money on wheels and paint. Not my thing.

I have had other cars in that 27 years but this thing is so cheap to operate (even buying parts from a dealer) I would be a fool to get rid of it.

If I have too, I'll get the same exact same part in a generic box. I do get a small discount from the dealer group I worked for all that time- enough to keep going back. The few times I did get a generic part they were not an exact fit. Ain't worth messing with for me.

Now that I think of it, when the truck needed it's first oil change, I had one of the techs install grease fittings in the ball joints. All he had to do was drill out the rivets and install them. I bought him lunch that day and voila I still don't need ball joints. :grin:

I'll bet my left nut that was not done on most if these trucks. Serviced the wheel bearings on a regular basis too.

Maintenance is cheaper than buying parts. I learned a little writing service over 20 years.

I do the little things that allows me to afford those dealer parts. ;]

a lot of times the name brand parts makers (moog, trw, federal, beck-arnley) would go to mitsu and buy the parts from them and rebox them as theirs. But when I used to get a 35% discount from the dealer (parts mgr and I were good friends) no nobody could touch the price because of their markup from the lower price. Both the dealer and the parts manager are long gone though - damn chrysler 2000 dealer reduction plan - it worked so well for them...

My aftermarket parts chain of choice is CarQuest. I'm having to get a power brake booster from them right now. More often than not the costliest option will end up giving you the same exact part as OEM- just in a different box. Dealer ordered a speedo cable- still available believe it or not. (My truck has factory cruise which means it has a 'three ended cable'- different cable than 99% of them.) Prolly the last one left. LOL