TheSamba.com :: View topic - Hall of Shame for Aftermarket Parts thread?

Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:22 pm

I've seen this topic touched on in other threads, and yes, it's a rant. But maybe if we all complain about crappy aftermarket parts it's easier for a buyer to be educated and buy better, or complain in unison about the crappy parts. I don't mean suppliers (we have a feedback thread for that), but I mean the parts themselves.

What prompted me was a thread in the Bug forum about cheap fuel pumps with a plastic operating arm inside. So let's start there.
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It's devilish since without disassembly you would never know it's gonna wear out in a year or two. I don't run a mechanical pump, so I can't cite the manufacturer, but if anyone's got it, post it here.

Another poor part is the ignition point set that has a crummy plastic rubbing block. Visually it's fine but it won't last. Again, I need a specific citation of manufacturer so we know just what to look out for. I have a stash of decent ones so I don't have a citation for the crap part.

Any others? Post away! To make search easy, be sure to include the proper name of the part.

Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:29 pm

EMPI

need I say more?

Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:33 pm

CB oil tower breather box deserves my vote for the ugliest and most worthless POS item ever made or put on a VW engine.

Gene Berg linkage is over engineered and does not live up to the hype or the reputation of the company.

Weber 32/36 progressive carb kits also makes my shit list.

I don't do anything EMPI.

Mon Mar 17, 2014 4:51 pm

Dave,

I disagree about the Berg linkage. I've had mine sine the early 80s and have over 350,000 Miles on it.

Add aftermarket tin. Poor fitting and lack of any deflectors.

Aluminum crank pulleys

Headers that don't clear the thermostat.

oO9 distributors

Aftermarket bumpers

Mon Mar 17, 2014 7:17 pm

vwracerdave wrote:

Gene Berg linkage is over engineered and does not live up to the hype or the reputation of the company.
.

I feel this way on just about everything that berg has put out in the last 10 years or so but that is just IMO :wink:

I usually find that the better the supplier the better the parts they sell in most cases :wink:

Mon Mar 17, 2014 9:22 pm

Glenn wrote: EMPI

need I say more?

Yup the new Empi crap sucks across the board . The OG Empi stuff now that is the good stuff. Too bad Empi name was sold to some asshat that loves to tarnish the OG name.

Mon Mar 17, 2014 10:18 pm

I made a bozo move and bought the EMPI rear disc brake kit, what a waste. There is a hole for the ebrake cable to slide into on the caliper which is nice, if the cable actually fit, which it doesn't. Three years ago before I knew better I bought EMPI drop spindles, they're garbage and I'm about to install a set of CB spindles. Luckily, this is the only garbage i have bought from them. I use to think it was all hype until I tried to install and use it. Now I know better.

Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:43 am

I bought a Redline Weber 32/36 DGEV conversion carb kit for my B2200 truck about 9 years ago. (1) The casting for the flange needed grinding to clear a hose going to the manifold, and even the instructions mentioned that it needed to be ground away there (guess that it was cheaper to print an instruction sheet than to tool/manufacture the adapter correctly).

Also, (2) the return spring was terribly weak, needed a stronger one. (3) The adapters also weren't completely flat, so needed to be sanded flat so no vacuum leaks.

These were all issues that every kit had. My own kit was also missing a tiny cotter pin from the linkage, so I cut the smallest cotter pin I had in half for that (later found Ace had some real tiny ones).

Actually, it's a decent carb.

I just installed aftermarket cruise control in my 2004 truck, from Rostra; I give the quality an "A", the directions a "D+".

Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:35 pm

Bought some EMPI polished cast aluminum rocker covers (against the parts man's recommendation). Leaked like a sieve - turns out the flange on one is not flat by roughly 1/8" as judged against a bare head with no gasket (cover rocks on head).

Dunno yet how I'm going to fix it....

Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:53 pm

Dr OnHolliday wrote: (against the parts man's recommendation).
Dunno yet how I'm going to fix it....
You don't know how to fix :shock:
it's called the circular file or paperweight.
but don't listen to me :wink:

Tue Mar 18, 2014 6:17 pm

What about the see thru distributor caps.You can always tell the cheap stuff,it's what they hand out as prizes at small vw shows.It usually comes in the forum of A donation from A shop that knows they can't sell the stuff so they give it as A donation for prizes at the shows.

Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:45 pm

I wish I remember which VW it was for, maybe early type 3. Front trans mount, the one bolt went left, the other went right. there was no way to use it so I returned it. Shop got another one, the same. Out of curiosity, the shop owner then ordered 10. One was correct, and had a differnet sticker on it, but same manufacturer. We chalked it up to the 8 year old making it moved to some other part of the factory :roll:

Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:08 pm

Just had a horrible experience with the official VW pulley puller. The tightening bolt doesn't go far enough in to actually pull the pulley. The whole tool was bending. and the grippers on the pulley kept popping off. Got a pulley puller from Harbor Freight and the pulley was off in 5 minutes.

Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:40 pm

A view inside a Empi oil pump, claiming a keyed gear. Upon inspection there was no key or keyway in shaft.
Full thread here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...rror+story

Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:53 pm

anything from brasil? (other than OEM VW)

Patch panels from Denmark/Mexico/Brasil etc...embarassing compared to Gerson/Wolf/Virdanen/NOS

Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:44 pm

vaughn bros. wrote: A view inside a Empi oil pump, claiming a keyed gear. Upon inspection there was no key or keyway in shaft.
Full thread here:

They are correct in claiming a keyed gear; they apparently don't claim a keyed shaft.