I'm done with Autozone parts!

[jeremy]

I don't even both the parts monkeys at the counter any more. They just read the computer screen anyway. No real help.

I like going to the counter monkees. Especially when I have something that has been hillbillied...
Like when I had a '74 Cj-7 with a buick v-6 in and I asked by part number for the alternater off of a 96 Olds regency...
Or the time when I told them I needed the Heater motor off an 78 Blazer to fix my Jeep Heater...

 

[ATOMonkey]

If your rotor is stuck to the hub heat it and beat it with hammer.

OR

Bottom drill and tap some jack screw holes. It'll pop right off then.

Caliper bolts...lots and lots of penetrating oil. Heat helps everything.

 

[rjstew317]

I would avoid AZ as well. I remember years ago when they used to sell all sorts of different break pads. Now it seems they only sell their three brands (metallic, semi-metallic, ceramic) and maybe one or two other brands. I also remember my dad getting brake pads for free constantly, because their generic pads would always wear out.

I went into get some pads for my Eclipse and decided to spend the money on ceramic. They pulled up the parts available and got them, that was it. So I put them on and they started making horrible noises. Did some research on various forums and it seems ceramic pads can "glass" or something. It sounds like if you are a hard on your brakes like I am, you don't want ceramic.

More research said that if your smart, you will at least turn the rotors as well every time you put new pads on. I remember AZ, since they don't turn rotors, just saying that if there are no bad groves in the rotors, no problem.

Eventually I went to a non-nationwide type store. Guy there looked in his computer and said the computer is recommending either metallic or semi-metallic for my vehicle, and it wasn't recommending the most expensive pads either. The pads I got were Wagner ThermoQuiet. I had to have a mechanic put them on because I couldn't get one rotor off and had trouble getting one bolt from one of the calipers to loosen. If anyone has suggestions on getting rotors and caliper bolts off that seem stuck, let me know.

you can heat them with propane or mapp, loosens them right up

 

[hotfarmboy1]

It would seem to me, just from a cursory visual inspection, that you've got a fair amount of aftermarket bulldokey on the engine, including timing gears and a distinct lack of a timing belt cover/guard.

Would you have happened to hit that pothole with your right front wheel?

Potholes throw rocks.

Unprotected/uncovered timing belts have a propensity to pick up road debris and take them for a ride.


A wise man once told a young kid who thought he wanted to play with cars:

Cars are like "the morning kickstand", the more you "jack" with it, the quicker it goes away.

Yes the car is modded. The upper timing cover is the only one not on there, and to get it back on I need to modify it to fit over the timing gear adjusting studs/nuts. I've had those on there for over a year now with no issues. Then early this fall I replaced the timing belt, tensioner, and idler pulleys. Belt was a heavy duty Gates belt no probs there. But from day one I was questionable on the tensioner. Standing there and watching it while running, it didn't seem to keep as good of tension as the orig unit had even with 150k on the odo. But I thought I'd give it a shot. I still have to inspect that problem closer to see what happened there.
But there was no reason that mount should of went bad that fast. It just came apart. The original lasted much longer than that.

I have bought some O'reilley's parts before and so far they've been pretty good. I always do opt for the name brand parts over the store brand when they have them in stock. But when they have to order them and you need the car back on the road there's not much you can do.

 

[eldirector]

I don't even both the parts monkeys at the counter any more. They just read the computer screen anyway. No real help.

I like going to the counter monkees. Especially when I have something that has been hillbillied...
Like when I had a '74 Cj-7 with a buick v-6 in and I asked by part number for the alternater off of a 96 Olds regency...
Or the time when I told them I needed the Heater motor off an 78 Blazer to fix my Jeep Heater...

Ah, another Jeep guy! Yeah, I gave up getting my Scout/Ford/Chevy/Cadillac/AMC parts for my Jeep at any place but Napa.

At Autozone:
Me: I need rear brake pads for an early 80's Cadillac ElDorado
Them: I need the exact year, make, and model of the vehicle
Me: 1980 Jeep CJ-7
Them:
Me: Just type in 1983 Caddy
Them: Does it have air conditioning?
Me:

At Napa:
Me: I need rear brake pads for an early 80's Cadillac ElDorado
Them: Here you go.

 

[rjstew317]

If your rotor is stuck to the hub heat it and beat it with hammer.

or you can use a 3 jaw puller

 

[ATOMonkey]

It's always a decent idea to drill and tap your new rotors for jack screws before you put them on.

Either that or put a generous portion of grease on the mating surface.

 

[Lucas156]

I know it costs more but wouldn't getting genuine Ford parts be better?

 

[hotfarmboy1]

I know it costs more but wouldn't getting genuine Ford parts be better?

Yeah that's what I'm going to start doing again. I used to work at a dealership where I could get employee discounts. Now I can't get that discount I started going cheaper. Sadly that has backfired on me. Luckily a friend still works at another Ford dealer. I'm gonna see what he can do on getting me his discount on parts. Bad part is I called earlier to check price and availability. And they will have to order them and the parts won't be in till Tuesday.

 

[eldirector]

Like anything else, it is a sliding scale of sorts. You get to pick where price and quality intersect for you.

Autozone - cheap parts - low cost
Napa - good parts - OK cost
Dealer - good parts - outlandish price

Just my experience, though. Totally depends on the car. Some things, especially on the high-dollar cars, are either dealer-only or the quality really is different.

BTW: I'm just using Napa and Autozone as examples, since they have been the main topic. There certainly are other quality parts counters out there. And many stores sell the same branded parts (AC Delco, for instance, can be had at Autozone, Napa, or the dealer, just for increasing cost)

 

[hotfarmboy1]

Oh I know what you mean. Sad part is no matter where you go, the value branded parts at about any of the chain stores arent very good quality. Even Napa or Car Quest. Its all the same stuff.

I'm just gonna drive dad's truck for a few days and probably just order the parts from a dealer this time. Its gonna hurt the pocketbook, but I don't wanna have to do this job again. Plus I plan on getting that cover modified and getting it back on when I do the rest of the work.

 

[Robert Richardson]

The old saying goes"you get what you pay for"

 

[Ogre]

O'Reilly for my consumables now... I gave up on AZ a few years back when I noticed all the signs in the front glass were in Spanish...

 

[TopDog]

If you are going to use a discount house then Advance Auto has better trained people, so does O'Reilly. All of the discount places sell both good parts and cheap crap. I don't believe you always get what you pay for but in this case I would have to say you do. I have used AZ a couple of times but use Advance Auto all the time now mostly because the people in Advance Auto seem to know the difference in the quality of the parts they sell.

 

[glock2010]

ive used parts from all of the above and NAPA has truned out to have the best parts and service

 

[hotfarmboy1]

Well I'm afraid to do the math to figure out the total I'm spending in ordered parts today. First order was with a tuner I've bought alot of my performance parts from in the past. MassiveSpeedSystem.com I gave Karl a call and he had both parts I needed in stock and was gonna get them out as soon as he could. From him I ordered a Gates heavy duty timing belt that's made heavier than stock for high revving applications and racing, along with an upgraded VF Engineering polyurethane engine mount to replace the one that came apart. He gave me a discount on both due to being a repeat customer and how much I've spend with him in the past, lol.
Then for the rest I went over to Tipton Ford and ordered all new wheel bearings, new valve cover gasket and cam seals, along with some other parts. And I got lucky, a buddy of mine works the Parts dept there. So he got me his employee discount since he's one of only 2 others I have given permission to hunt our new woods other than him.
I also called Autozone and talked to the store manager, who has known me by name for years now, lol. And told him some of the problems I've been having with their parts and how upset I was. He told me to bring back any parts that I wasn't happy with and they would give me a refund back to use elsewhere if needed. I told him I appreciated it and would still use them for some smaller stuff. But nothing that could leave me stranded like that again. One thing he also told me, which I don't doubt a bit. Is that other stores use the same vendors they do for their budget parts as well. So you're really not doing any better buying the cheaper brands at the other stores either. Which this is something I've figure was the case for a while now.

Sad part is some parts will be in on Monday, the others not till Wed or Thurs. So now the car will not likely be done till next weekend. Looks like I'm borrowing dads truck to drive to work all week.

 

[Rookie]

That's OK, trucks are better.

Btw, we saw a show tonight and it reminded us of you. Two guys fighting over ford vs Chevy...

 

[hotfarmboy1]

That's OK, trucks are better.

Btw, we saw a show tonight and it reminded us of you. Two guys fighting over ford vs Chevy...

Oh I agree trucks are better. And plan on buying a beater in the fairly near future. Just gotta get time to fix my other car and sell it first. Plus this car gets much better mileage for driving over 50 miles round trip every day for work.

On the Ford vs Chevy thing, yeah that used to be me. I still get in it with some people occasionally but not near as much as I used to.

 

[Rookie]

Because you realized Chevy is better?

 

[hotfarmboy1]

Because you realized Chevy is better?

haha nope, just that arguing about it was getting old. It was always the same arguements all the time. But now I just gotta remind people which one of the Big 3 didn't have to take any of the bailout money and who's sales are increasing more than the others