Im losing faith in people.. What does it take to do things properly?
When I got back from California at the end of July I discovered that a support bearing had collapsed in my old '35 pickup's diff. It could have been like that for at least twelve months or more, Ford tough ..no sounds , drove perfectly well 70 mph .. Anyway I decided to do the diff rebuild and the trans as part of the job as its out.  Starts beginning of August..
I found a supplier of NOS bearings in the USA, thought this was the right thing to do, REAL bearings hey..? I placed an order, now remember to get to me I wait at least two weeks generally. , Bearings arrived, bearings are crap!!  one carrier bearing is so badly pitted no way you could use, one bearing was completely the wrong one  [and not in good condition] the double race has a brushed finished surface?! I contact the guy , yep sends out two new bearings another two weeks plus goes by.. Then they arrive, one of the bearings is not right, I could feel it in my fingers , despite all the cleaning , it just could not be used! I pursue the finish on the double race , confirmed [even from Timken USA] its to is bad probably missed the final process. Now this goes on as Im trying to get my money back on the dud stuff [he wont return me emails ]  as well as looking locally  ..nothing is working for me. So I decide on contacting a lead over east [Melbourne] I contact the guy , very helpful I tell him of my woes and even send pictures of the bad bearings, surfaces etc to make things clear.. I do a deal with him for two new bearings and the double race. Bloody expensive.. Well F# 8( me they turn up and the double race has pits in it! what the??! Im shocked I asked him to check before sending!  I send him pictures and he still insists that its the grease paper stuck to it and he had cleaned it etc.. What in the..?  Blind Freddie can see its pitted in several places!! , Lucky he wasn't at work when I rang, I think I got his dad. He apologised and said he would send another..  SO I am now at the end of October , still waiting for things that should have been checked and sorted before sending.. What is wrong with people?!
I have all the pictures, if anyone's interested..  
There is only one way to do things and that's the right way. I don't think Im a perfectionist, I just now believe the average persons is well below standard!! 




"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

The problem is not you or the bearings. It is Australia.
If you can find anyone in this country that has any pride in their work or gives a rats @rse about service, then you should have them mounted on the  wall of your shed.
It's just pitiful here now.


Gary - 1958 Star Customline and 1940 Ford Deluxe Hotrod

Believe me, you are not alone in your frustrations. Here in the States, we get aftermarket, reproduction crap all the time. It is pretty difficult to find good quality reproduction parts even for the newer cars.
Rono

  Ron Lane,  Meridian, ID

It will be wise to wait until they have died of natural causes.  You want them around as long as possible. 

I've been dealing with quite a lot of NOS parts at work (sorry, not Ford parts).  I haven't had much experience prior.  What I've learned is rubber shrinks, gaskets shrink, metal parts oxidize.  NOS rubber that looks good may just fall apart or doesn't last in use.  Things that have been sitting around for a long time are not often stored in a way that is good for the long term.  This certainly does not mean that no good NOS parts can be found, we have quite a lot of good stuff.  Based on this experience I now have, I wouldn't waste time with most NOS parts that are still relatively easy to find new.

You are absolutely right, though.  It is hard to find people who do outstanding work and take pride in the job they do.

Is the bearing an odd size that is only for that application?  If it is fairly common, you might be able to find it for some other application at a local parts store.  You can also see if you can order direct from a bearing manufacturer.



Lawrenceville, GA

It all started with the pinion support bearing.. Everyone said..ohh your best to find a NOS one as they are the best, they are producing Chinese ones some suppliers are selling and they are junk.. So thinking I'm doing the right thing buy all the rest USA made stuff from this supplier .. But as you say Charlie the stuff has been sitting around so long it's turned to junk. The thing is why don't the people selling this old stuff check it before it goes out.. I've wasted months. The bearings are readily available through c & g , joblot etc.. I again sent an email to this guy ( the in in the USA) and today still no reply. I'm pissed as the last contact I had he wanted me to return the stuff , ok that may seem ok but I'm in Australia and I would be again paying to basically send back junk that can't be used at MY cost!!



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

Well, it might seem strange for Pacific Northwester, USA, to defend you, but I've had excellent service and response from Romac on timing chains. And just north in NZ, excellent custom parts from Ace.

I'm rebuilding my 292/320 stroker due to a catastrophic lifter failure. Good quality parts, from JM, in the car 11 years and 7000 miles. Took the lobe with it. Shit happens. I ordered a new cam and lifters from John, who ran it thru the cam DR for $20. The cam and lifters weren't cheap, but the oil groove is cut, the lobes deburred, looks great.

The problem with the parts isn't the people that made them, it's the purchasing agent who cut the spec's to get the price point. And the consumer who doesn't know the difference. Good work cost money, and no one wants to pay. Look at what Frank and John went thru to find someone to do a quality casting they would pass on to us. These factories were used to getting away with it.

I certainly share all the frustration above, and after a lifetime in the skilled trades, a real fear of the loss of pride in product. Maybe we need a new country, called Quality, for all of us to relocate to. With no video games for our kids.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

I don't know if this is true but I read somewhere that a lot of NOS parts still hanging around started out as Factory Seconds.  Could be Urban Myth.



Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

New old stock can be anything, as long as it is a new, unused part.  This part could be perfect, shiny, brand new looking, or it can be rusted, pitted trash, depending on how it was stored.  It could be seconds if someone found a stash of them.  Seconds can be excellent, particularly if they are rare parts or in good overall condition.  Most likely, it is simply old inventory from a store or dealer.
Another thing I've noticed is something can be genuine NOS but not "original."  For example, let's say a part number has been unchanged since it was introduced and we're going on 40 years that the part number has been in use.  20 years ago, the manufacturer had to be changed and this stash of NOS parts is from 15 years ago.  The new part is now identical in all critical areas but now the markings on it are different or maybe some non critical area has changed due to a different process of manufacturing.  So it is genuine, it works perfectly for the intended application, but if you are trying to replace something that came out of the factory with an exactly identical component, it is not what is needed.  Some brands with a high attention to detail may change the part number to help distinguish it, but I think it is impossible to keep track of absolutely everything.  And then you have the people at the parts store who throw them into the same bin because they effectively are the same part so when someone buys the NOS inventory, the buyer gets the newer part, even though it is labeled as the older one.  - You simply can't remove the human element.



Lawrenceville, GA

AMEN TO THAT !



  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I think they also try it on because they know your far away and not able to easily turn up and return it to them where the sun doesn't shine.