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AC Delco Quality Sucks!


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Well, according to the local dealer ACD parts sold as "OEM" are made in Canada and those sold as "Professional" are made in China.  I didn't know that.  That's why OEM parts are priced substantially higher, which someone previously mentioned.  My original 15 year old water pump had gasket failure. The pump itself was still functional. Rock Auto wouldn't let me upgrade or get credit, so I now have a $90 turd.   I guess I could exchange it and sell it on ebay.    

Edited by Jet-X
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I'm confused....did they warranty it or not? Also, you either have terrible luck with crappy pumps or are doing something to aggravate premature failure (hammering on the fan hub for example), or the clutch is defective and putting undue stress on the pump. 

 

I've generally had excellent luck with AC Delco stuff and will pay more for better parts made closer to home. Regarding AC Delco parts categorizing, I'm done some homework in the past and I've found that it goes as follows:

 

- AC Delco OE/ Original GM equipment: Made in one of the Americas typically (most commonly Canada, sometimes Mexico), and sometimes South America.

 

- AC Delco Professional: Made overseas (typically), but good or on par with most any quality aftermarket/ parts store premium lines. In my opinion, these are perfectly acceptable substitute for the above OE parts if budget is a concern.

 

- AC Delco Advantage: Guaranteed coming from overseas/ Big Rock Candy Mountain. OK quality, comparable to Economy lines found in the aftermarket/ parts stores. Can be hit or miss sometimes, depending on the type of part, but generally a bit better than aftermarket economy line/ cheapo parts. I wouldn't explicitly say to avoid these parts, but perhaps considering splurging for the above if you plan on keeping your vehicle for awhile.

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The "Professional" is under warranty, but I opted to purchase an "OEM" version on my dime.  I don't intend to repeat this replacement process again.  No, I didn't hammer the fan on.  Hand tight.  New ACD fan clutch.  After getting the fan and shroud off yesterday the leak seems to be coming from water pump snout, behind the pulley.  I'm I know more when I pull it off.  Three variations of the same part makes absolutely no sense to me at all.  I just had to buy a single replacement water pump mounting bolt from the dealer because one of them had corroded away (due to the gasket failure).  It was $5.30!  Unbelievable.  This part stuff is out of control.  

Edited by Jet-X
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On 6/22/2019 at 4:22 PM, Silverado4x4 said:

What your buying is a water pump made by some other china company and AC Delco puts there name on it AC Delco doesn't make them that's why there so cheap, you have to look for a "AC Delco GM genuine replacement part" they are made by GM they will run you upwards to around 200 bucks or more.

 

Keep in mind Rock auto sells junk china parts, why do you think there prices are so cheap. The old saying is you get what you pay for.

Disagree.

I use Rockauto.

You have a choice of manufacturers and the prices vary.

 

:)

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20 hours ago, Jet-X said:

The "Professional" is under warranty, but I opted to purchase an "OEM" version on my dime.  I don't intend to repeat this replacement process again.  No, I didn't hammer the fan on.  Hand tight.  New ACD fan clutch.  After getting the fan and shroud off yesterday the leak seems to be coming from water pump snout, behind the pulley.  I'm I know more when I pull it off.  Three variations of the same part makes absolutely no sense to me at all.  I just had to buy a single replacement water pump mounting bolt from the dealer because one of them had corroded away (due to the gasket failure).  It was $5.30!  Unbelievable.  This part stuff is out of control.  

Ya, the parts costs sometimes is ridiculous. I had to source some bolts for some brake calipers on a project recently and the "correct" bolts with blue threadlocker applied to them were $12 each, for a 40mm, 14 x 1.25 bolt. The same exact bolt without threadlocker applied was only $5. I saved nearly $30 on 4 of them by applying my own $.03 in threadlocker. 

 

I hope your water pump woes come to an end. Good luck!

Edited by carkhz316
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When it comes to AC Delco, OEM is the best, Professional is mid-grade, and Advantage is their cheap line.  P1sses me off that my local GM dealer won't stock the "OEM" parts and I have to get them from RockAuto.  I get OEM if I can, and Professional if I have to, and try to avoid Advantage and other brands.  

 

I quit buying cheap auto parts years ago.  Most of them came with a one year limited warranty, if that.  You were lucky if they lasted through the warranty period, with light duty usage.  If they did, it was one year and one day before they failed.  I became a better mechanic that way, but I got tired of the constant aggravation and expense.  

Edited by MaverickZ71
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