List of quality parts.

[Dirtman]

Wiseco use to be the best pistons you could buy but last time I actually bought pistons was 20 years ago so like alot of companies, no clue if their quality is still what it once was.

ARP still seems to be the king of all things hardware. Whenever I built an engine back in the day the first thing I did was buy an ARP "porcupine" kit. (Studs for everything so the block looks like a porcupine).

 

[sheep herder]

Profit definitely comes before quality these days.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Denso is good stuff. But Denso=Spendo.

 

[Dirtman]

Profit definitely comes before quality these days.

You get what you pay for has always been true. But these days high end companies still ask premium prices because they have a known brand, but have lost the quality to back it up. Like moog. Moog was top of the line parts at one point, and you paid extra for that quality. They still try to milk their name by selling parts for a premium price, but the quality sucks.

High cost doesn't mean high quality now. It just means the name is still worth something.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Im gonna do an experiment using the short lived 130amp Bosch alternator as a core for the cheapest most generic crappy auto parts store alternator I can find. It will probably work forever.

 

[97RangerXLT]

for batteries I have also got good results out of Walmart. Replaced the 10 year old Walmart battery in my Ranger last year. AC/ Delco has always done well for me in my GM cars. got 10 years out o the one in my Buick (had to eat another 170 bucks a month after replacing the Rangers.... rrrr) usually got 7 or 8 years out of them at least. Had a Duralast battery in my 94 Intrepid that went 9+ years with many many times running it stone dead toward the end of the Intrepid's life. car was totalled and the battery still worked great.

AJ

 

[Dirtman]

Im gonna do an experiment using the short lived 130amp Bosch alternator as a core for the cheapest most generic crappy auto parts store alternator I can find. It will probably work forever.

 

[RegularGuy]

I have had fantastic experiences with StopTech ( Centric ) brake pads and slotted rotors. Gates belts have been good but Gates tensioners and pulleys have been good/bad depending on the vehicle. NGK wires have been good but the connections can be loose.

 

[Grumpaw]

For fluid coolers you cannot do better than Derale. They have a complete line of fluid coolers from the standard fin type to their top of the line stacked plate coolers.
Good stuff...pricey but you get what you pay for.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Just gonna leave this right here...

You Can Now Buy Ford's 7.3-Liter Godzilla V8 as a Crate Engine

The pushrod powerhouse is finally available as a standalone unit.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Eddo Rogue]

Sometimes there's good motorcycle and marine stuff that applies as well. For example I like using Motul RBF factory 600 brake fluid. 600 degree boiling point! Engine ice is good stuff too, it helped w/ my R1's cooling issues.

 

[Dirtman]

If the brake fluid in your ranger gets to 600 degrees you should probably stop driving with your foot on the brake pedal...

 

[Eddo Rogue]

If the brake fluid in your ranger gets to 600 degrees you should probably stop driving with your foot on the brake pedal...

But thats how I keep it off the clutch pedal...plus it helps drafting when I go days of thunder mode

 

[4x4junkie]

Brands that I've had good luck with:

Timken or National for bearings & seals

Carter fuel pumps (USA)

Purolator, Motorcraft, Wix oil & air filters.
Fram "Tough Guard" filters are also decent, it's their (cheaper) "Extra Guard" oil filters you don't want anywhere near your engine. If this is confusing, then yeah, just avoid Fram entirely.

Motorcraft for fuel filters (USA).

Bosch for ignition parts (wires, cap & rotor, etc.).

Motorcraft or Autolite spark plugs (double-platinum).

LuK clutches.

Raybestos brake rotors*

EBC for brake pads

Gates, Dayco for belts.

Energy Suspension and Daystar for bushings & drivetrain mounts.

Spicer u-joints.

Toyo, BF Goodrich, General Grabber tires (STAY AWAY FROM GOODYEAR if you don't enjoy driving on oval-shaped tires!)

Skyjacker for TTB suspension lifts.
James Duff is good too (perhaps also with slightly tighter QC), though getting single replacement parts from them has been difficult in the past.

Fox, KYB, Bilstein for shocks


* Be sure to remove the (China) junk bearing race from any new brake rotor you buy and replace with the matched race from a quality USA bearing set such as Timken. I believe these pre-installed races to be a source of the front bearing issues sometimes seen on the '83-'97 trucks (why these are put there I've no clue... It once was common knowledge to not mix bearing cones & races of different brands, but I guess somewhere along the way that went out the window).

Do not use FourSeasons a/c compressors! Which is unfortunately the only option at most local parts stores.

Interesting... Did they recently go downhill?
I replaced the FS-6 compressor on my '90 back in 2008 with a Four Seasons that I bought at a CarQuest store (mine was supposedly a new (not remanufactured) unit made by Visteon (rebranded), which I recall is who made the OEM units). So far all this time it's been good... (the replacement hoses I used also were Four Seasons)

What brand batteries have you guys found not to suck. The "house brand" at advance and autozone are worthless piles of garbage. Back in the day diehard and interstate were awesome, not sure anymore. Optimums quality I've heard has gone to hell but last one I had was when they first came out and were freaking awesome.

Pretty much every battery priced less than $200 sucks now compared to batteries (even sub-$90 ones) that were out 15 years ago, probably partly due to the higher levels of recycled lead used nowadays (apparently it is harder to get all the leftover impurities out of it or something).

The vast majority of batteries currently on the market are produced by Johnson Controls regardless of their brand or labeling (a distant 2nd & 3rd are Exide, and East-Penn). The JC-made units seem to outnumber all the others combined by about two-fold (just going by what I see available on store shelves without actually researching the numbers). For any normal-duty application (a sedan, our RV, etc.) I just go straight to Costco for their Kirkland-Interstate brand units (made by JC) (Walmart's Everstart brand is a good 2nd choice for those without a Costco card). They seem to last decent (4-7 years or so) as long as the charge is topped off overnight once in awhile, and they aren't subjected to too much vibration. Nearly all of them eventually seep a little acid from underneath the vent caps (causing terminal corrosion and tray rust), requiring some teflon plumber's thread-seal tape be put around the cap plugs to reseal them (this happens often enough I just do it proactively on any new battery I buy now).


For my BII I finally broke down and went with Northstar X2 units because I heard good reports about them and I could no longer keep any battery less than $150 working for more than 2 years (every time it was a single cell that would shit out, probably because everything is made less-tolerant of vibration now). I'm only 1.5 years into owning them, but so far so good (better effin' be for what they cost). If they last at least as long as the old Delco Voyagers made before 2006 or so did (8-10 years), I'll be happy.

I understand Optima's quality has come back up somewhat, though still not quite what they were in the beginning. Given their space-inefficient round-cell design that lowers their amp-hour (or reserve) capacity relative to that of a flat-plate battery, I still won't buy one.

 

[zachwabbit]

Wix or Baldwin filters, K&N and Fram are terrible. Motorcraft or NGK plugs, autolites are no better than champions in my opinion, every set of autolites I’ve ever dealt with has come back to be exchanged. Moog bushings, Napa blue boot or Moog ball joints. Driveworks stuff is weak as hell. There’s no terrain I’ve tackled that any of the sets of KO2’s I’ve ran have let me down in, but they are a softer compound and wet asphalt traction leaves a little to be desired. Falken AT3W’s are great off road like the KO2’s(although I never had the chance to test them in deep snow or thick mud like my KO2’s), they are WAY nicer on the street wet or dry, better wet asphalt traction, quieter and smoother on the freeway. Again I love my KO2’s, but when it comes to driving over cactus, nails, or sharp rocks, I’d go with the General Grabber X3’s hands down. Had a set of red label 35s on my Power Wagon that I used for work stuff and wheeling often and I never had any issues with them other than the tire lettering tends to peel off the sidewall after awhile, especially after rubbing the sidewalls on rocks.. or curbs lol. Everything else is to be expected from any other mud tire(more noise/weight).