Chevy Duty vs. Classic Industries

[DCRANER]

In the process of getting coil springs, tie rods, idler / pitman arm, etc. and notice Chevy Duty prices are about 1/2 of Classic Industries. Is one a cheap component and the other a quality piece, or is Classic just expensive for these parts?

I will also check GM parts directly, but I want to do quality suspension parts.

[784X4GUY]

I've always heard classic industries is always more expensive...Later Mike

[N2TRUX]

You might want to read this.-Look here

Personally I buy GM parts when I can....

[784X4GUY]

Well that tells me, that im gonna be stayin away from them. Has anybody got anything to say about LMC? Later Mike

[DCRANER]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

You might want to read this.-Look here

Personally I buy GM parts when I can....

So I get Genuine GM parts from who? Chevy Duty, Classic, Local GM Dealer, or?

Thanks.

[784X4GUY]

You can get Original GM parts from LMC I know...Later Mike

[junkyardpartseeker]

Originally Posted by 784X4GUY

You can get Original GM parts from LMC I know...Later Mike

Maybe you got original GM parts from LMC, but I ordered weatherstripping for my rear cargo doors on a suburban and they did not fit (said made in Taiwan). I called them up and told them this, and they asked me if they were out of the pkg and I had tried to put them on, I told them I did try to fit them and they would not take them back because they said I "altered" them. Not sure what they meant, but haven't ordered from them since.

Got the seals from chevy duty, and were a perfect fit (made in the good ole USA)

Tommy

[DCRANER]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

You might want to read this.-Look here

Personally I buy GM parts when I can....

GM, or Moog which is Federal Mogul, so is Moog the best part and is GM produced by Moog?

[Apache]

Never bought anything from LMC, but Classic Industries is very high on everything. I ordered full rubber/weatherstrip kit for my apache from Classic Industries a few years ago and ran me almost $200! Recently looked in LMC and I think it was around 90?. Also I ordered a jacket from Classic Industries and somebody had put the sleeve in backwards (how they hell can anybody do that and not notice it). That took over a month to get shipped, then shipped back and recieve my money back.

[EricS76]

I've never ordered from Chevyduty because i've always needed 3 or 4 different things, and they don't have a broad selection of parts that LMC does. I've ordered from LMC at least 10 times in the past, and they've only put one thing on backorder that took 3 weeks to get here. Everything else has made it in 3-5 days.

[bigblock73]

I have ordered three times from Classic Industries, had three good experiences thus far. I have also ordered from LMC...didn't care for them at all, plus they have no customer service.

You will get a 50/50 range of answers on questions like these, just like you would if you asked who liked Coke or Pepsi.

[Slonaker]

I used Moog to rebuild the front end in my C10. My friend who used to own a front end shop swears by their parts. They cost me more than generic auto zone junk, but everything fit right, and has given me no problems.

With a lot of stuff, I like to use GM parts. For something like this, though, I see no reason to as long as you buy quality parts.

If you do want GM parts, see if one of your local parts stores can get them for you instead of the dealer. There is a parts store near me that sells GM stuff. They are expensive, of course, but a lot cheaper than the dealer.

Slonaker

[DCRANER]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

I used Moog to rebuild the front end in my C10. My friend who used to own a front end shop swears by their parts. They cost me more than generic auto zone junk, but everything fit right, and has given me no problems.

With a lot of stuff, I like to use GM parts. For something like this, though, I see no reason to as long as you buy quality parts.

If you do want GM parts, see if one of your local parts stores can get them for you instead of the dealer. There is a parts store near me that sells GM stuff. They are expensive, of course, but a lot cheaper than the dealer.

Slonaker

Well, my gameplan is as follows:

Front will be the DJM Tubular upper & lower a-arms (= 3" drop) with their poly bushings. Sway bar bushings will be Energy Suspension, greasable. Since my in town NAPA guys do me well I will get the Energy Suspension parts from them along with NAPA's best for Tie Rods, Idler Arm, Pitman Arm, Factory spec coil springs, and wheel bearings.

The rear will be Offroad Design.com's rear leaf spring poly bushing kit which is greasable for my stock leafs which have a 4" drop shackle.

I will put all together using Sta-Lube Blue Marine waterproof grease.

Above should be good stuff and keep some business in town with the NAPA boys.

Oh well, it's just an old damn pickup truck anyway!

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by DCRANER

Well, my gameplan is as follows:

Front will be the DJM Tubular upper & lower a-arms (= 3" drop) with their poly bushings. Sway bar bushings will be Energy Suspension, greasable. Since my in town NAPA guys do me well I will get the Energy Suspension parts from them along with NAPA's best for Tie Rods, Idler Arm, Pitman Arm, Factory spec coil springs, and wheel bearings.

Make sure you get the right springs. I replaced my old worn out springs with new Moog parts from the local parts store. It raised the front about 2-3 inches. You can see what it looked like here:

http://slonaker.net/images/truck/Sonicpic.jpg

I kept waiting for the springs to "settle," and drop the truck down to a normal height. My plan was to install drop spindles, so raising the front end enough to level it out didn't make me very happy.

After a year, it was still 4X4 tall, so I tried to find out why. When I looked up the part numbers on the Moog website, I found that I had been sold heavy duty front springs. These really are not what you want if you plan to lower your truck!

I called the local auto parts stores, and they all kept the HD springs in stock. Guess which ones you get if you don't specify? The regular springs were not kept in stock, and had to be ordered from their warehouse.

Based on my experience, the folks at NAPA are a little sharper than most counter guys. Hopefully you won't have to worry about it, but it doesn't hurt to specify what you want to make sure you get it.

Good luck with it.

Slonaker

[DCRANER]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

Make sure you get the right springs. I replaced my old worn out springs with new Moog parts from the local parts store. It raised the front about 2-3 inches. You can see what it looked like here:

http://slonaker.net/images/truck/Sonicpic.jpg

I kept waiting for the springs to "settle," and drop the truck down to a normal height. My plan was to install drop spindles, so raising the front end enough to level it out didn't make me very happy.

After a year, it was still 4X4 tall, so I tried to find out why. When I looked up the part numbers on the Moog website, I found that I had been sold heavy duty front springs. These really are not what you want if you plan to lower your truck!

I called the local auto parts stores, and they all kept the HD springs in stock. Guess which ones you get if you don't specify? The regular springs were not kept in stock, and had to be ordered from their warehouse.

Based on my experience, the folks at NAPA are a little sharper than most counter guys. Hopefully you won't have to worry about it, but it doesn't hurt to specify what you want to make sure you get it.

Good luck with it.

Slonaker

Thanks, good point about the springs. I will make the NAPA boys aware that my truck, with the HD Suspension code, meant HD front brakes and rear leaf spring. The front coils are to be standard, and as I understand it the HD front coils were for Big Block trucks.

Also, I am not sure if the front wheel bearings are different for HD Suspension, maybe bigger front spindles? Can you verify this for me?

Thanks again.

[Captkaos]

I personally would get all of this locally from NAPA. If they send you the wrong parts in the mail it could be days and a big hassle to get it all sent back and get the new stuff.

As for where to get GM parts... GM dealership of course.

[Slonaker]

Also, I am not sure if the front wheel bearings are different for HD Suspension, maybe bigger front spindles? Can you verify this for me?

It is my understanding that the spindle and wheel bearings are determined by whether or not you have the HD brake option. Regular brakes use 1" rotors, HD use 1 1/4". A good rule of thumb is that, if you can poke your finger inside the holes around the edge of the rotor, it has HD brakes.

Slonaker

[DCRANER]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

It is my understanding that the spindle and wheel bearings are determined by whether or not you have the HD brake option. Regular brakes use 1" rotors, HD use 1 1/4". A good rule of thumb is that, if you can poke your finger inside the holes around the edge of the rotor, it has HD brakes.

Slonaker

O/K, I will check this tonight.

Thanks again.