WARNING! Don't Buy Cheap Parts!!

[jorgensensc]

Okay I'm putting this here since so many of our trucks are running the LS based motors. Moderators move it if you must.
So Three weeks ago I decide to change out the Idler arm pulleys (yes that means two) on the '06 Trailblazer SS with the ever so wonderful LS2 (55k mile). So I call up GM and they want 77.00 for the upper and 66.00 for the lower. Well that just seems to darn much for a couple of tensioners. So I head down to the local parts store (I won't name the store, but it sounds a lot like AutoPhone ) and pick up the two idler pulley assemblies for 33.00 and 22.00 respectively. Okay cool. Well all is well until two days ago. My wife says "Honey, the TB is making that sound again. I didn't think a lot of it. So today I'm running around doing errands and feeling pretty darn good about getting so much accomplished in one day! I head on to get my little girl from school and give it some gas getting on the freeway (BMW next to me was annoying me) and all of the sudden I had no power steering. I look down and the dash says the battery isn't charging., Aww Crud! I must have thrown the belt. No worries I will just limp it to the next exit. Just then I look down and see the temp gauge Pegged at 260. Crap!! So I put it in neutral, turn off the engine and coast to the exit , down the ramp, and into the community college Parking Lot. I pop the hood and sure enough, the belt is wrapped around the fan. After ten minutes untangling it I decide to try and get it back on the engine and limp it home. So while trying to get it on the Idler Arm Pulley completely falls apart. Yes comes apart in multiple pieces!! Well, needless to say I was waiting for a tow for an hour.
The moral of the story is: as we all know, you get what you pay for.
And yes, Chevy has the two pulleys on hold for me now. I called them while waiting for the tow truck.
I hope you can all get a little chuckle out of this, as well as a good lesson.
Shawn

[OARNGESI]

Man sorry to hear that was your daughter waiting all that time at school

[jorgensensc]

No. Fortunately I was able to call my wife to go get her and wait for me until I got home.

[big_al_71]

Cheaper is not always better!!!!!

been there victim of cheap crap....

[72Levi]

I like the Trailblazer SS with the LS2. Sorry to hear that about your parts, but true you get what you pay for. I usually try and buy American made, I still believe in USA parts, is the Chevy part made in USA?

[68 short step]

were they life time warrenties??

[straitnate14]

The problem was you were driving a new truck and not an old one that you can get cheap parts for and not have problems with

[Gray Ghost]

I hear your pain and have felt it before and you are correct. There are times when I want to save money, then I think of the times it has bitten me in the butt. Better to buy once and pay a bit more than to buy twice.

Thanks for posting this one...makes me feel a bit better for buying the better parts up front....I didn't always do that.

[jorgensensc]

Originally Posted by 72Levi

I like the Trailblazer SS with the LS2. Sorry to hear that about your parts, but true you get what you pay for. I usually try and buy American made, I still believe in USA parts, is the Chevy part made in USA?

As a matter of fact, the GM part is made in Canada!

[72Levi]

Close atleast not China

[Longhorn Man]

I understand the reason for the tensioner... and deep down, I know it is better.
But, with that being said.. what happened to the good 'ole days, when the 8 year old kid got to lean on the flat head screwdriver that was being used as a pry bar on the Alt to get the correct tension on the fan belt, as dad tightened the bolt with a 9/16ths wrench?

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

I understand the reason for the tensioner... and deep down, I know it is better.
But, with that being said.. what happened to the good 'ole days, when the 8 year old kid got to lean on the flat head screwdriver that was being used as a pry bar on the Alt to get the correct tension on the fan belt, as dad tightened the bolt with a 9/16ths wrench?

yeap those were the good ole days, I thought I was in high cotton when I bought my first set of actual pry bars.

[thirdstreettito]

Man, that sucks. Guess that means us guys on budgets will have to read more and more reviews!

[68K20 x Drill]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

I understand the reason for the tensioner... and deep down, I know it is better.
But, with that being said.. what happened to the good 'ole days, when the 8 year old kid got to lean on the flat head screwdriver that was being used as a pry bar on the Alt to get the correct tension on the fan belt, as dad tightened the bolt with a 9/16ths wrench?

The tension was already right, I had to hold the pry bar while dad cranked the starter

[special-K]

It`s because of flat serpentene belts as opposed to v-groove that tensioners are necessary(I`m syre you guys know).I do miss the days of simplicity(trying to stay there,actually).
If I was an artist I`d paint a picture called Autozone.It would be the store with piled up busted parts like at the scrap yard.
I only buy quality parts.I want to know it`s done when I`m done.Can`t beat GM parts,they are what came on the vehicle...exactly the same specs.That`s my first choice.Next would be Napa,nothing newfangled about them.They research the best source and also offer different grades with many parts.I always take the better one.These newfangled companies exist because they started off with creating thier own parts line solely to cost less than what was out there,IMO.

[68gmsee]

Bad news on the SS idler pulleys. You threw me off when you said "idler arm pulleys" though. I have an '06 TB myself.

Re: parts stores. I try to buy what I can from the dealer on critical parts. Non critical parts or parts that are not available there, I take my chances with the parts stores.

Napa, even though a lot of people think highly of them -and they do carry better parts than most -is slowly going the way of the other parts stores. They are also starting to look for the lowest prices available which means Chinese or other imports.

[special-K]

That`s true about Napa.You just have to ask for the premium part.I ask what brand it will be.I used an independent parts house that went under this year after many many years.They did the same thing with multiple tiers in quality.They just pull from distributors with multiple lines anyway.I`d ask for brand name stuff.I get good prices by being loyal to my sources.I go to the same GM dealer and that independent guy because years ago I asked for shop prices.
I found that some parts were actually cheaper through the Chevy dealer than aftermarket.

[WIDESIDE72]

on a similar note... Why didn't the idler pulleys last more than 55k miles???

[Leinie]

Because the good old American GM part came from some third world country

[corn]

I work at a Napa store now so I gotta throw in my 2cents worth. Now that Im on the other side of the counter, all I can say is "you get what you pay for". Im gonna guess 95% of the people that get parts from me (including dealerships) only care about getting the cheapest part. Our starters/alternators go bad about 75% less than another store that I wont mention the name of, but I swear they all say "but the other brand is cheaper so I guess Ill get it there". Then complain about them like they stole their wallet when it goes bad right away. Nothing cheap about buying a cheap part and then buying the good one later too...

Thats why Napa stores are stocking the cheaper line of parts now too. They need a cheaper line to be able to compete with the real competition...PRICE

Get the Good Stuff

[Sub-versive]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

I understand the reason for the tensioner... and deep down, I know it is better.
But, with that being said.. what happened to the good 'ole days, when the 8 year old kid got to lean on the flat head screwdriver that was being used as a pry bar on the Alt to get the correct tension on the fan belt, as dad tightened the bolt with a 9/16ths wrench?

Ahh yes, the good ole days. I still have the crow bar my dad gave me for changing the alternator on the '76 It's a good steel crow/pry bar, you can't find one like it nowadays either.

[ERASER5]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

I understand the reason for the tensioner... and deep down, I know it is better.
But, with that being said.. what happened to the good 'ole days, when the 8 year old kid got to lean on the flat head screwdriver that was being used as a pry bar on the Alt to get the correct tension on the fan belt, as dad tightened the bolt with a 9/16ths wrench?

What was the 9/16 wrench for? We used the big screw drive to push on the belt as the starter was bumped. Change 3 belts in 30 seconds. It may not be proper, but it worked slicker than snot on a door knob!

[El Jay]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

What was the 9/16 wrench for? We used the big screw drive to push on the belt as the starter was bumped. Change 3 belts in 30 seconds. It may not be proper, but it worked slicker than snot on a door knob!

I'm afraid I have to correct you, ever so slightly.

That should be "green snot on a glass door knob!

[special-K]

Don`t you still need a pry bar to lean on an idler to get the belt on? But,it ain`t the good ole days under the hood,that`s for sure.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by corn

I work at a Napa store now so I gotta throw in my 2cents worth. Now that Im on the other side of the counter, all I can say is "you get what you pay for". Im gonna guess 95% of the people that get parts from me (including dealerships) only care about getting the cheapest part. Our starters/alternators go bad about 75% less than another store that I wont mention the name of, but I swear they all say "but the other brand is cheaper so I guess Ill get it there". Then complain about them like they stole their wallet when it goes bad right away. Nothing cheap about buying a cheap part and then buying the good one later too...

Thats why Napa stores are stocking the cheaper line of parts now too. They need a cheaper line to be able to compete with the real competition...PRICE

Get the Good Stuff

I agree... I have a priority list of stores for critical parts. Dealer, Napa, CarQuest, then it's a toss up on the rest.

However, I got burned on a u-joint I bought at Napa last summer. It cost more than the other stores but the grease fitting was situated so that you couldn't grease the joint after installing it no matter which way I installed it. I bought one at Auto Zone and had no problem.