Cheap COIL PACKS

[jdlarsen]

Okay, so about oooohh, 3 months ago or so I had a little issue with a misfiring cylinder. It seemed to run a bit rough on startup, but then clear up and run okay. It would hesitate just a bit on take off (like from a stop sign or anywhere from a dead stop) and I started poking around at the obvious...throttle body, MAF, plugs/wires, etc. A friend of mine suggested coil packs and I was leaning that way too. So, needless to say, I found some on Amazon (wait for it) and snagged them up for a whopping $20 a piece (don't get ahead of me, I like telling stories). Needless to say, I swapped them out and cleared up my issue. Yay me.

Fast forward to the present. 4Runner starts running like crap. I'm thinking, what the h3ll??? Now, I should digress a bit to explain that about 2 months ago, I ordered a bluetooth ODB2 dongle and downloaded the Torque Pro app for my tablet and was now able to diagnose my issue. Using Torque, I found out the misfire was on 6. So, I figured I'd start with the coil packs because they're easiest. I swapped the cyl 3 pack with the cyl 1 pack (also checked out the looks of the plug in 6 just for the heck of it...it looked fine), and guess what Torque told me? Yep, the misfire moved to 4. I was slightly upset. I was even a bit more upset when I called Oreilly and found out they are about $76 there. Having to come up with something somewhat quickly, I went to Autozone (they are about 2 minutes from my house) and picked one (their only one) up for $68. Don't judge...I would have loved to go online and buy an OEM, but sometimes you gotta take what the local shop has because I didn't have time to wait for an order to arrive from the interwebs. I also have this gut feeling that I'd better tell Autozone to order two more.

Moral of the story?? You get what you pay for folks. Yes, you all say it, but now this here is another tale of proof to add to the bucket of knowledge here on this great forum. Incidentally I just ordered LBJ's for preventative maintenance. Guess which one's I ordered? Yep, OEM's from Will Titus Toyota in Tacoma, WA (they were actually just a bit cheaper than Toyota of Dallas).

So, let me have it folks. Chinese knock-offs on Amazon when I should know better. I deserve it, bring it on. eep:

 

[AZTOY]

Here you go. This is where I got my Denso oem coils....
97 1997 Toyota 4Runner Ignition Coil - Engine Electrical - Beck Arnley, Delphi, Denso, Genuine, Karlyn, Prenco, Richporter Technology, Standard Motor Products - PartsGeek

 

[nissanh]

I always use USED TOYOTA parts as they are 100% better/reliable than any aftermarket part.

 

[BrianSD_42]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Another "I used non Toyota parts and now my truck is broke thread"

Sorry bro, it sucks but we say always use Toyota / OEM and never MOOG, AUTOZONE ect for a good reason.

I fell victim to the aftermarket parts scam in my 20s and it cost me a few hundred bucks.

FYI All: You can buy real Toyota parts at steep discounts from many dealerships through their online parts departments. Just do a site search (see my sig) for keywords: toyota parts.

good luck

:thumb3:

Moral of the story?? You get what you pay for folks. Yes, you all say it, but now this here is another tale of proof to add to the bucket of knowledge here on this great forum.

Yes!!!!!!! I learned the hard way as well. For me it was a waterpump.

 

[TheDurk]

There is no reason to pay extra at the dealer for a Denso part when Denso is the OE supplier of the part, as is the case with coils, and o2, MAF and A/f sensors. Get them at partsgeek or Amazon or whoever has them cheapest. There is no sense in paying more for the exact same part from a dealer just to get a red box with it.

Same applies to Aisin and other OE suppliers. You just have to know what goes into the truck. The Denso web site will tell you when they are the OE supplier. One of the reasons I like partsgeek is they tell you when an item is from the OE supplier. So far they have been accurate on this, as far as I can tell.

Just beware of phrases like "OE quality" that you see in some places.

Brian, you could have gotten the OE Aisin waterpump on E-Bay or Amazon or lots of places. I did. It was identical to the one I took out.

 

[jdlarsen]

Here you go. This is where I got my Denso oem coils....
97 1997 Toyota 4Runner Ignition Coil - Engine Electrical - Beck Arnley, Delphi, Denso, Genuine, Karlyn, Prenco, Richporter Technology, Standard Motor Products - PartsGeek

Not bad...just a few bucks more than AZ's brand for Denzo OE. Thanks!

Yes!!!!!!! I learned the hard way as well. For me it was a waterpump.

Oof...waterpump. That had to be spendy. Sorry man.

There is no reason to pay extra at the dealer for a Denso part when Denso is the OE supplier of the part, as is the case with coils, and o2, MAF and A/f sensors. Get them at partsgeek or Amazon or whoever has them cheapest. There is no sense in paying more for the exact same part from a dealer just to get a red box with it.

Same applies to Aisin and other OE suppliers. You just have to know what goes into the truck. The Denso web site will tell you when they are the OE supplier. One of the reasons I like partsgeek is they tell you when an item is from the OE supplier. So far they have been accurate on this, as far as I can tell.

Just beware of phrases like "OE quality" that you see in some places.

Brian, you could have gotten the OE Aisin waterpump on E-Bay or Amazon or lots of places. I did. It was identical to the one I took out.

Thanks Durk...yeah, I know better and normally do try to either buy OEM or a brand that I trust. And, I try to research to find out who is the OEM supplier and then try to find the best buy on that particular product. I knew about Parts Geek, but was unaware that they will tell you who the OEM supplier is, so that is truly helpful. If I don't actually buy a part directly from them, I can at least use them for the research. Good stuff...thanks guys!

 

[BrianSD_42]

Durk,

I agree with you and in fact I purchased my O2 sensors using the amazon links you provided last year. But those parts are OEM just not from a dealer. I don't want to advocate "always by from a dealer" as much as "don't buy cheapo aftermarket"

Brian, you could have gotten the OE Aisin waterpump on E-Bay or Amazon or lots of places. I did. It was identical to the one I took out.

.

What happened to me around 2003 when I was young and more naive (@21 in the Navy), was that I let a mechanic put in an off-brand part. They did the work and said it had a lifetime warranty. Well low and behold it broke 45k miles later. I then had it changed out with the timing belt using real Toyota parts this time.

 

[TheDurk]

I just wanted to clarify that you can get OE parts without going to the dealer for a lot of items. Other things, like ball joints, are things you have to get from a dealer.

Those posts sounded to me like you guys were saying dealer only and I didn't want newer members to think that.

 

[jdlarsen]

I just wanted to clarify that you can get OE parts without going to the dealer for a lot of items. Other things, like ball joints, are things you have to get from a dealer.

Those posts sounded to me like you guys were saying dealer only and I didn't want newer members to think that.

Durk, you're absolutely correct. I hope a newb reads this far down and understands that you can buy OEM Toyota parts from lots of different places other than the $tealerships and save money that way. And (to strengthen what you just said) even though there are a few OEM parts that can only be found at a Toyota dealer, that is not the case with most of them.

So, yes, do your research, find who is the OEM manufacturer of the part you want, and find that part somewhere cheaper than a dealer if you can.

Sorry if any of the above comments were misleading. :thumb3: