Oil Seals: OEM vs Aftermarket

[m88tow]

Your customers are most likely none the wiser. Sure you save them some money, but how many vehicles do you pull the timing belt out 200k after you replace seals and say "those seals work equally as well as OEM"? The many Toyota techs I've spoken to, the risk of replacing the cam and crank seals at 100k miles does not outweigh the benefits as replacing the original factory seals can produce a leak in and of itself. They rarely, if ever, leak prior to 200k miles.

Like I said, have you ever used an aftermarket timing tensioner on a Honda V6? I know plenty of Honda mechanics that don't work for the dealer that absolutely will not put anything but OEM parts in a Honda when they do a timing belt. All it takes is one failed tensioner that ruined an entire engine.

Same principle, while an aftermarket part may work and be good, it may not be the best. The risks may be low, but the benefit is high for me to put OEM in my truck, however that may not be the case for everyone.

I was under the impression that we were discussing seals, not timing belt tensioners [emoji849]

At any rate you guys can use what you feel is the best for you, I am just stating my opinion with actual real world experience on hundreds of vehicles...

 

[T4R2014]

Aftermarket parts are generally shite. Been burned enough to know that. Some stuff is good but gambles aren't worth it on big jobs.