Cheap Parts Reviews

[zgastin]

Hi everyone,
My name is Zach and I have been lurking around here ever since I got my '03 a4 in August from a sketchy dealer in hood part of downtown. I have been doing a bunch of repairs and maintenance to make up for 168k of not being taken care of and being in college, I have been taking the Amazon/eBay approach to most everything. I figured it was time I start contributing to the forum to help out since I have gotten so much help from all the great DIYs.
I am going to be posting reviews of some of the knock-off stuff I have used so that other people in my situation can maybe get their car rolling when otherwise they wouldn't.
My disclaimer is that all this stuff is at your own risk and there is still certainly a place for parts from the likes of ECS or any of the other fine engineered aftermarket components from respected companies. This has really become more of an experiment for me, to see if I can keep my $2k "luxury" car running for less than what people spend for repairs on their Hondas or such.
Once again, I am not here to discredit the amazing engineering that legitimate companies have done for our cars. I am taking a scientific approach to see what can make my car run and what will make it explode. So far no explosions but I'm working on that.
If you have any questions about parts (don't bring up those $289.99 KO4 turbos from China. You know that they don't work) or want me to try something out, I would be happy to give it a go. In the name of Science!

[zgastin]

First off, since I did my wheel bearing and hub yesterday and today, I want to say that the Ruville hub from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001G...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Is fantastic. Well machined and works. Audi wanted $340 for one and had to order it. Amazon wanted $60 and one day shipped it. This is definitely a good buy and I would go for it again. The wheel bearing I got fit nicely and works but 50 miles isn't really good justification for a review on a bearing. I will check back on that one.

[walky_talky20]

How about those ebay control arm kits?

[zgastin]

That's actually high on my list. I had to do my tie rods this week but when I was in there I saw how bad everything is. Doesn't ECS have the set on sale for $240? I might pick up one of those this week but I also need to get off the snow tires and I want to order a tune and get some coilovers and and and... I have high confidence in the control arms though. Have not seen anyone have a problem yet.

[y0itzflip]

yea I do a lot of shopping on eBay. actually going thru the same thing with mine lol. made a quick spur of the moment decision buying my b6 and have been paying for it. but it's slowly coming together. keep this post updated.

I've been looking at wheel bearings on eBay as well. did those have to be pressed in or was it just a bolt on affair? If it needs to be pressed in, I'm just going to get a replacement spindle (bearing isn't actually bad...bolt holes are stripped)

[amgraham]

I have some cheap stuff on the way from Amazon (window switches, headlight switch, fog lights). I'll report back when the come in whether they're worth $60 for all of it.

[imnuts]

If you search through the B6 forum, you will find countless threads of people trying to save $10 and spending an extra $50, or having to take extra time to constantly replace failed cheap parts. Unless you're going with a good brand, 90% of the time, going the cheap route is going to end up causing you more time, money, and frustrations.

[zgastin]

yea I do a lot of shopping on eBay. actually going thru the same thing with mine lol. made a quick spur of the moment decision buying my b6 and have been paying for it. but it's slowly coming together. keep this post updated.

I've been looking at wheel bearings on eBay as well. did those have to be pressed in or was it just a bolt on affair? If it needs to be pressed in, I'm just going to get a replacement spindle (bearing isn't actually bad...bolt holes are stripped)

Well if it is the hub you need to replace, you can pull the old one out by just putting an M14 x 1.5 (I think that's what lug nuts are) bolt through one of the bolt holes and crank it down until it presses against the knuckle, popping the hub out. Then, you get that new hub that I linked up top, put it in the freezer over night and hang. Then when it is nice and frozen (and contracted) you take a heat gun and warm up the bearing until it has expanded. You should be able to slide them right together and then they warm/cool and return to the original size and they are locked together. You can use the big 17mm axle bolt to make sure it is pressed in all the way. Just work fast and plan it out ahead of time because once they go together it takes a press to get them apart. This is the bearing I got:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004Q...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[zgastin]

If you search through the B6 forum, you will find countless threads of people trying to save $10 and spending an extra $50, or having to take extra time to constantly replace failed cheap parts. Unless you're going with a good brand, 90% of the time, going the cheap route is going to end up causing you more time, money, and frustrations.

Which is exactly why this thread is happening. Regardless of what people think, I am buying the cheap parts. I might as well share my experience and potentially help some people avoid the bad stuff or find some good stuff. This is definitely not for everyone but neither is going OEM dealer.

[zgastin]

Having 178k on my car, I needed to do the motor mounts. You would not believe the amount of slop in the driveline. Anyway, I went on Amazon and got a set of URO mounts. They were $25 each and appear to be solid rubber instead of hydraulic. It's winter (still. If you know about Rochester, you will understand) and they are really harsh when it's cold. Lots of vibrations (the glove box!!! Argh!) but they are actually pretty smooth when it's warmed up. It made a significant difference for throttle response. Takeaways: if your mounts are gone, replace them. It's an easy job and makes a big difference in shifting and driving. If you are broke like me, you can get the cheap mounts. If you have money and like a buzz-free cabin, spend for the real deal. I will probably post some pictures of the old mounts so you can see how crumpled in and purple stained they were. Hope this helps someone trying to decide what mounts to go with.

[zgastin]

How about those ebay control arm kits?

It warmed up for a day here and then my front end was making terrible noises so I went in eBay and found that a bunch of the $250 control arm kits were on sale for like $150. One is at my parents house currently, waiting for the weekend. I will definitely keep this post updated with what I find. Maybe figure out how to post pictures too.

[coffeysm]

You should check out RockAuto for parts as well. I've found a lot of stuff there pretty cheap for my A4 that I use for winter driving.

I would definitely stay away from URO rubber hoses, I have heard terrible things about them when I was working on a Volvo for my sister.

[amgraham]

I have some cheap stuff on the way from Amazon (window switches, headlight switch, fog lights). I'll report back when the come in whether they're worth $60 for all of it.

Well I installed the fog lights, headlight switch, power mirror switch, and driver's window switch and they all work great (been too lazy to replace the other window switches). The fog light lenses are plastic but for $30 for the pair I can afford to replace them every couple years and the glass ones were cracked and sandblasted anyway. I really like the switches though. They feel better than stock and actually work and look good.

[jesse500]

I've bought & used a decent amount of stuff from Ebay. $4 glove box lid fix, S-Line badges, Crank breather, Injector harness pigtails, Power mirror switch, Boost gauge, & on & on.

Most of it has been perfect! But I have not purchased a wear part or anything like that.

Usually I use rock Auto for good brand new replacement parts, for cheap.

I am in Canada, so places like Uropa (Sorry for mispell), and other places, charge WAY too much shipping, which kills any good prices. I am sorry to say, but ECS is by far the worst for raping us canadians on shipping/duties. 034 Is about the best for Canadians.

If one of you companies out there that advertise here on AZ, and read this. I PROMISE you guys would get a huge amount of sales from us Canadians if you offered a free shipping option. Say like Orders over $100 ship free (just use base ground ship) if they want expedited, etc..... then they pay $. Just a hint.

[redline380]

I started a thread like this awhile ago in the B5 section.

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...ave-time-money

Basically, it comes down to knowing where you can cut corners and where you can't. And if you can't cut corners, where is the best deal on the highest quality part?

Take abs sensors (at least for b5)- they are $12 on ebay and actually work, no joke.

Take coolant flanges- errrrbody know aftermarket sucks. Same goes for coil packs. Just have to know where to get the good stuff and the best prices

[zgastin]

So I have been driving for a while now and in case anyone is interested, the control arms did't work out and I ended up with FCP Euro arms from a group buy which have been working perfectly. Only have about 5k on them now but I feel confident so far.
The $40 Forge knock-off ebay DV leaks when it blows off so it makes a whistling noise like a baby BV. At some point I am going to pull it and then put some plumbers tape on the threads and it will be fine. It works and does not leak boost unless blowing off and then its just partial so I can't complain.
The ebay snub mount is a block of poly and there is nothing to say about it.
The motor mounts have held up fine. Softened up a bit to a more reasonable stiffness. They were solid at first. Can't complain about them, would be good for more power.
Also got a set of drilled and slotted ebay brake rotors when I first got my car. It was like $200 for full pads and rotors. The pads are kind of soft feeling but I just drove a stock car that was on oem pads and mine actually felt better. More importantly, the rotors have held up and not cracked and still look cool which is important.
I will probably edit this to be more of a list at some point if people care.

[5ktq]

What is that GMB bearing, Chinese? Don't know if I'd go chinese on something like that, just for the work factor.

Pretty sure one of mine is going.. been waiting to find a good deal on a good brand.. SKF, ***, SNR, whatever.

Best I've seen so far is $70 for the kit with bolts shipped (SNR) out of australia. Price is so good that I haven't ordered, assuming something will be wrong.

Generally looking around it seems like $80+ for the bare bearing, and $120 for a kit or so..

I kinda wish these things used iron knuckles and normal bearings instead of the oddball expensive flanged things. Or even if it had a (soemwhat bigger) iron flange than a normal bearing pressed into.

[zgastin]

I got my bearing on Amazon. That was last winter so like 8 months on it now and no problems. Another cheap-o option is to buy a used assembly from the wreckers. Up here you can just go on eBay and buy parts from wreckers and have them shipped to the door (replaced the knuckle when my pinch bolt snapped and wouldn't budge) if you can find a lower mileage a4 that wasn't killed by a bad wreck, you could try to just buy the whole assembly. Then you would just undo the 3 triple square bolts that are around the axle and the whole thing will just pop out. (With a little 5lb motivation)

[Gin+]

Speaking of cheap front wheel bearings; I had a parts store (NAPA) china special go bad immediately following a stuck brake caliper. At the time, it was less than a year old. I assume the excess heat got to it and caused the failure. I've had several stuck brake calipers over the years and never had a wheel bearing go bad as a result.

[Gin+]

In line with cheap parts, I recently bought a replacement arm rest cover from an Amazon seller. No complaints.

[hightime80]

I got chinese bearing on all 4 corners(converted s4 rear knuckles and s4 brakes) and after a year still buttery smooth. $19 a bearing👍👍👍

[caldy315]

I picked up my SKF bearing kit for just under a $100, and as mentioned above, it was such a female dog that I'm so glad I put a quality bearing. Granted the next time it would be easier if it went out, I don't want to deal with it again

[diagnosticator]

So I have been driving for a while now and in case anyone is interested, the control arms did't work out and I ended up with FCP Euro arms from a group buy which have been working perfectly. Only have about 5k on them now but I feel confident so far.
The $40 Forge knock-off ebay DV leaks when it blows off so it makes a whistling noise like a baby BV. At some point I am going to pull it and then put some plumbers tape on the threads and it will be fine. It works and does not leak boost unless blowing off and then its just partial so I can't complain.
The ebay snub mount is a block of poly and there is nothing to say about it.
The motor mounts have held up fine. Softened up a bit to a more reasonable stiffness. They were solid at first. Can't complain about them, would be good for more power.
Also got a set of drilled and slotted ebay brake rotors when I first got my car. It was like $200 for full pads and rotors. The pads are kind of soft feeling but I just drove a stock car that was on oem pads and mine actually felt better. More importantly, the rotors have held up and not cracked and still look cool which is important.
I will probably edit this to be more of a list at some point if people care.

Is that knock off forge DV a diaphragm type DV? If it is, try installing it in the reversed orientation with the control hose nipple pointing UP.

[EuroEnduro]

I am in Canada, so places like Uropa (Sorry for mispell), and other places, charge WAY too much shipping, which kills any good prices. I am sorry to say, but ECS is by far the worst for raping us canadians on shipping/duties. 034 Is about the best for Canadians.

If one of you companies out there that advertise here on AZ, and read this. I PROMISE you guys would get a huge amount of sales from us Canadians if you offered a free shipping option. Say like Orders over $100 ship free (just use base ground ship) if they want expedited, etc..... then they pay $. Just a hint.

This^

It sucks to pay $25 on a $15 part. This is actually the only reason I didn't buy a scratch and ding Podi gauge, sure the pod is only $15, but with shipping its close to $40... no thanks

[GTA]

This^

It sucks to pay $25 on a $15 part. This is actually the only reason I didn't buy a scratch and ding Podi gauge, sure the pod is only $15, but with shipping its close to $40... no thanks

^^ Double this. ^^
It sucks to pay nearly double of the part itself for some things after including shipping/taxes/duties, etc. That's why my car is mostly stock but I only buy brand name parts that are sourced locally from Kijiji and local ads (Meyle, SKF, etc).

I would definitely buy from the big aftermarket tuners if they were Canadian friendly

[16vCorey]

I put a cheap master window switch and headlight switch knob and trim ring on my car a little over a year ago and they still look and function like new. I think the window switch was $14 and the headlight switch knob and trim ring was $3.

[Furly]

This thread needs to be deleted.

[zgastin]

If this thread is against the rules somehow then please, lets get rid of it. Otherwise, this is for the kids that can't afford to go to the dealer for every part that breaks. Do I recommend going with eBay "performance" parts? No, don't buy a hacked APR tune or an eBay K04. This is what can I replace with non-OEM so I can afford to keep driving my car. Case in point: My thermostat housing broke last night. leaving me stranded in the parking lot of a hotel with coolant going everywhere. I called Audi, $240 for the part, and they will have to order it. Cool... So Advance Auto has the part for $150 in stock 2 miles from my car, hell yeah I am going the cheap part way. I got it back in today and drove my car home. And having worked in a plastic injection molding factory, the "cheap" part came out the same mold as the OEM I took out. So yeah, I would 100% go with the knock-off part and feel fine driving it. Just remember that these cars can be 14 years old and not all the people driving them have show-car big turbo air ride $40K builds. Some of us are just trying to get through college but still love our A4's.
Anyway, I bought a GTI this week so see you suckers.

[hightime80]

Anyway, I bought a GTI this week so see you suckers.

Peace out asshat👍