price differences wheel brake cilinder

[bluefoxamazone]

is there any logic why prices from 8.5 USD (!)  to almost 50 USD  are found for brake wheel cilinders. They look identical, they fit my car. Is the price difference explainable for a not daily driver car?

grtz,

[Mark D]

We can still buy these off the shelf at auto parts stores for decent prices. Can’t recall exactly what I paid for a single, but it wasn’t anywhere near the $50 people are gouging in ebay. 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Mark D

[bluefoxamazone]

hey Mark, thanks your reply, but the different prices came out of one store which name starts with R and ends with - auto... ;-)

Not from any dark Ebay store...

 

grtz!!!

 

[knuckleharley]

45 minutes ago, bluefoxamazone said:

is there any logic why prices from 8.5 USD (!)  to almost 50 USD  are found for brake wheel cilinders. They look identical, they fit my car. Is the price difference explainable for a not daily driver car?

grtz,

It all depends on the seller/supplier,and sometimes on the made and model of the vehicle. When I went to put new brakes on my 1939 International Harvester pickup,the cheapest I found wheel cylinders from IHC parts suippliers were 50 bucks each. And these were NOS wheel cylinders that would almost certainly need rebuild kits due to rotten rubber and rust.

So I did a web search using the manufacturer (Wagner,IIRC) parts number and discovered this same wheel cylinder was used in 53-54 Chevrolets,and were very common. Ended up buying current production wheel cylinders new in the box for a little less than $5 each.

Your best bet is to pop off one front and one rear brake drum,write down the wheel cylinder parts numbers for each,and then to a web search using those parts numbers. It is also helpful to include the manufacturer's name in the search.

[_shel_ny]

Theory is the quality.

Problem is even the one you may think was not made in China may now actually come from there.

Raybestos  vs. Dorman

[_shel_ny]

N/A

Edited December 18, 2017 by _shel_ny
pointless post

[bluefoxamazone]

1 hour ago, knuckleharley said:

It all depends on the seller/supplier,and sometimes on the made and model of the vehicle. When I went to put new brakes on my 1939 International Harvester pickup,the cheapest I found wheel cylinders from IHC parts suippliers were 50 bucks each. And these were NOS wheel cylinders that would almost certainly need rebuild kits due to rotten rubber and rust.

So I did a web search using the manufacturer (Wagner,IIRC) parts number and discovered this same wheel cylinder was used in 53-54 Chevrolets,and were very common. Ended up buying current production wheel cylinders new in the box for a little less than $5 each.

Your best bet is to pop off one front and one rear brake drum,write down the wheel cylinder parts numbers for each,and then to a web search using those parts numbers. It is also helpful to include the manufacturer's name in the search.

HI, you're totally right, that is what I tried to do. Not in the first place to knibble on the price but to find a fast delivering European source. I am sure that the same type of wheel cilinder was used in other cars which are propably more common in our area than the Plymouths or Dodges. Finding European sources will save a lot on import taxes and freight cost, so the actual part price can definitely be somewhat higher. So far no luck .

But I noticed that whitin the same shop you have "economy" parts (what does this mean exept for the pricing), you have "daily driver" and "professional" parts. Does this mean that the cheaper part (8 usd) doesn't do what it is meant to do or that the most expensive brand (50usd) will last at least 7 times longer...

Is anybody having experiences with the cheap brands such as Dorman or Centric vs Raybestos?

grtz,

[Mick Blake]

I have done a 1954 Plymouth and 1948 Fargo pick up with Centric from Rockauto Parts and had no problems. Good prices and service>

[bluefoxamazone]

11 minutes ago, Mick Blake said:

I have done a 1954 Plymouth and 1948 Fargo pick up with Centric from Rockauto Parts and had no problems. Good prices and service

Good to know Mick, thanks for replying,

take care,

Franky

[Dodgeb4ya]

Professional grade compared to DIY'er grade?

In most cases there isn't any difference.... this pertaining to Mopar lockheed type cylinders.

There used to be a difference in quality.

I caught open to this through Rock Auto and Napa.

The piston to wall clearance is generally .0005" to .010"............way too much.

All the new cylinders for our old MoPars are all made in CHINA.

They probably cost $2.00 or less to make and the parts dealers have lots of room to make tons of money on mediocre brake parts.

MoPar wheel cylinders were always 20-$25.00 each clear back into the early 70's and now all chinese ones can be as low as $10.00... good quality?????

[61farnham]

Another option is to find a local company to re-sleeve your old cylinders with a stainless sleeve. 

regards......... Simon. 

[bluefoxamazone]

20 hours ago, 61farnham said:

Another option is to find a local company to re-sleeve your old cylinders with a stainless sleeve.

thanks for the idea, but to drive 2000 miles per year with the car... I don't think so....

[Dodgeb4ya]

Nothing worse than a leaking Chinese wheel cylinder on recently installed shoes.

I've seen that 3 times... never again.

Re-Sleeve for me.

[Gregarious13]

I've been in the auto repair business for 15 years ( I know, not as long as a lot of folks) and I find that most the parts I get now come in the "White Box" whith whomever's label and name on it. That's just how it is these days. One company makes that parts for multiple distributors. For me it's just a mind game of sorts, because I have a hard time using an $8.50 wheel cylinder ( for me or a customer) and $50 is just rediculus.  I'll usually go for the middle priced part, even though they very well may be the same part. The brand makes a bit off a difference for me too as we all have a bias toward a certain brand, I think.

 

Greg

[bluefoxamazone]

I feel the same Greg...! I am also convinced that there are no 15 factories in the world that forge these kind of wheel brake cilinders. And I am also convinced that the resources available now to finish off these parts with much higher tolerances than 60 years ago are nowhere comparable with the resources then. So the price differences are mainly driven by marketing strategies. I think buying parts with an "average price" is not a bad decission. So have we replaced a radiator from a BMW M5 (850 USD) with an other brand radiatior (110USD). Both parts were put next to each other  and compared. You could easily see that both parts were totally identical except for the insert with the BMW stamp.... This car has been functioning well for the last 3 years now...

[bob westphal]

15 years ago MOPAR front double brake cylinders sold through antique cars parts stores for just under $100 if you could find one. Re-sleaving was about the same. For the last 9 years I have been buying American made front wheel cylinders from NAPA for $25 each. I'm using a power booster and these cylinders don't leak under the extra pressure. The rear cylinders were less. The rear axle on my car is from a '72 Satellite. The cylinders cost $10.

[bluefoxamazone]

Thanks for the valuable info Bob, 

You mention the booster... is this an easy conversion and do you recall any specifications? 

grtz from Belgium!

 

[_shel_ny]

re-sleeving is a good idea no matter how much the vehicle is driven.

If driven little it seems like a high per mile cost, but vehicles driven less, and/or sit for long periods will benefit from re-sleeving by not having the failure associated with pitting cylinders. 

Loss of your brakes due to failed cylinders just once at the wrong time will reveal the shortsightedness of thinking a re-sleeve is not practical.

[Tom Skinner]

Also Bleed em clean every other year or so. I waited a few years and trash got into my MC and effected the way my Brakes worked/didn't work.

Bleeding and adjusting every so often - Big!