The Worst Parts Ever?

[Ulu]

This thread is about the worst car parts you ever bought.

 

I have been pretty lucky, except rebuilt Ford starters, but here is the real deal:

 

This 50 year old sticker on a fruitcake tin is the only remaining proof that I once owned the worst aftermarket stick shift ever sold.

 

It frequently slipped into the neutral position while the transmission was in second, meaning you were stuck in second, until you stuck your arm under the car and shifted the trans to neutral.

 

I sold the car to a guy who decided not to bother. He drove from Reno down to Sacramento in second and cooked the engine.

 

 

Good riddance to him, my high school built Ford coupe, and that awful Spark-O-Matic stick!

[Sniper]

And here I thought spark-o-matic was a cheap radio you bought at Kmart

[plymouthcranbrook]

First thing that comes to mind is a small item not for a classic but for my then modern daily driver. A Chevy Astro van. Those of you who have never owned one probably aren’t aware of their tendency to go through idler arms(mine was AWD so it might just be that style). I had gone through two sets in about 140,000 miles and needed a third. The local stores didn’t have any in stock and I didn’t want to wait for an order as I had already removed one side. I went to a store in the next town who had them in stock.  When I got home I took the first one out of the box and started to install it I realized something was loose and the part wobbled. I realized the parts(both of them) weren’t made right and the fit was wrong. After cursing and mumbling for a bit I decided rather than go back and take another hour to see if all their stock was like that I just went ahead and “fixed” the problem by disassembling each piece and installing a big flat washer to take up the slack.  That done I installed them and drove the truck for another 50,000 miles until the tin worm completed its return to the earth.

[Dan Hiebert]

I guess I've been lucky as well.  Racking my brain for a good response, since I'm bound to have crossed paths with a bad part or two in 40 or so years, but I got nothing.  Probably some small things that didn't imprint because I didn't expect much in the first place, but nothing major comes to mind.  We had one whole (new) car that was poop, but that's a different story.

[cheesy]

I'd have to say the e-brake shoe retaining pins that came with the last repair kit I bought for my Wrangler. I think they were made out of solder. I had to dig through the trash and reuse the rusty OEM pins. The shoes ran a close second, but the OEM shoes were nothing to brag bout, either.

[Sniper]

I bought some 1/8" drill bits that bent the first time I used them,

 

 

[Ulu]

Yeah, those bits are amazing! I expect them to snap off, then they bend over 90°.

 

 

[JBNeal]

Champion spark plugs...ran them for years in everything from V8s to single cylinder lawn and garden equipment...then in the late 90s, they needed to be replaced more often from electrode wear, and by the mid aughts they were blowing apart in the small engines, larger engines were fouling and hard to start in cold weather.  Switched to AC Delco on big engines and NGK in small and haven't had a lick of trouble since.

[P15-D24]

1 hour ago, JBNeal said:

Champion spark plugs..

Second that thought. Never saw a plug blow apart on a flathead till I had three Champion plugs do it over two days. Switched to AC and never had another issue, same with the NGK which I also use in all my small engines, ATVs and motorcycle.

[Veemoney]

48 minutes ago, JBNeal said:

Champion spark plugs...ran them for years in everything from V8s to single cylinder lawn and garden equipment...then in the late 90s, they needed to be replaced more often from electrode wear,

The decline of the Champion Spark Plug and the death of a company.

 

The Champion electrode was made from mainly tungsten powder at a company called Fansteel in North Chicago. They mixed, pressed, sintered, burnished and then brazed it to the copper sparkplug core before shipping them out to Champion for assembly.  The company also made many other items like the Lynx golf club casting, High end tungsten darts (Black Widows & Diamond Backs) as well as supporting WW1 & WW2 military needs, they downsized in the late 80s and were dismantled early in the 90s along with VR Wesson a sister company that made carbide cutting tools. Fansteel Inc.docx  

[Ulu]

The Champion story is very sad.

 

My other parts bane were GM hvac blower motors.

 

The ground wire is riveted thru the steel case, but they also put it through this cardboard insulator board. Totally unnecessary, and eventually the cardboard wears and shrinks, resulting in a loose ground wire.

 

I have fixed three of these and they always failed the same way. If you split the motor you can drill the rivet, remove the offending cardboard, and repair it with a screw and nut, staked tight.

Edited April 11 by Ulu

[iowa51]

X3 (or 4) on the newer Champion Plugs. After installing them in the rebuilt engine of my '51 I needed to remove them as there was a head gasket issue. Twist and pulled the new  spark plug wires ends to take them off the off the plugs and 3 of the 6 the porcelains twisted off leaving them attached to the spark plug wires. Installed Autolites and 86'd the Champions.

Edited April 14 by iowa51

[JBNeal]

remanufactured calipers by Cardone...caveat emptor 

[JBNeal]

I've heard a rumor that flathead replacement fuel pumps have a half-baked machined pin installed 🤔

[plymouthcranbrook]

On 4/10/2024 at 10:42 PM, Veemoney said:

The decline of the Champion Spark Plug and the death of a company.

 

The Champion electrode was made from mainly tungsten powder at a company called Fansteel in North Chicago. They mixed, pressed, sintered, burnished and then brazed it to the copper sparkplug core before shipping them out to Champion for assembly.  The company also made many other items like the Lynx golf club casting, High end tungsten darts (Black Widows & Diamond Backs) as well as supporting WW1 & WW2 military needs, they downsized in the late 80s and were dismantled early in the 90s along with VR Wesson a sister company that made carbide cutting tools. Fansteel Inc.docx  

I had friends who worked at both of them. 

[RobertKB]

I bought a really cheap pair of brake spring pliers years ago. They bent before the spring even budged. Got my money back and bought a slightly more expensive pair. Same story. Got my money back again but went to another store where I bought an expensive pair. I’ve probably used them a hundred times since and they still look new. You probably know the moral of the story but I’ll tell you anyway…….. spend the money and buy quality tools that lasts. 

Edited April 20 by RobertKB

[Sniper]

22 hours ago, RobertKB said:

spend the money and buy quality tools that lasts

 

Truer words were never spoken

[Plymouthy Adams]

does this have to be car related, paid dearly for set of vinyl screen doors for the back porch to find the hinges were made of very soft cheese.  I will be changing these in the near future.  

[SteveR]

In 1978 I was going to replace my 65 Barracuda. It was turning into a rust bucket in Minnesota. The front fenders were only held on by stubborn rust. I wanted a pickup, but which one? I listened to all the hype and had a brother-in-law who worked for Ford Motor Company. He assured me it was a good choice Coupled that with, "Built Ford tough" slogan and "90% of all ford pickups are still on the road today", I bought an F150, 6 cylinders, 4 speed with overdrive. It had a 12,000 mile warranty. I had problems from 3000 miles with the transmission. The service backup was, well, pathetic. My dog could do a better job than they did. At 12,164 Miles at night I was on the last leg of a 300-mile trip home when the left front wheel bearing disintegrated at 70mph. Prior to this I had 3 seals replaced in the rear end. I finally replaced the transmission with a manual 3 speed. That truck was the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. So what part was bad? The whole damn thing!

[Plymouthy Adams]

   As Paul Harvey would comment, and now the rest of the story....."90% of all ford pickups are still on the road today", the other 10% made it back home.  

[SteveR]

I use to think, 'How can I drive this truck into a brick wall at 70mph and survive'.

[Plymouthy Adams]

AND.....dodging a deer!

[JBNeal]

Since practically all brake rotors I have seen in the last 10 years are made in china, I make sure to verify they are "good" at the parts store.  The 1st fail that I did not catch at the counter was a rotor where the center bore was not concentric; counter guy had never seen this before, and it took 2 weeks to get another 🤬  since this'n,  I've seen non-concentric stud bores, chunks missing from facings (defect not damage), missing fins between facings, wrong thicknesses, wrong offsets...does not matter the brand on the box as I suspect these rotors are cranked out of the same building in china 

[Plymouthy Adams]

That has been my consensus for years....one supplier, multiple names/color of boxes.....on calipers, the main thing here on rebuilt or copies, ensure the surface for the copper sealing ring is milled correctly.  So far I have done well with the OTC components.  

[Sniper]

EBC brakes seem to have good quality, if they make a set for your ride.