Everyone tries to save money, or at least spend less money. If you do maintenance on your own car, you yourself are proof of this. Part of this I think has to do with the fact that a lot of Americans just love their cars and working on them ourselves, at times, can be very enjoyable and gratifying. Another part of this comes from the stereotype that the dealerships(or "Stealerships" as they have become affectionately known) charge way too much money and you can do it cheaper yourself by not having to pay labor and buying "aftermarket" parts.
I have no issue with an owner working on their own car. I do it as much as possible. But, the "aftermarket" parts, in my experience, is where issues begin to arise. I'd like to share my experience from this past weekend with oem(original equipment manufacturer) vs. aftermarket:
We've had my son's 2002 Impreza WRX for almost two years now, slowly working on it and replacing things that any 16 year old car would need replaced, so it would be ready for him when he turned 16(this past week). From the time we bought the car, the clutch never felt right. In fact, it felt horrible. Hard as a rock and there was no "spring" in it. We were lucky enough to get all the service records for the car when we bought it, and I knew the 5spd transmission's center differential was rebuilt by a "independent" service shop. According to the service records, the shop re-installed all the stock clutch components(clutch plate, pressure plate, throw-out and pilot bearings, flywheel, etc.) with 100,000 miles on them. For those who don't know, this stuff wears out and removing the transmission to get at this stuff is a big job. Why anyone would go through all the trouble to remove the transmission and NOT replace these items is beyond comprehension. Either the shop did not inform the previous customer about this, or they did not make it clear enough to the customer for he or she to go ahead and have these items replaced. Either way, the "independent" service shop failed the customer. All of this made me very skeptical of their work which made me not like how the clutch in my son's car felt even more. |
| OEM Subaru Pressure Plate and throwout bearing after 170,000miles, bent and without lubrication thanks to the "independent" service shop |
As it turns out, my suspicion was correct, unfortunately. This shop that "specializes" in Subarus had things bent, busted, and provided no new lubrication to any of the clutch components when they reassembled it. The fact that the clutch lasted as long as it did is a testament in itself to Subaru oem parts. I feel bad for the previous owner since he paid top dollar to have these repairs done "correctly" but what he got back was a transmission and clutch assembly in worse shape than when it gave it to them in the first place.
So I, along with a mechanic friend that has his own garage and lift, set out to replace all of the stock clutch parts in there and make sure it was reassembled the right way.
We installed a new Exedy clutch(Subaru's oem clutch supplier) and pressure plate(Ksb03), an ACT flywheel(600175). The ACT flywheel is indeed an "aftermarket" part, but it's a bit lighter than the oem flywheel to allow the car to "rev" a little quicker at the expense of being a bit less forgiving than the Subaru flywheel. But, my son is a car nut and performance aficionado so he wanted to try a lightweight flywheel. To be fair, Subaru actually offered a lightweight flywheel for their 5 speeds in the past but since the 6 speed is here, oem performance parts for the 5 speed have all but disappeared.
Back to the story. I knew the aftermarket flywheel came with a new pilot bearing, but I was getting parts from the dealership anyway so I ordered a new oem Subaru pilot bearing as well. After inspecting the ACT flywheel when it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a NACHI pilot bearing already pressed into place(NACHI is a highly credible oem bearing supplier to many Japanese auto manufacturers, including Subaru). Upon receiving the oem Subaru pilot bearing, I noticed the seal on it was blue and not orange like the one supplied by ACT, so I decided to compare.
 |
| OEM Subaru Pilot bearing installed |
 |
| Bearing supplied by flywheel manufacturer |
Both bearings are made by NACHI of Japan. The ACT one having orange seals and the oem having blue seals. Both are identical 6201 series bearings as stamped on the seals. However, the following “seal” number was where things began to differ: The ACT bearing was a 6201 NSE and the oem Subaru bearing was a 6201 NKE. So, what’s the difference?
It turns out, the NSE(ACT) bearing is a “contact seal” bearing where the seal actually contacts the bearing inner ring. The NKE(Subaru) bearing is a labyrinth or “non-contact” seal where there is no contact between the seal and the ring but uses air pressure and centrifugal force to keep particles away from the bearing. Labyrinth seal(non-contact) bearings are also more expensive to produce.
There is tons of info on different kinds of bearings, but in short, the non-contact bearing(Subaru) is superior with keeping micro particles out of the bearing, high rotational speeds, internal grease retention, less friction loss, and higher operating temperatures. All things associated with the environment inside the bell housing, pressed into our flywheel. The contact seal bearing(ACT) is better at being water resistant and operating a low rotational speeds, neither of which is applicable to what a pilot bearing is asked to do.
 |
| NACHI comparison chart of different bearings and their respective applications |
So, is the NACHI bearing supplied by ACT junk compared to the NACHI bearing supplied by Subaru? Absolutely not! But, the oem NACHI bearing Subaru supplies is much better suited in the application of a pilot bearing and what it is expected to do.
This is a case where the “quality” of the part is not in question, but the best suited part for a given application is in question. Now, there is a very good chance the NACHI bearing supplied by ACT would last a very long time, but the NACHI bearing supplied by Subaru is a superior choice for this given application. Splitting hairs maybe, but it shows, in this instance, there is a good choice and a better choice.
The engineers at Subaru I'm sure had their choice of any bearing they wanted to put in there. The fact is they chose the one they did for a specific reason. They spend millions of dollars and countless days, weeks, or even years researching and developing parts that work correctly in their automobiles. Everything from engine components to wiper blades to oil and filters, and even right down to tiny little pilot bearings. Subaru knows best what parts go on or into your Subaru, and they make virtually every part on your Subaru available from your Subaru dealership.
 |
| All cleaned up, lubricated, reinstalled correctly, and ready for another 170,000 miles! |
Subaru also provides the much needed specialty tools and training to their technicians so they know how to remove and replace the critical parts on your Subaru...CORRECTLY! This is why, at times, your Subaru dealership many be slightly more expensive than one of those "independent" shops down the street. It is very difficult for anyone to match the level of expertise and the level of quality of parts that your local Subaru dealer can provide.
If you do choose to work on your Subaru yourself, please use Genuine Subaru replacement parts whenever possible. Your Subaru is responsible for getting you and your loved ones to your destination safely each and every time. There is no reason to risk anything by using cheap aftermarket parts. Trust the parts that Subaru and it's engineers trust to offer you. Your Subaru(and your family) deserve it.
For more local Subaru news, visit our facebook page at Subaru Fans of Central PA
No comments:
Post a Comment