The Co-op: How good are rebuilt parts?

One major issue with working on older equipment is the reliability of rebuilds original parts.  No one is making new replacement parts like starters, alternators amont others….steering boxes……you know, the parts that we can’t get anyother way.  So some guy comes up and says he has a new steering box….yep…NOS (new old stock) part…still in the box was never used.  That would be a pretty scary part!  Seals and gaskets dry out…… unprotected metal rusts …on the inside……. no, not only in that there are few to none of these parts for our GMC we have to rely on rebuilt parts.

Actually, you really want to pass up a “rebuilt” part to find a “remanufactured” part.  Rebuild and reman are 2 very different things.  A rebuilt part was dismantled, totally cleaned…the failed part in the unit is found, replaced and the part is put back together.  This means the part that had failed is new but the rest of the wear components in the part are cleaned but original.  In the case of a remanufactured part, all wear components are replaced so ALL parts of the part are new.  Unless you have to, you always wanna seek out a remanufactured part if you can find one.

But even a reman part may not be as good as a “new” one so it would be nice if we actually tested and knew that our remanufactured part is tested and can actually prove it’s a good part to use.  Hey, that’s pretty hard to find a part that’s actually been tested and has some sort of proof this was so.

Ha….now we have!  Our new start and alternator vender does just that! Check out the printout that proves each part was tested and passed…..and they give us the readout!  here is our new alternator and it’s pedigree  can you read it…..the charge/rpm chart is very interesting   I like having my parts checked out before installing them, I’m excited about finding these folks.  So now I can prove a starter or alternator works good BEFORE we spend the labor to put it in.

For the same reason is why for this crazy (on the surface) project.  Welding the front clip of a GMC to the back of a 1976 Mercedes SL450 looks maybe like Frankenstein’s playtoy As soon as this beast though is operational, we will be able to actually drive a motor and transmission before going through all the hell to install it into the coach.  No, the huge wheels will not stay.  They are giving us space to work  but still I know some will peg us a nuts….hey, I’ll accept that but I will have a pedigree on all motors and transmission leaving out of here.  To me this will be a game changer.  not to mention super fun!  We have 2 motors with transmission currently in house so lets get this sled going!

Anyway, I was pretty much “diver down” in David’s coach trimming out the wiring as the guys cut and fit his interior panels so I didn’t get that many pics, sorry.  I know you guys come here for your GMC fix…I’ll do beeter but hey, it’s that nuts around here!

Getting the scope of a coach we have here in the cue, it’s going to be a big…fun job.  Like we’ve done on the Tin Soldier, we are thinking through new floor material…which means the interior will go down to this We’re thinking honeycomb ….maybe.  If you had ever daydreamed on what could you make the inside of the motorhome of….this project will go all the way so stay tuned for that!

With the drive train now out,we need our lift back until the motor and trans is ready to put back in.  So if you’ve ever wondered how we move a motorhome with no motor?  Well here ya go….pull it from the frame Many times we will build the new motor and trans before pulling the old one out.  In this case, the new owner in Finland wanted to get his same motor back…painted in original Oldsmobile colors….hey, no problem.

Today we have bogy pins replaced, headers and a new Zip Dee awning scheduled…bring her in, the lift is open………

So the day is on, the 8am meeting is done…everyone broke on 3, the next patient is on the lift and the beat goes on.  Thanks for dropping by, if you have questions give us a call and hey, go give your coach a hug.  Nobody has to see ya, it’s just for you and the coach…….it’s important!  See ya tomorrow.

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