The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How many of you get wrong parts or miss matched parts?

I was delayed over two weeks due to a company canceling my order because I was not able to call them and confirm my information even though I paid and my card was charged? My card was credited, but I didn't get parts.

Then I get parts for my disk brake conversion. Open every thing, looks good, and I begin assembling, painting etc.

I find out they sent me two right side spindles. I call, and one will be sent right away. So I continue on the right side.

I go to put the wheel on and get 3 lugnuts finger threaded so I can make sure there are no clearance issues. Then start bumping them home with my small battery impact.

Lugnuts stop and wheel is still loose. Hmm I think maybe studs are too long so I try to back the nuts off. No go, tight as tight gets. I eventually broke the three studs off? WTH?

Upon further investigation on one rotor I have 4 studs that appear to be metric and 2 that are correct 7/16 x 20. Pull other rotor out of packaging and I have 5 correct 7/16 x 20 studs and 1 incorrect. Another WTH moment.

Lugnut goes on/off perfect with the 7/16 x 20 studs. The metric stud it will thread on a ways and then bind.

Everyone is scratching their heads on this one. Company is sending me new studs so I can pound out and replace. They are doing nothing for my wrecked lugnuts, but are giving me $120 towards my next purchase which will be a PS setup for the truck.

Does everyeone else get wrong stuff like I do? I am so sick of getting wrong parts for everything. It has gotten to the point I wont go to a parts house without the old part in hand so I can compare because what is on the shelf or in the back is wrong.

I've been lucky with only one "incorrect" part...so far. Bought a replacement floor panel from Jim Carter a while back, what arrived was different than what was pictured on the site, but I made it work

Between manufacturers in some third world country employing pre-pubescent workers, and distributors using minimum wage order pickers, the results are pretty predictable. Then everybody gets into a race to the bottom to see who can provide the worst customer service at the highest possible profit margin. Welcome to the brave new world of doing business online instead of going to the corner auto parts store when you need something. Also, three of the packages I've received from USPS in the past month have arrived with damage, taped up and bearing a USPS sticker saying "We're sorry your package was damaged in shipment!" One of them had no merchandise in it at all- - - -just wadded-up packing paper. The seller reimbursed me for the cost of the item and my shipping charges, but I doubt that he will be ablle to collect on his loss.
Jerry

What can we learn from this post? Check, double check and then triple check ALL your parts before you install them. It’s much easier to send parts back or communicate with the supplier if you don’t damage them trying to make them fit. This post is not intended to reflect poorly on anyone just raise awareness.

Never heard of a company having to have you call to confirm your info. Never. That is a red flag to me. Also you need to tell us who it is so that we know if it is one we commonly use for that type of item like CPP, POL, Classic, J. Carter, Speedway, Jeggs, Summit...........or some flunky place. There are all kinds of scenarios here but have not heard of one of those companies having mixed threads. If you used a funky place, they may be buying "send backs" and refurbishing. Someone ordered metric studs to fix a returned item.

1. Having to call to confirm payment/address. Never heard of that. What is there to confirm? Did you not fill out something correctly? Completely? Why were you not "able" to call?
2. Sending two right sides'. Super bad product marking system or bad order filler person.
3. Installed mixed threaded studs. Very inexcusable and very dangerous. Never head of that either.

Does not sound like those companies I mentioned. Please prove me wrong. They do make some mistakes but not those kind. They don't need a phone call after payment. What exactly did they ask you on the phone? Some of the information is not for their employee to know. I.E. credit card number, expiration, 3 digit code. At any rate we need to know who it is. You shouldn't be having all that trouble with a truck that is at the upper end of old. 1966.


Also I will tell you the same thing I tell the Discount tire kids: When you hand turn a lug nut, Your hand gets a 1/4 turn each time. If you do that 4 times thinking you really started the nut good, you have only turned it 1 or so threads. NOT ENOUGH for completing with an impact, which you can't feel cross threading.
Also........for all of us, don't use an impact on lug nuts unless you know what you are doing. The studs are too hard to fix. Unlike a bolt somewhere. Treat putting on lug nuts with great care. If you use a big honking impact, then check it with a torque wrench, and it clicks right away, What torque does it really have? Will anyone be able to remove it out on the road?

"A cat that has sat on a hot stove will never again sit on a cold one!"
Mark Twain

There would be popsicles on sale in the middle of Death Valley in the summertime before I'd take advantage of that "discount" from a vendor who had treated me the way you were messed over! "Hurt me once- - -shame on you. Hurt me twice- - -shame on me!"
Jerry

In my experience it depends on who you're dealing with and not much more than that. I've had excellent results with The Filling Station. I've had close to excellent results with Rock Auto. I've had horrible results with some others, but there's probably no need to mention them. If you deal with the two I've mentioned you'll be treated fairly and the Mickey Mouse factor should be pretty low to nonexistent. Also a red flag is cost of shipping. Some of the turkeys out there consider shipping cost to be a profit center for them. I don't like that. It tells me they enjoy putting their hand in my wallet.

I had that problem with CPP. I placed an order online and they emailed me to say I needed to call due to an issue with it. I spent a total of 5 hours on hold over 3 days before someone finally answered the phone. The problem was that I used a dedicated card number with only the amount of the total authorized and they were adding an extra $5 "handling fee" that wasn't listed on the order confirmation so it wouldn't go through.

Got that sorted with some angry words and threats of a lawsuit if they pulled that **** again. After 3 weeks, I spent another couple hours on hold to see where my parts were because I never got a shipping notification. They insisted that my parts were indeed shipped and I should get them any day.

A week later, the parts did show up with a label showing that they shipped 2 days *after* I called and asked about it.

When I opened the box, they had sent me chromed parts instead of the black I had ordered. After *another* round of being on hold, they told me to just paint them and they would credit me $3 for the paint.

I finally just said screw it, did a chargeback on the CC, and refuse to do business with them ever again.

I know a lot of people swear by them and have good experiences with them. In my case, they had a whole stack of opportunities to make this right and squandered every one of them.

I kind of agree not to use them again but $120 is hard to pass up. It seems like they did remedy everything? If they told me to press in new studs I would have to have an email stating that I'm not a stud installer mechanic and if I screw up they will send new rotors and etc. Otherwise I want a new one instead of studs. If you screw up the hole and new stud won't bite, they will blame you.

I was going to order tires from an outfit in PA, but they wanted $3000 to ship 5 tires priced at ~$100 each to Alaska. But their website said free shipping. I called to find out what the deal was, and they said each tire cost $600 to ship. At that point I told them I could fly down there and bring the tires back with me as baggage for less money. They stuck to their $3000 cost. As the tires were hard to find elsewhere, I bought them, using the free shipping to a Freight forwarding company in WA that I'd used before, who charged me $180 to bring them up to me at their local terminal.
@Fibonachu I'll bet they never said "Sorry for the trouble" either.

BTW, the offending companies (yes there are two) are named in his rant in the Greasy Spoon.

Shockingly enough, once I did the CC chargeback they called the next day demanding their parts back. I told them to provide a prepaid shipping label and schedule a UPS pickup because I was not spending a dime. Never heard from them again. I figure I will give it 6 months of silence before I consider the parts mine and use them anyway.

The worst I've experienced has had the "covid shortage" in the last 2 years. Out of stock with no indicator when ordering. Have to wait weeks for it.
I do occasionally get the part, like Possums experience, that doesn't look like what was shown, or just doesn't quite fit. So instead of dealing with the seller I make it work.

I quit doing business with Victor Machinery Company for machine shop tooling and supplies when they started making outrageous shipping charges. I can get virtually the same Chinese made tooling on Ebay without paying a ridiculous surcharge for the privelege of being able to pick up the phone and talk to some sarcastic dude from Noo Yawk (or maybe it's Noo Joisey) if I need to discuss something!
Jerry

Hey! Easy on NOO YAWK! It’s a big State and the city is only a small part it.

I am fortunate that there is a really good machine shop supply place a couple exits down the 84.

'Noo Yawk City'
Well. It is the place where we don't want our salsa to come from.
Each region has it's 'bad business' to deal with. It is nice to have a forum like this to for-warn the members of past experiences with these businesses.

Do they have a website, or are they strictly a brick and mortar operation?
Jerry

I can only add a different twist to your dilemma. I dont want to admit it - but there have been times when a project has been on hold for some time - and the shop is a mess and disorganized. I see a part listed that I need - and then buy it, pay for shipping, put it away but only next to the same part that I already had and ready to be installed.

So, yes I do get wrong parts delivered on occasion or poor quality ones - but I also seems to enjoy putting out good money for double and triple parts, only to have to sell the extras at a loss. Go figure. It pays to stay organized...and on task to complete a project.

Hope it works out for you - I can relate to your frustration too.

Tom,
After buying extra parts as you mentioned in your post, I taught myself how to use the Excell spreadsheet. Now I list the date purchased, Description, P/N, supplier, price inc tax and shipping and location (were I placed the part until needed) Once I use the the part, I replace the location with Installed.
I can tell at a glance where the parts are and the TOTAL price of what I have purchased.
It takes a few minutes to set up but the end result pays off "BIG TIME" in knowing where your parts are and preventing duplicate buys. It is also a "road map" of what is left to do to complete the project.

Harold

I ordered parts from Jim Carter last Friday. They arrived 5 days later. I have always gotten parts from them very promptly, can't say the same for Chevys of the 40s.

Rick

Harold, That's a good idea, but it's probably too late for me.
But one thing you DON'T want to do is look at the TOTAL price of your project.

And the wife doesn't have the password to the spreadsheet to find out what you REALLY spent on the project.
Was my nightmare for me personally.

Chip,

Place under an Allis "spiders and snakes -how to control"
Harold

I ordered a power steering "kit" from tuckers , specifically for my 64 inline 6 after calling them and them assuring me i wouldnt need any extra double pulleys . I get the kit and the brackets are wrong , theyre for a v8 , call back and he kinda doubted me saying he couldnt see where i ordered the 6 brackets , then oh yeah here it is wonder how i missed that? he says . so i wait another couple weeks and the brackets show up and they dont fit , they changed vendors and i have to grind and cut to get them to fit , ok no biggy, get everything set up and fan hits alternator ! , i call him back he says i need double pulleys ! I say you told me when i called the kit remedied that issue , yeah but we changed vendors so ill send ya the pulleys at my cost which was fair but hey this has already cost me 4 weeks and my labor twice , so i say forget it ill send all the brackets back and ill get yogis setup . 2 more weeks i get yogis brackets , yup power steering pump from tuckers wont work i need a different one !!. I go to parts store and get the right pump and finally get the darn thing put back together ! This is just one vendor ive had trouble with , they all suffer from the same problem , no help or help that just doesnt care and we are the ones that suffer !

When he told you they changed vendors, you should have told him that you were changing vendors, too!

I bought a 100 count box of Hillman 1/4-20 nuts from Lowes's Home Improvement (1,728 stores in the USA).
All the threads were slightly large and would not hold when tightened.
I had to stop what I was doing and make another trip into town.
I remember a time when the Quality Control department was harsh and you could lose your job if you made bad work at the factory.
Now the work is farmed-out to slave labor factories in Asia.