Agree on the bad quality with Duralast parts from AutoZone. Bought a clutch master cylinder and the thing kept sucking air, could never get the system clear of air. Got a different brand and it bled and stayed that way 1st time.

 

Someone needs to start a thread that list all the Cherokee parts NOT made in China, should be a sticky.

 

I imagine that would be a very short thread.

 

OEM tstats seems to have changed in the past year. I bought one from the dealership a couple months back as a spare and they now say they are made by Motorad in Israel. The one I have bought a couple years back was USA made with no discernible markings.

 

Are some Moog parts still made in the US? I thought the parts with C or CK in the part number were the ones made in China?

 

now that's funny right there, and a clever way to make a political jab in a parts thread... caught my attention as this was the first year for me to vote, I voted Perot....

Timken are fine bearings, I run them in my 3/4ton ... I tried saving money and bought some chinese junk for $100ea failed within one year, replaced with Timken for around $50 more and couldn't be happier, sad thing is another forum I frequent recommended Timken but I went with my better judgement (considering internet hype) and thought I'd save money....

never been more wrong, moral of the story is I now avoid ANYTHING CHINESE when possible, not just auto parts either......

 

No guarantee that OEM parts are any better than after market. I've had just as many. As a matter of fact, recently I bought a thermostat from the local dealer. It was in a Stant box.

 

Since thermostats seems to be a weak link in all areas, has anyone found a very good aftermarket stat? One that doesn't fluctuate temps like a herp derp? My advance stant stat sucks.

 

A lot of people swear by Stants, but I had one that did not close correctly resulting in unstable temps. I had another one that worked perfectly.

 

With regard to the Bosch spark plugs; I learned with my 98' that Champion was the only way to go. Bosch, of course, was my first spark plug purchase on a Jeep (name brand, can't go wrong). The engine wouldn't have them. Misfired like hell. I contacted my mechanic, at a wonderful shop in Knoxville, TN called, Just Jeeps. He said Jeeps will not run on anything but Champion. It must be possible to run Bosch in a Jeep successfully but, I've never been able to make it work. And there isn't a damn thing wrong with Champion.


Littelfuse relays are not OEM. Bought a flasher relay from O'O'O'... Only the right e-flasher works. You have to turn on the left turn signal to suffice.


Dorman (HELP!) "PCV" grommets make a loose seal in the valve cover (made in China). The NAPA one is way beefier and just fine (made in Taiwan). I'd really like to stay away from anything related to CCV valves/elbows which are mislabeled as PCV. Seems like that should be your sign.


I mistakenly bought a Duralast MAP sensor. I hope that doesn't turn out to be a real mistake. fingers crossed.


Most of all, I hope this thread comes back. I noticed there haven't been any posts since 2012. Not having bought very many parts for my Jeep at all, I assumed Crown was a good brand. Now, I'm not so sure. It'd be nice to see more opinions on various parts and brands so I and others may have enough information with which to form an opinion.


Here is my contribution. I hope it helps.


Sticky this or something....

 

I consider my Bosch platinum (standard) plugs to be an upgrade, not an attempt to equal the original OEM plugs that were included in the 4.0 design 30+/- years ago.

 

That's great. You are literally the first person I've met whose Jeep would accept them. Maybe it's a year/model thing. My 98' hated it. Yet with Champions, it cranked right up.

 

I know there are others out there who have used the plats for years but I couldn't begin to tell you the model years involved. Totally beside the point for this thread, but I've had my '93 for 8+ years. First 5 yrs platinum / Next 2 yrs Champion copper / back to platinum now for 2 years.

I tried the coppers after the never ending raving on the subject on various forums and I wanted to give them a fair test. I thought: my Jeep runs well now, everything will be super with the Champions. I won't say that performance was all that different but MPG slowly deteriorated and plugs were completely gone with gap so wide that its a miracle that the silly thing ran at all.

Sorry I brought it up. Not likely anyone is going to switch because of my experience and I have no vested interest in having them do so. Of course we now have iridium..........

 

My red 96 will run on any spark plug you can thread into the hole lol

 

Well, that's wonderful. Maybe I'll give them a try the next go round. For now, it's Champion double platinums.