O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

[Tim S.]

In order to preserve the BB oil pump thread for its original intent, I thought I would take a few minutes to inject some knowledge I have about parts suppliers for both the aftermarket and O.E.M.. Today, most major manufacturers will trade part numbers back and forth to minimize how many SKU's they have to tool up for. This also has an effect on the GM parts everyone is so fond of. In the particular discussion about oil pumps, the fact of the matter is when you purchase a GM pump from the dealer, you do not have ANY idea as to what you are really getting. When you add that to the part consolidations that occur through the years, it is not hard to stray from a particular specification an individual it trying to achieve or maintain (oil pressure).
Today, GM and AC Delco do not produce parts. They source them, catalog them, and distribute them. Not really any different than the aftermarket parts you can buy in a traditional parts store such as Bumper to Bumper, Carquest or NAPA. Unfortunately, it is my opinion the security one seeks in using GM or AC Delco may be false.
It is not my intent to take a shot at GM, Ac Delco, or any other parts supplier that an NCRS member insists is a better quality than the rest. Duke thought I should share some of my knowledge on the subject with the membership. I elected to take the time to write this thread in order to help make the membership more of an educated buyer. My experience in the parts business comes from 25 years in automotive parts business. I am the 3rd generation in the business. Currently, I own 2 NAPA Auto Parts Stores in Wisconsin. I have been watching parts consolidation and parts exchanging between O.E. and aftermarket suppliers increase through the years. To eliminate any doubt, I must also disclose that I handle AC Delco as well. The AC Delco appears to be no better, no worse. I provide it when my customers ask for it.
In closing, I'm sure I have a few of you fired up! Please accept my apologies if that is the case. The common thread for us all on this site is the love of all things Corvette. The NCRS holds judging to a very high standard including the operation of our cars. The operation of our cars as well as the appearence is directly related to the parts we use. My thoughts are only for the sake of you consideration.
Best Regards,
Tim

[Clem Z.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

the oil pressure on the gauge depends on other things besides the oil pump. things like internal oil leaks in the engine cause by bearing clearance,type of lifters and cam bearing clearance. what oil pressure you end up with is a crap shoot. when GM built the engines they had these parameters under their control but you do not when you have your engine rebuilt

[Tim S.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Clem,
You are right. Please understand I was not just writing about oil pumps, rather all parts in general. The oil pump thread induced me to start this thread.
Tim

[Jim T.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Thanks for the information on parts. It has been in the news and there have been posts about dealerships closing across the country. What happens to a dealers inventory of parts on the shelf at the dealership when they close?
Do they return them to the GM parts distribution centers across the country or sell to other parts stores like yours?
Years ago I attended a "garage sale" for the public at a Chevy dealership. The dealership was just selling parts that had been accumulated and just sitting on the shelf.

[Tim S.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

I believe in the coming months, that is going to be quite a problem!

[Clem Z.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Thanks for the information on parts. It has been in the news and there have been posts about dealerships closing across the country. What happens to a dealers inventory of parts on the shelf at the dealership when they close?
Do they return them to the GM parts distribution centers across the country or sell to other parts stores like yours?
Years ago I attended a "garage sale" for the public at a Chevy dealership. The dealership was just selling parts that had been accumulated and just sitting on the shelf.

GM used to buy back the "obsolete" parts from the dealership BUT i bet the don't do that any more

[Duke W.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Thanks for you insight on the subject, Tom.

Duke

[Tim S.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Lately, (past 5-10 years) a dealer could only return a percentage of prior year purchases. What happens from here, I have no idea. Luckly, I do not have any GM dealer customer that are in trouble......I think

Tim

[Joe L.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

In order to preserve the BB oil pump thread for its original intent, I thought I would take a few minutes to inject some knowledge I have about parts suppliers for both the aftermarket and O.E.M.. Today, most major manufacturers will trade part numbers back and forth to minimize how many SKU's they have to tool up for. This also has an effect on the GM parts everyone is so fond of. In the particular discussion about oil pumps, the fact of the matter is when you purchase a GM pump from the dealer, you do not have ANY idea as to what you are really getting. When you add that to the part consolidations that occur through the years, it is not hard to stray from a particular specification an individual it trying to achieve or maintain (oil pressure).
Today, GM and AC Delco do not produce parts. They source them, catalog them, and distribute them. Not really any different than the aftermarket parts you can buy in a traditional parts store such as Bumper to Bumper, Carquest or NAPA. Unfortunately, it is my opinion the security one seeks in using GM or AC Delco may be false.
It is not my intent to take a shot at GM, Ac Delco, or any other parts supplier that an NCRS member insists is a better quality than the rest. Duke thought I should share some of my knowledge on the subject with the membership. I elected to take the time to write this thread in order to help make the membership more of an educated buyer. My experience in the parts business comes from 25 years in automotive parts business. I am the 3rd generation in the business. Currently, I own 2 NAPA Auto Parts Stores in Wisconsin. I have been watching parts consolidation and parts exchanging between O.E. and aftermarket suppliers increase through the years. To eliminate any doubt, I must also disclose that I handle AC Delco as well. The AC Delco appears to be no better, no worse. I provide it when my customers ask for it.
In closing, I'm sure I have a few of you fired up! Please accept my apologies if that is the case. The common thread for us all on this site is the love of all things Corvette. The NCRS holds judging to a very high standard including the operation of our cars. The operation of our cars as well as the appearence is directly related to the parts we use. My thoughts are only for the sake of you consideration.
Best Regards,
Tim

Tim-----

I agree with almost everything you pointed out. In fact, I've been saying basically the same thing for quite some time now. In the "old days", a division of GM manufactured a large majority of the parts sold under the GM or Delco brand names. However, that's not the case anymore. As you point out, AC Delco is strictly a marketing organization now; they manufacture no parts whatsoever----not even a single one as far as I know. I generally recommend AC Delco, though, since the price is usually competitive with other aftermarket and one does have some assurance in a GM-backed product. However, I wholly agree that the pieces in the AC Delco boxes are going to be generally the same as those in the boxes of any other quality aftermarket brand like NAPA, Federal Mogul (and all its MANY brands), Bosch, and many others.

GM does manufacture some parts, though. For the most part, these are major engine and transmission pieces (e.g. blocks, heads, some pistons, etc.) or body panels. That's about it, anymore. Very few of these types of components are sold through the AC Delco parts channels, though.

I read recently where AC Delco may be one of the brands that GM might sell off to raise cash. In the old days, that would have represented a real concern for me. However, not anymore. The underlying manufacturing operations are all long since gone. So, as you mention and as I agree, AC Delco is nothing more than a name on a box or package.

One other thing to keep in mind: although the major parts manufacturers to the OEM industry are usually the same as aftermarket, that does not necessarily mean the OEM parts are the same as aftermarket. OEM suppliers that also sell into the aftermarket often, but certainly not always, have separate divisions for manufacturing OEM and aftermarket parts. Sometimes, they are manufactured in completely different plants. Walker Exhaust, a division of Tenneco, is one that I know does this.

[Ken A.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Thanks for you insight on the subject, Tom.

Duke

Tom??
The main difference between GM SPO & AC Delco is that SPO parts are OEM service whereas AC Delco parts are not used in the manufacturing process & may, in fact, not be OEM acceptable because they are sourced to the lowest bidder. Delphi , however, is OEM quality and does source some parts for Delcp

[Joe L.]

Re: O.E Suppliers- Oil pump thread

Tom??
The main difference between GM SPO & AC Delco is that SPO parts are OEM service whereas AC Delco parts are not used in the manufacturing process & may, in fact, not be OEM acceptable because they are sourced to the lowest bidder. Delphi , however, is OEM quality and does source some parts for Delcp

Ken-----

The key to this is the GM "long number". If an AC Delco part has the same GM "long number" on it as the GM parts system part, then the parts are identical. If the "long number" is the same as the "long number" used in PRODUCTION, then the SERVICE part, either available through the GM or AC Delco parts system, is the same as the PRODUCTION piece.

If the AC Delco part for a particular application has a different GM "long number" than the GM parts system piece for that application with both available simultaneously, then the parts are definitely NOT the same. If the AC Delco part has no GM "long number" on the package, then 99% of the time it will not be the same part as that available for the application through the GM parts system and will, of course, NOT be the same as used in PRODUCTION.

Are there ever times when the AC Delco part for a particular application is the same as PRODUCTION but the GM parts system part is not? Yes, there are. However, it's EXCEEDINGLY rare and, currently, it's probably nonexistent. A few examples from days of old involve certain fuel pumps and ignition parts.