GBMUD Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 I bought, from a well known supplier, a 'Valeo Clutch Kit for Td5 (plate, cover and release bearing'. It has arrived as a 'Clutch kit - less bearing' and has had a bearing inserted in the box. The friction plate and cover both have Valeo printed on them with some manufacturing data, the bearing has none and is in a plain plastic bag. Have I been duped? Should a Valeo bearing have 'Valeo' printed or embossed somewhere, or are they all like that? Anyone set eyes on one recently? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted May 27, 2015 Share Posted May 27, 2015 i recently replaced the clutch on a 300TDi CSW, and while the old clutch was a wrecked Valeo set, I replaced like for like. The replacement was also valeo, and plate and cover were both marked as such. The thrust bearing I guess is just too small for any kind of marking, but as far as I know - clutches are only ever supplied in kit form (3-pieces), from the manufacturer so I would guess that the whole kit is valeo. I personally don't like Valeo, as on L/R's they tend to break - rather than wear out in my experience. Borg and Beck always seem to be more suitable. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Valeo is apparently OE for a Td5. The website offers a three part kit, but the actual clutch kit states that it is 'less bearing', so I assume that has been added somewhere along the line. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 I rang Valeo this morning to ask them for their advice. They say that they do not make ANY aftermarket release bearings for Defender, so the bearing I have is definitely NOT Valeo. I called the retailer and they admitted that their website was misleading and that they have inserted the cheap bearing in the package. They will refund the cost of the cheap carp bearing. I suggested that not only should they make it clearer on their website what they are actually selling, but that assuming someone is buying a premium brand OE clutch they could at least supply one of their OE quality bearings! Imagine having to remove the gearbox again to fix a single poor quality part when you have spent out on quality. Big thanks to Nige/HfH for supplying a good quality bearing and spigot bush this morning at short notice - and for getting out of bed before 930 to do so. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Big thanks to Nige/HfH for supplying a good quality bearing and spigot bush this morning at short notice - and for getting out of bed before 930 to do so. I was about to suggest that this is the way to go. Mail order parts purchase is a minefield as so many of the descriptions are poor and you really dont know what you have bought until you have it in your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 It's very true that - and when the undesirable or unwanted part arrives you've got the hassle and expense of sending it back. It happened to me a couple of times in the last two weeks - very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I was about to suggest that this is the way to go. Mail order parts purchase is a minefield as so many of the descriptions are poor and you really dont know what you have bought until you have it in your hands. It's very true that - and when the undesirable or unwanted part arrives you've got the hassle and expense of sending it back. It happened to me a couple of times in the last two weeks - very frustrating. I know I bang on about it a bit... but this is where buying from my local parts place where I can pop in makes it so much more pleasurable buying parts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 What if you don't have a local parts place ? Would you mind getting them for your local place and run them over Ross. ? Mo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I have a local place 20 miles away but they're basically just a distribution office for Britpart as everything they sell seems to be made by them. You can get other brands but have to order them in which kind of negates the convenience factor. I used to buy most things from the local dealer but now that's 50 miles away so mail order is my only option. It's also far cheaper! Got motor factors for a lot of bits of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I'm in the same position as Retroanaconda - I've got John Craddock on my way to/from work every day but they only stock britpart and look at you like you've asked to have a go on their wife if you question the quality. I need to find a local bearmach vendor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Me too. My local pats place is basically a britpart dealer or any other cheap carp they can get their hands on. Then they complain when you take things back. It's a shame as they are 5 mins drive from me and open on Saturday mornings. They cater for the local market that has so much money they can afford to pay them to replace parts until a fix is found and carry on replacing the BP parts as they fail. I've given up with them though and, when is don't want to risk mail order, drive 20 miles to a decent LR Indy that stocks a large range of quality bits, doesn't quibble when you say you don't want britpart and offers good advice over the counter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I have quite a big parts place near me - but they are really quite expensive and not really interested ... Shopping always involves being slightly shocked and mildly affronted. Thus mail order .... I also have to say I usually use Brit-car and I've never had an issue. My recent issues have been suppliers on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I guess not everyone is lucky enough to have a decent local place . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 I lack confidence, trust, the will or the funds to use my most local parts dealers. One is a miserable bugger who never smiles, one is way overpriced and stuck in his own backside (IMHO) and all other options start to look a little far afield. Closest one I can think of and trust would be Autopost in SW19 - and they are in London and appear not to open Saturdays Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 My heart weeps for you poor Landy owners who have to go 20 - 30 - 70 miles to get decent spares! How do you think the majority of overseas owners manage? I'm in western Canada and my major sources of spares are the websites of UK suppliers, and this forum for information. In country suppliers are more expensive than supplies from UK including freight and import duty. That's one reason why I'm probably a PITA in trying to ascertain the appropriate parts and manufacturers' part numbers for my vehicle. My nearest LR specialist is 10 hrs. drive away, so please, keep on relating your stories of good and bad experiences with parts suppliers and parts manufacturers, because it helps all of us ex-patriot Landy owners make better orders. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 The quality of parts is getting more and more varied. I have on the odd occasion fitted Britpart, and have had absolute rubbish - water pump shaft came loose after a couple of weeks, rear brake cylinder that didn't have the brake pipe thread tapped, a swivel rebuild kit for a LTWT, that was so rubbish that I didn't even fit it.. But then I fitted 2 suspension bladders to a TD5 and they were genuine in the box. There's a multitude of parts suppliers and some of those are rubbish, so it's not just a L/R problem. Head gasket that was thicker at one end than the other, so leaked coolant as soon as I filled the system, Focus front wheel bearing that had so much play in it that it would fail the MOT, etc, etc. For someone like me - it means doing the job twice for the same price as doing it once. If a customer wants to supply the part/s themselves ( and this is getting more common), and I'm not familiar with the brand, then labour guarantee only. You still can't beat buying what you know - QH, Lucas, Timken, Gates, Powertrain, Bosch, Bearmach, etc, etc Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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