Where do you guys buy your OEM parts? Especially when it's tough to find parts for that specific car? I'm trying to find some front and rear OEM springs for my 1989 Mitsubishi Mirage GT/ Dodge Colt GT, but it's proving to be difficult as fuck.
Also, has anybody used parts.com? It seems a bit sketchy.
forums and ebay. welcome to hell.
www.subaruparts.com
www.partsonline.com
www.subarupartsonline.com
www.directsubarupartsonline.com
etc.
One of these is actually Irving Subaru in Washington. IIRC another one is Tacoma Subaru in, I guess, probably Tacoma. The new standard website software is trash but I already downloaded the parts lookup diagrams years ago. I don't know why sometimes one is cheaper than the other.
Well, guess I'm going to have to try that, I can already feel the frustration.
>I don't know why sometimes one is cheaper than the other.
That's one of the reasons why I feel it might be kind of a scam, the website is just so barebones that it really makes me nervous. I mean $300 for 4 springs? That's fucking ridiculous.
Well of all the things I might buy used (got a FUCKING AWESOME deal on some fresh old rims from a forum the other month) I probably would cough up the shekels for new springs.
It's not like a halfshaft or something where the money is on a remanufactured.
Well, I guess I might as well order them. I already got some new struts and tires all ready for the springs. I'm about to pull the trigger.
I've never had a problem with the various sites I've used over the years. If you don't want to spend the time to prowl forms or hit a scrap yard it gets the job done for the price of newshit tax without having to pay full official shop parts price.
I usually don't bother unless there's an aftermarket part or whatever because OEM is stupid expensive or you have to buy some $500 gagglebag assembly just to get the one little part you actually need.
Well, here's where my problem lies, the springs that I currently have one haven't been replaced in years, it's got some rust and open tears through the rubber coating. I was looking to get some OEM ones, but I could only find them at parts.com, although I keep finding lowering springs, should I just get those?
Here's one I'm looking at: ebay.com
Are your springs cracked, making noise, rusting, or otherwise cause for concern? Springs are literally pieces of spring steel (can't be melted by jet fuel unlike beam steel) and pretty much don't wear out ever unless you manage to break them somehow.
They don't make noise but they do have some small amount of rust on them. Here's a picture.
That's barely even surface rust. You'd be lucky if your paper-thin layers of unibody normalfag steel looked like that. That's like maybe, what, 3/8" of solid spring steel its trying to rust through?
Bitch please.
So, should I just fucking forget about the springs and continue on with restoring the rest of the car? I appreciate it, man. It's that with me replcing the strut, tire, brake and rotor, I wanted to see if I truly needed to replace the spring.
Yeah, leave the springs. Struts, tires, rotors, brake pads are all worth it. Brake calipers wait until they act up.
Thanks man, I appreciate it, hopefully I can restore it back to looking stock and clean.
Fun fact: Only 1,500 Dodge Colt GT's were made and this one has a 4G63T engine swap that I got for around $800.
Everybody needs and gets to have something happy in life, no matter how much it sucks. The trick is to make the best of it because it only gets worse.
You can just scuff them up and rattle can them. Those springs are fine. I've seen worse looking ones on cars that are less than 2 years old.
I'd give KYB a shot. They make a lot of OEM suspension shit for Japanese cars, probably your DSM(?) too.
Won't "officially" be factory, but I've heard good stuff about KYB.
As for other parts. A lot of the Japanese companies have the same suppliers. Excedy, forgot the wheel bearing one etc. If you can order directly from them you'll save the stealership cost and have OEM parts.
(I know for sure Excedy does it)
I went through this hell earlier this year with my '72 Saab.
Had to order what I needed from like 4 different websites all across the EU after WEEKS of scouring PDFs of shop manuals for part numbers.
And then trying to find said part numbers online.
But I could've gotten springs way easier than the kind of stuff I wanted which was like, "That ONE FUCKING NUT".
I don't buy OEM parts for my car.
the aftermarket parts are generally better and cheaper.
these springs are the least of your worries
>forgot the wheel bearing one
KOYO
>not seeing "NIPPON DENSO" or "Mitsubishi" stamped on your parts
>having no jaydem streetcred
Try rockauto.com I used to have a chevy silverado and needed a really obscure part that went in the door panel and rockauto was the only place I could find it where it didn't cost $500.
I appreciate all the responses, really helps me out a ton in case I miss a good website. Why does it have to be difficult to find parts for a car that you want to restore and cruise around while listening to eurobeat?
I actually used KYB shock absorbers, bellows and bushing. So far so good, now I just got to wait for the other two back ordered tires to get here.
Yeah, I've had this car for a good while now and I want finish up the essential stuff before winter arrives here in Minnesota, I've been pulling my hair at some small things I just can't find.
I've used rockauto it's pretty good, also carparts.com is a great site, usually cheap parts too.
Your mistake was you weren't listening to supereuoobeat. Only when you direct-inject the way, the truth, and the life into you brain will you be up to the task.