wrote:
On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:13:54 -0600, Leon wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 24 Dec 2013 03:56:25 -0600, Leon wrote:

"Lew Hodgett" wrote:
I have a 1999 Toyota Tacoma P/U truck with 128,000 miles on it.

Today it started running "Rough" so stopped by my mechanic to
have it checked out.

Turns out that a spark plug wire had shorted out.

An after market set of four (4) wires were $48 while wires from Toyota
were $83.

Looks like a straight forward decision, after market parts are the
way to go, but there is one more piece of information that is needed
to
be known.

The original wires lasted 90,000 miles with no problems when they
were changed out with an after market set of wires which only lasted
38,000 before failure.

Based on that information, the Toyota set of wires for $83 looks like
the best deal, and they were installed.

Time will tell if I made the correct decision.

Lew

There is a reason that Toyota is one of the most reliable brand vehicles on
the planet. Toyota does not use after market parts to manufacture their
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^
vehicles. I think you made the right decision Lew. Other brand vehicles,
^^^^^^^^
maybe not.

Huh?

1) The parts an OEM uses to manufacture their cars are, by definition,
NOT "after market".

OEM was never previously mentioned, until you must mentioned.
OEM and after market are NOT necessarily the same. OEM parts are
manufactured to a specific standard. Not all after market parts are.

What confused me was, "Toyota does not use after market parts to
manufacture their vehicles."

How can they? ...by the definition of the terms.

stuff resulting from the above misunderstanding, snipped

Manufacturers offer several different grades and or styles of a given part
While OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer, a part commonly
referred to as OEM in the trades is one that is basically indistinguishable
from any other same OEM part manufactured by a different manufacturer and
is built to the specifications of the automobile manufacturer.. It is
common for several manufacturers to make the same OEM part for a car
builder. Car builders can't rely on a single source for the same part.

There are countless after market parts that are made by a top quality
manufacturer but not all of the parts qualify as OEM
And even though these parts may perform as well as the OEM parts that they
manufacture there may be a physical difference that increases its coverage
of vehicles that it may fit.

K&M makes top quality after market air cleaners but for the most part they
are not OEM.
To install these after market air cleaners the installer might have to make
some kind of modification to any number of things, snorkel hoses, vacuum
lines, heat riser tubes, etc.. If K&M makes an OEM air cleaner for a given
vehicle the part will perform, fit, and look like the original.