After Market vs OEM Parts

Bob C

Bob C

Member
Sep 27, 2009
37
PGYC, Beautiful Lake Erie
Boat Info
1990 Searay 270 Sundancer, interior updated, otherwise totally stock. Not one hole added!!
Engines
Twin 4.3's w ith Alpha drives. 4 blade props.
600 hrs, maintained 110%
Hi, I am just in the process of doing some preventative maintenace on Alpha Drives. I was ordering parts and saw there is a big difference in price between Mercruiser and Aftermarket parts. I would not have been surprised to see a small difference but water pumps kits, fasteners and gaskets seemed almost double in price as from Mercruiser.

I don't want to be "penny foolish" and stray away from Mercruiser OEM parts, but what is the feeling about using critical, ie water pumps, aftermarket drive parts like Sierra or GLM vs Mercruiser?

Just a note that I am an avid Mercruiser supporter, and I'd not even question getting OEM parts ... but the $ difference seems significant.

Thanks ... launch is only 7 months away ... :huh:
 
I posted this earlier today on this thread:

"I would stay away from Sierra. It's knock off crap in my opinion. Look at it this way, if the Merc(recemmended) kit is $100 and the Sierra (knock off) kit is $50, is it worth the extra $$$ if the Sierra's performance is lower or decides to take a crap on you. I say this knowing that a few years ago a friend installed a Sierra starter in his boat, then if crapped out after two months, he returned it, got the replacement, another 3-4 months go by, crapped out again. No he has a Merc starter in there that has been in there for 3 or 4 years"
 
Nehalennia said:
I posted this earlier today on this thread:

"I would stay away from Sierra. It's knock off crap in my opinion. Look at it this way, if the Merc(recemmended) kit is $100 and the Sierra (knock off) kit is $50, is it worth the extra $$$ if the Sierra's performance is lower or decides to take a crap on you. I say this knowing that a few years ago a friend installed a Sierra starter in his boat, then if crapped out after two months, he returned it, got the replacement, another 3-4 months go by, crapped out again. No he has a Merc starter in there that has been in there for 3 or 4 years"
Click to expand...

WOW !! Pretty dramatic statement to make, based on a third partys experience ??? Who knows the facts on this one, maybe he cranked the guts out of the starter for 15 minutes before it "crapped" out, or maybe he was just out of fuel and the starter got the blame.

My experience has been to be able to find better quality parts other than OEM and at much less cost. eg. Riser manifold gaskets. Thermoseal Klingerite pre cut gaskets from Osco Motors are a mile better quality at 1/4 the price compared to the OEM rubbish with "Made in China" stamped in fine print on the plastic bags.

A keen buyer, who knows his stuff, can certainly buy better quality at a better price rather than wearing a path to an OEM dealer.

Just my 2c worth !
 
As always there is junk out there, but many many times you can find better products at, as our friend from downunder states: OEM rubbish with "Made in China" stamped in fine print on the plastic bags."

For my boat, I have gone to Advanced auto, NAPA and have gotten water pumps etc. The only exception is electrical stuff, which I buy from a marine parts dealer, but still cheaper than Merc. Just do your research.:thumbsup:
 
I use aftermarket parts all the time without difficulty. I have used Sierra filters and impellers without a problem for about 15 years now. The oil and lubes are were you can really save money. Anecdotely I have never used volva brand oil in my cobalt and have not had a problem in almost 15 years.

John
 
OEM:grin:

Sierra parts are hit or miss, DO NOT get sierra bellows as they are smaller and almost impossible to install.

Filters/oils/gaskets hell even carb kits, is ok to save a buck or two. Anything that needs EXACT fitment should be an oem part because that is where you run into trouble with aftermarket

I'll still tell people to the day i die that oem is the way to go. I only carry mercrusier parts for a reason, besides being a premier dealer. :grin:

And the Sierra starter comment is very real, have run into many of those DIYers who wanna do it for as cheap as possible and end up spending more money in the long run
 
I was in a pinch and needed a starter for an upcoming trip. Picked up an "off the shelf" one (Sierra) from WM on Saturday night and threw it in on Sunday morning, in time for a Monday departure. That was 4 years ago and no incidents since.

For all other occasions, I stick with OEM stuff. Way I see it, if I apply a fraction of the money I save by doing it myself to the higher cost of Merc and Quicksilver parts, I'm still way ahead of the game.
 
Last edited:
Chris Dauth said:
WOW !! Pretty dramatic statement to make, based on a third partys experience ??? Who knows the facts on this one, maybe he cranked the guts out of the starter for 15 minutes before it "crapped" out, or maybe he was just out of fuel and the starter got the blame.

My experience has been to be able to find better quality parts other than OEM and at much less cost. eg. Riser manifold gaskets. Thermoseal Klingerite pre cut gaskets from Osco Motors are a mile better quality at 1/4 the price compared to the OEM rubbish with "Made in China" stamped in fine print on the plastic bags.

A keen buyer, who knows his stuff, can certainly buy better quality at a better price rather than wearing a path to an OEM dealer.

Just my 2c worth !
Click to expand...

Nope I won't buy crap. My time on the water is too precious and nothing makes the Admiral more nervous than mechanical issues. It's third party because I don't own that stuff when it comes to the boat and it's a part I rely on to get home. I also have a spare starter on board. Yes you can find superior products to OEM in some cases but you won't find the Sierra name on it.
 
BTW, the one that crapped out was rebuilt and installed on the other engine and the one removed from that one (which was working fine) is now my spare.

Oops, I forgot - I used all NAPA ignition components on the two tune-ups I did on this boat. Wires, caps, rotors done when I purchased the boat and again this past spring. The ignition coils were Napa too, but only did that once. Never had an ignition related problem in what is approaching 250 hours. A wise man told me that Merc outsources the ignition components anyway, and their wires aren't that special. Other stuff (belts, raw water pump housings and impellers, elbow gaskets) were all Quicksilver/Merc. I would NOT trust anything but OEM engine components, especially castings and gaskets.

As an aside, all NAPA marine part numbers correspond with Sierra part numbers.
 
Can't find too many OMC factory parts anymore. GLM and Sierra (NAPA) keep me going.:grin:
 
There are OEM suppliers that have the ability to make both...supply factory parts and remove the OEM logo and supply the after market.... both parts identical but the one without the logo can be half or less the price....Then there are companies like Holley that can re engineer a air handling part and make it better than OEM....for usually the same price and twice the operating characteristics.....and then the third I have seen myself in China .... foundries copying North American auto parts....one example was a used Corvette exhaust manifold with pretty unsophisticated tools using them to reverse engineer it for an aftermarket supplier... you just know it was going to be crap.....

So I wouldn't say any one of the options out there should be completely avoided... What I would suggest is if you don't know the differance buy OEM you just can't go wrong.... if you really are bent on saving some money do your research... because sometimes it can cost you a lot more than it should of
 
Last edited:
I think it depends on the part and how hard it is to change. If it something major and buried then use oem. At least you KNOW its gonna work. If its something simple to change than lean towards aftermarket. You don't wanna tear something all down only to find out it wont fit/work or worse put it back together and have it fail. Cut twice measure once kinda thing. Pay a little now or double later.
 
I think the only things left on my SBC 383 that are OEM, are the raw water pump, the exhaust manifolds, risers, and the block. If the exhausts weren't so good condition (FWC) I would have changed them to stainless steel.

The old 5.7 was getting tired, so why not re build to 383 CID. Only cost $7k with quality parts imported from the USA and MADE in the USA. This is a much better motor than the stock 377 CID (6.2L) from Merc.

The performance engine industry in the US have been making better parts for GM and Ford motors for decades, so why not use this advanced technology for our boats. Even a simple change to Iridum spark plugs will give better performance and better fuel economy. Why stay with 1930's technology because the origional plugs were "OEM".

Isn't this realy a "mind set". Wasn't it one of the problems with the Americian AND Australian motor industrys and the reason why the Japanese took over larger and larger market share ?? "If it's not Ford or GM, it can't be any good !" (or Merc)

Like I said above "A keen buyer, who knows his stuff, can certainly buy better quality at a better price rather than wearing a path to an OEM dealer."

This post is a plug for the US manufacturers by an Australian :thumbsup:
 
when it comes to water pumps, stay with mercruiser for alpha and bravo seawater pumps..

I did a batch order 4 years ago for sierra alpha/MR pump kits every impeller within 1to1.5 years spun the hub.. I ate all those pump kits and labor replaced them all with merc impellers. My rep never did take care of the warranty for them I still have a few kicking around the shop to remind me.. I am not a fan of interstate batteries either I have eaten about 6 those also for customers.. I am a deka dealer for the last 6 years I have only had to replace none the several returned charged and returned to the customer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,194
Messages
1,428,282
Members
61,099
Latest member
Three Amigos
Back
Top