I recently bought belts from Honda to prep for my upcoming timing belt and water pump replacement. They weren't much more so I figured I might as well use them. As for the water pump and timing belt though is the aftermarket (AutoZone, NAPA) water pump and belt okay or better to use than the Honda? It more than likely has a better warranty and cheaper cost so I thought I would ask.

 

Id say OEM parts are almost ALWAYS better than aftermarket... if I were you I would have used Autozone or whatever belts, OEM timing belt, Waterpump and tensioner.

 

doesnt get any better than OEM Honda parts

 

If O reilly's sells gates brand timing belt thats the one honda uses alot plus it might save u some money on the timing belt. On the water pump use only honda.

 

There are some parts I won't hesitate to go to Autozone for. I use their remanufactured axles. I use their remanufactured starter. I use various other little crap like that. They do have their quirks (on the starter the terminal for the starter cable has the sheild on it upside down so you have to pull the the cables out of their holder and re-route them) but for the price difference, I can put in the extra 20 minutes of work.

I will use OE Honda parts on anything that's not a wear item that I expect to be right the first time.

 

Yeah, i bought OEM mounts for my DA. I didnt want to go the aftermarket route.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BuilttB18C5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, i bought OEM mounts for my DA. I didnt want to go the aftermarket route.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Aftermarket is a big difference than going with a Autozone mount or something. Aftermarket mounts are stiff, where I'd imagine that the Autozone OE mounts are much more plyable and like Honda OE mounts.

 

I am kind of in shock now. I just got back from the Honda dealer where I got a belt ($33) and water pump ($88). I decided to call Pep Boys to see how much I could have saved. The belt was ($35) and the water pump was ($75). Not even a $20 bill in savings. I am floored!!

 

Depends what brand you are talking about.

I don't know which brands AutoZone carries but I work for an auto parts store and we only carry the top of the line brands. We only carry parts that are as good or better than OE parts.

I've talked with reps from different companies who have shown me comparisons of their products to OE products and they are just as good if not better.

I can't vouch for what AutoZone is selling though.

I guess it's hard for the normal consumer to tell if they are getting a quality part from AutoZone, so I would be cautious as well. But in reality, many people tell you only to use OE parts, but there are other companies out there that supply the OE parts or who manufacture parts which are better than OE.

So, just because it's OE doesn't mean it's always better.