Has anyone purchased a distributor from Rockauto.com?

RockAuto.com

WORLD POWER SYSTEMS Part # DST17401
w/Coil# TC-05A; Only w/ID# TD-01U

I've purchased two from Ebay and it it's giving me a hard time. My original dizzy was fried and stalled on me so I purchased the dizzy from Ebay as it was about $80 shipped.

The ebay dizzy is the TD-01U and its causing the civic to throw a code 4(crank positioning/angle sensor). My original dizzy is a TD-01U as well. Although, the aftermarket unit from ebay is different with the internal parts.
The civic starts and will drive but it bogs after it warms up and the CEL will come on.



This is for a 89 civic std 1.5l dpfi

 

I can’t say I have bought a distributor from RockAuto, but I HAVE had better luck with parts from RA over eBay. eBay can be crap because it depends on the individual seller. Everything I have received from RA is still on my car today and in good working order. HTH.

 

Thanks for the response, anyone else?

 

Honda ignition systems operate with in a inch of their life. Most aftermarket re-manufactured ignition parts do not work well with Honda's. What exactly "fried" on your original distributor? I can't say that I've seen one just decide to say **** all and burst into flames.

 

I purchased a reman distrib from rockauto for my 85 Subaru BRAT. Installed it around 120k. It just died, only 134k on it, pure junk not solidly rebuilt on the electrical side.

Will never buy a reman from them again. Only oem stuff, that is known to last longevity.

 

I have bought an eBay distributor. It would cut out as VTEC tried to kick in. The extra fuel, it couldn't keep up. If I floored it, the distributor would choke the system at 5000~ RPM and even if I went slow it wouldn't pull to redline. It did work for around town cruising though. Had it for a couple months. I did take it off once, while trouble shooting, and shake it. I found 2 loose bolts in it. From what? I have no idea. I just dumped them out and went back at it. Sold it for $50 as a working reman'd distributor from unknown company.

 

I bought a Cardone distributor (New, with cap & rotor) from a local parts warehouse (which sells products through RockAuto). I've had it on since July with no issues do far - no codes or CEL.

Here's the part number: CARDONE SELECT Part # 8417402

 

I think refurb parts are hit and miss, I would get one with a warrenty.

 

OEM distributors are the only thing that will last and be reliable for years to come. Anything else is a hit-and-miss, but more than likely they will fail in no time.

OEM is more expensive, but in the long run, you will save a lot more time and money,

 

It wasn't a re manufactured/refurb unit. I originally purchased a refurb unit only to realize it didn't have a cap & rotor, so I exchanged it for a new OEM-replica distributor which had one.

It's similar to the unit that Crxguy has on his D15.

Yes, OEM is the way to go, but not everyone can justify the $300 price tag for an OEM unit.

 

Yeah, the $300 for a new OEM unit is high. But you can get used ones and such. Or refurbish it yourself.

 

I considered getting a used unit - but realistically what's the point? A used unit either has the same amount of miles or even more miles on it than the one you're replacing it with, and that's cause for concern.

I think of it this way:

-My distributor failed at 145K
-I find a used OEM distributor on craigslist/junkyard for $45-$50
-I learn the donor car has 180K
-What's to say that distributor isn't on it's last legs, or that it won't have the same problem mine had?

With the igniters on these units going bad more often than not, that's also something to consider. A replacement igniter costs around $40-50. If you end up spending so much and risking it with a used distributor, might as well risk buying a new aftermarket one.

 

I don't disagree, but the igniters are all pretty much interchangeable from what I've seen. And a couple of those sensors in there really don't go bad. It's usually igniters and coils that go bad. Or the oil ring goes bad and some how oil gets inside and really messes them up.

I will say that $300 for 150,000 miles isn't a bad deal. Imagine if tires were that cheap. It is an item that needs to be taken care of and I don't think you should cheap out on it if you plan on keeping it for the long haul.