Hey all,

Have 1995 850 with 160K on it that i recently did a ton of routine maintenance work to:
[ul][*]timing belt, tensioner and pulleys[*]h20 pump[*]PCV system replaced[*]full tune up, filters, plug wires, rotor, cap, etc.[*]exhaust manifold replaced
[/ul]Got virtually all my parts from fcp. Long story short, had serious quality problems with some of the parts, though most were fine. To be fair, I have had quality issues with oem suspension parts from ipd as well.

If interested i can provide details, but just wondering if anyone has had similar experiences. I know everyone here loves fcp (as i do too actually) so i hope this post doesn't start a cascade of positive testimonials. I would be more interested in hearing from people who have had quality problems with replacement parts and what their experience was.

thanks!

 

I personally feel that it would be a great help if you can provide the info as to which components were inferior. Scan-tech (Swedish) has horrible reputation.

I value your opinions. I do liked FCP Groton very much but would also like to know what parts were not good.


JPN

 

Me too. Also, in what way were they not good/defective? Have you contacted FCP? They have excellent customer service and will make things right if you are not satisfied.

 

I am not going to ditz FCP because somebody came on here and made one post saying he was dissatisfied. A regular poster would carry more clout. Actually tempted to just delete this thread.

 

PelicanParts is another great site for parts.

 

Hi JPN: Thanks for the advice about Scan-Tech but who are they? Are they an OEM for volvo? Does fcp use them as a supplier? More info please.

Since you guys asked I will get into more details about my experience. I have placed orders from fcp several times over last year or two spending around $1000 so far. Parts are for my own 95 850 NA.

The first time i got just a heater core; excellent service! Got it in 2 days (even though i'm on the west coast and i only pay for ground ship) and no problems at all.

Last year i placed a larger order, about $600; mostly the stuff i listed in my first post. When i got it i was surprised how small the box was; at first i thought they left something out. Upon opening the box, i was kinda shocked at how they literally stuffed all those parts into that one box with minimal packing material; it was by sheer luck nothing was broken or damaged!

One of the items was the PCV kit. I had the classic oil on top of the valve train cover syndrome but no other oil leaks to speak of. About a week or two after the PCV system was replaced I start noticing a new oil leak under the engine near the passenger side. At first I thought, "crap! i seal up the crankcase ventilation system, and now it's pushing oil out the front engine seal!" But upon closer inspection the oil was coming from in and around the flame trap area; the thing I had just replaced! Once i got the intake manifold off, ck out the pics to see what I found (hope they uploaded, can't see them in preview?):

The small 90 degree oil trap hose (P/N 1271771) had swollen up and split; spitting oil out the front of the engine. From the pics you can see how much it had swollen when compared to a new hose (from local dealer). I will continue this in another post; want to see if the pics uploaded ok.

[IMG]local://upfiles/17614/53040660D424432583FB106F08FA2A5B.jpg[/IMG]

 

continuing my post....

The way this hose was swollen would lead me to believe it missed some step in the MFG process; it obviously didn't take to being around oil! In other words it was either non-OEM or it was a reject from an OEM.

I also had problems with the timing belt tensioner pulley that was in this same shipment. It was obviously a remanufactured part but the quality control was not to OEM standards. As anyone who has changed a TB tensioner on these cars knows, it is mounted by one bolt that it also pivots on. The one i got, as soon as the mounting/pivot bolt was tightened, the tensioner stopped pivoting; i.e. it seized up! The pin from the tensioner also did not line up properly with the tensioner pulley. Upon closer inspection it appeared the bushing in the tensioner pulley had not been pressed in quite far enough.

Again, I am not here to bash fcp or anyone else. In all above cases fcp either refunded my $ or replaced the part. I just would like to know if others have had similar experiences. When you order parts online you want to be reasonably sure you are getting something you won't have to return. Working on cars is a pain enough without having to do it two or more times to get it right because of a bad part! And for me on the west coast, returning something to fcp (and ground ship) means a two week turn around time!

My background: Ex-motorcycle and BMW car tech with over 15 years experience at independents and dealership level, but been out of that line of work for over 15 years now. I did everything but my expertise was in driveability diagnosis. Still, i work on my own vehicles because i am cheap and, more importantly, i like it done correctly.

P.S. TIPSP; thanks for the tip about pelican; i did not know about them. Have you had good experiences with them?

Thanks all.

 

http://www.scantechproducts.com/1/1.0.1.0/2/1/I have not had any experience with them yet, but others on this site have. Yes, a lot of sites sell scan tech products (like IPD, FCP...etc)so you have to read who made the parts before you order.
IPDis another great site.
My dad has done a lot of business withPelicanParts, and have had nothing but great experience with them. mainly orders stuff for his 540i, but They have a lot of parts for Volvos.

 

Hello gdog,

I do not believe Scan-tech makes OEM parts for 850s but I am not 100% sure. I once bought the rear brake pad retainer spring kits from FCP and they were of Scan-tech. The kits were actually of good quality but I have read many posts here that people have had horrible experiences with Scan-tech products. At FCP, when they say "Aftermarket", think twice and consider spending extra $ for the OEM (unless the aftermarket mfg has good reputation).

The hose does look swollen. I wonder if it was done due to the engine heat or oil eating it up. The hose might have been of poor quality as you have described. Some rubber parts do seem to beof poor quality and fail soon after installation (this happened to my 1988 Accord front upper ball jointrubber boots). Even though extremely simple, rubber is a material that has to be made right orit fails to serve its intended purpose. The average life of rubber used on automobiles is about 5 years, and according to an engineer at Japanese auto mfg, it takes billions of dollars to improve the quality of rubber.

As to the timing belt tensioner pulley, I would send it back for a replacement. I know exactly what you say about shipping taking so long when you have to return something. This seems to happen way too often in the States, and my conclusion is that many people are not getting paid enough for what they do (and Japan is following the same path and I am starting to see product quality & customer service going down the drain, which were once considered the best in the world; you cannot expect excellence without paying the right $ï¿¥).

BTW, FCP used to have better parts-finding page but after renewal their page became just like everyone else. I believe many on-line auto parts shops use the same database, which I find difficult to use. FCPs older version had great parts illustration (eEuroparts.com still uses the best IPC in the business, only next to the dealers version) and you could find the exact parts you needed.

Price, OEM availability & fast shipping considered, I still believe FCP Groton is the best OEM parts source for Volvos. However, eEuroparts could be an alternative but note that eEuros price is about 10-15% higher than that of FCP, but their IPCs are superb:

http://www.eeuroparts.com/Main/Home.aspx

>Still, i work on my own vehicles because i am cheap and, more importantly, i like it done correctly.

Many of us here are in the same boat. At least you guys have a car(s); I am stuck with public transportation. Imagine life without a Volvo, it sucks like the black hole!


JPN

 

Thanks JPN and TIPSP for the feedback. I have not used europarts; maybe i will try them next time. Looks like my experience at fcp was relatively isolated.

And like i said in my original post, had issues with ipd too (btw i live a couple of miles from them). When i first bought the car about 2 years ago it had a torn boot on the passenger front lower control arm (lca) so i replaced the lca with a new one from ipd. 20k mls later i just noticed the boot is torn again on the same lca, while the drivers side that i have never touched (with who knows how many mls on it) is fine! But of course the flip side is that i have bought many other parts from ipd w/o any problems; esp like their brake parts; they work quite well.

Kudos to you guys on this forum; looks like this one is better than most automotive forums. I will try and stick around; maybe even contribute something constructive...

JPN: Am curious; why no Volvo? Is it in the garage waiting for spring?

Keep the shiny side up..

 

When you look for parts yes stay away from the Scan Tech parts for the most part. Espically the lower control arms. We had to warranty a bunch of them. Its sad because the arm itself is heavier duty than the OEM ones but the balljoint setup is really cheap and went bad very fast.

There is a few parts that are good from them but not all that much.

 

IMO FCP gave me headaches with their timing components. I don't trust them anymore. I order from eEuroparts exclusively or my dealer who actually has decent prices. Have yet to call "Jaime" over on VS but might soon to compare.

 

Hey WheelsUp,

I am curious; what kind of issue did you have with the timing components? Are you talking timing belt and tensioners? Did you have a similar problem to mine with the belt tensioner?

Sounds like another vote for EuroParts; will definitely give them a look next time.

Thanks