Thread: S3 Swivel balls.

All four x4 in Newcastle have them

I was wondering about their re-chroming service : http://www.allfourx4.com.au/Rechrome...-2-2A-3-539741 at $165 plus postage per swivel, that sounds quite reasonable, but then you can still buy new genuine ones from blanchards for £149.95, see Buy Swivel Housing Part 539741 Genuine Given the exchange rate, that's not bad in comparison, but postage may kill it. Of course there's also lots of third party options.

Cheers,
John

Genuine would be the best, but most expensive, long term option.

Re-chromed ? Depends on the company doing the chrome plating, the preparation work they do etc. etc. You need to find someone who has purchased them and has a long term experience of them on a vehicle.

Aftermarket, Britpart, Bearmach etc., the quality may be an issue. Again you need to find someone who has taken the plunge and has long term experience of them.

Beware of statements like 'OEM supplier' (OEM to who & when ?), OEM quality, OEM standard etc. These statements don't really mean anything and are just a way of making the product sound genuine'ish.

Secondhand is my normal choice but when you purchase them assembled on an axle beware because there can be horrors hidden inside. I have one which is near perfect but the Railco bush had seized and the Railco was spinning in the housing which has now worn oval !! Others have had severe rust inside, all have had pitted taper roller bearings and most have pitted axle support bearings.
Secondhand you are most probably getting genuine which have already lasted 30odd years

I have a number that I'm close to throwing out because the chrome is too pitted, probably too expensive to get them de-chromed, repaired & re-chromed.

DSCN4428 by Colin Radley, on Flickr


Colin

Thank you for the replies.
Spoke to Blanchards. 100 pound postage.
They have Genuine or OME, ( source unknown.)
Just waiting for price, of either.
Some in Cyprus also, just need to work out best price.
Local would be better and quicker. OS seems cheaper.

whitehillbilly

Yeah, I saw the Cyprus folks on ebay, seem to have a lot of genuine parts. I thought I might order something cheap from them as a test run.

Let us know which way you end up going, as I may have to do the same, and I was thinking blanchards for best price for genuine parts.

Cheers,
John

Thanks John.
I got a Santana spin on oil filter from them, for my 2.25 petrol.
Very happy with them.
Not sure I full understand OEM, parts. Blanchard OEM swivels, UK 85.58. Genuine UK 149.95. P+P approx. UK 100
Do Britpart come under OEM or are they sold as NEW.

whitehillbilly

It's probably worth asking them what they actually mean by OEM, as the price difference is quite substantial.

In general, my understanding of OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) means that a part from from the same manufacturer as the genuine part, but just not in branded packaging etc. So in this case OEM and genuine would be same part, but genuine is the official Land Rover supplied and packaged part, where as OEM is supplied directly from manufacturer with generic branding / packaging.

I took a look at blanchards offerings, and the web page for the "none genuine" part Buy Swivel Housing Series Non Genuine Part 539741 doesn't say OEM, so it looks to me like it's from a third party manufacturer, i.e. not the same manufacturer as the genuine parts.

Cheers,
John

The term OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) seems to be misused by most suppliers.
Does it mean they supply in this case the swivel to Land Rover ? It might mean that they supply some other small part so are correctly an 'Original Equipment Manufacturer' just not the part you are buying. Maybe they are an Original Equipment Supplier to another company, I guess their parts are still from an 'OEM'. As I mentioned previously, it's a way of making it sound genuine'ish, giving you a comfortable feeling when you purchase, making you think you are getting good value for money. Not paying the 'Land Rover' price but getting the same part.

A lot of these 'OEM' parts come from India or China. Were Land Rover sourcing from India when the Series I, II & III were produced ? Probably not but who knows, they might be doing that now.

Then you get onto 'OEM specification', or 'OEM standard' which means what ? It's the correct size/shape ? Quite possibly not the original specification steel or chrome plating etc. etc.

Probably the best take on it is, if it isn't in Land Rover packaging then it's probably not the genuine/OEM part so buyer beware.


Britpart/Bearmach etc. outsource the parts from India, China, Turkey, Italy even the UK (check your Paddocks invoice as they list the country of origin for each part).
They then have to cover their costs, ship it to the Australian Britpart/Bearmach agent who ships it to your local supplier so another two companies have to cover their costs (staff, rent, lighting/heating, storage, shipping etc. etc.). No wonder some of the parts are getting expensive, now if only you could buy direct from the manufacturer in India......


Colin