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Thread: Blue box stuff

  1. #1
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    Blue box stuff

    Hello from Eudlo - having a cup of tea while tossing up whether to stay here and take in the local car and bike show and shine which I hadn't been aware of until I pulled into town or keep on to Woodford for the antique machinery fair which was the intended target. Could end up doing both, the day being very springlike.

    Now the topic is based on what got me to Eudlo as a somewhat out of range diversion from Woodford in the first place. The background being a quick side trip to the Sunshine Coast hinterland to collect a moderately expensive part from a well known source of Land Rover parts. The name's irrelevant as I entered into a willing seller - willing buyer transaction and have dealt with the firm quite a lot with little to complain about.

    Rather, it is the quality of the part itself which came sliding over the counter in the dreaded blue box with no apparent understanding on the part of the sliding hand of its provenance. Just the assurance of a 12 month guarantee of performance - given that the part it replaced is going on 40 years of age suggests that this might be something to worry about. On the other hand, one of the more famous UK Land Rover magazines ran a regular DIY column sponsored by the brand that loudly extolled its virtues and all of the UK mags carry its ads.

    Therefore, the aim of this particular thread is to once and for all try to resolve (in my mind at least) the vexed question of whether the blue box stuff is total crap or not. In other places I have mentioned that this 'brand' is generally regarded so in any discussion irrespective of the continent the discussion is taking place on or the discussants be they Masai, Inca, Inuit or normal folks down the road.

    So, my innocent questions are - is the blue box stuff really total crap sourced from who knows where? And is this based on someone's actual experience or just some sort of globally spread hearsay? A good bit of the knowing winks and tut tuts on the subject seem to be cultural (ie. everybody knows) rather than experiential (tried it on my own vehicle). In this case let's have the experiential stuff - (apologies to Jack Nicholson) I can handle the truth....

    I guess a final question is why do the parts outlets keep stocking this stuff if it really is just cheap pattern rubbish with no expectation of fit or longevity - I probably already know the answer, but it seemed appropriate to round out the question set.

    Cheers,

    Neil

  2. #2
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    Silence is golden

    Hello again.

    Seems no-one has a formal opinion on the blue box stuff they are motivated enough to share. Well and good - never hurts to ask.

    Anyway, as a bit of a postscript I returned the (possibly wrongly) much maligned part and replaced it with a considerably more expensive ‘NOS’ equivalent that I picked up in Ballarat as part of a recent wandering.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

  3. #3
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    Depends on the bit and where it was made

    More than half the problem is the inconsistency
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  4. #4
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    Yes, as Dave says, the problem is not so much poor quality as you never know what the quality is going to be - even buying the same part number.
    John

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  5. #5
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    My thoughts too I suppose.

    Hello again.

    I guess that lack of apparent consistency and what function the part is intended to play in the overall mechanical function of the truck is a key.

    Nevertheless, the blue box stuff is so universally dismissed out of hand by so many and in so many places that you have to occasionally ask the question. Not least when the alternatives to choose from are scarce.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

  6. #6
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    My personal experience has not been good, I'd try to get your original bits remanufactured if you can (brake booster etc.).
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