Spark Plugs Getting Scarce

[freeisforme]

The problem with counterfeits is that many are marked made in USA but coming from China.

There have been several issues with Champion plugs over the years and something certainly prompted them to move toward some sort of anti-counterfeit packaging on their spark plugs and wiper blades but I don't know how effected any of that is or was.

There has been some issues with Champion plugs as to the plug gap changing when the plug is torqued down but I'm not sure if that's a counterfeit issue or a product issue with the real items.

NGK, Denso, and Bosch are the most often counterfeited brands of plugs but Motorcraft and AC Delco fakes are also turning up from eBay and Amazon sources. Ford went so far as to put out a bulletin on how to spot fake spark plugs or other parts. Apparently the counterfeiting isn't limited to just spark plugs but other components as well.
Fake oil, air and fuel filters, fake sensors, senders, and fuel pumps are common as well.

I got stuck with a bad fuel pump/ sending unit off eBay that was being sold as being left over part being sold by or for a police garage that no longer used those cars. The pump arrived in a different looking Motorcraft box than the OEM pumps I was getting here, it was in a red and white Motorcraft box versus the typical brown box with black logos on it.
The pump itself also didn't have a name brand on it and was unmarked. The wiring was thinner, and the rubber gasket it came with was some oddball looking o ring vs the typical square o ring. The sender appeared to be made of cheaper plastic as well. Thinking it was just a later version or something I installed it anyway, and four hours later I was towing the car back home. it ran for about 20 minutes of run time tops and shut down, the fuel gauge was erratic and jumped all over the place, and the pump was locked up tight. The seller was still selling them a few months later and had been using the moniker of a CA police department and many other items were listed as being unclaimed confiscation items like bicycles, jewelry, and electronics along with other typical Crown Vic parts. The ad started out with 23 fuel pumps and after about a month all were sold. the dealer wanted $365 for one, they were selling them for $125. When I took the bad new pump to a local Motorcraft supplier they said they never saw that packaging before, and that all their's came in the same boxes I was used to seeing at the dealer.
They also said that they were then seeing counterfeit spark plugs, plug wires, filters, and sensors.
More recently I was told that there were actually people going around actively selling these fake parts claiming to be factory reps selling package type deals to shops and dealers putting fake parts into the dealers as well.
Even though a dealer was used to buying only from one wholesale distributor, there are many around the country and often more than one in a given area that compete with each other. So seeing a new salesman turn up is not a big red flag and if the prices are better, they quite likely may jump on a bargain if it makes sense. Its not like they didn't deliver either, they just sell fake items. In most cases they only came around once, sold to them once and were gone. Sort of a white van scam for auto parts.

I believe Champion plugs are now made mostly offshore, either India and/or Mexico.
Apparently quite a few brands have been getting their plugs made in India in recent years.

I would say that if your looking at something on Amazon or eBay and its coming from China or super cheap, then its likely fake.

 

[LDUBS]

The problem with counterfeits is that many are marked made in USA but coming from China.

There have been several issues with Champion plugs over the years and something certainly prompted them to move toward some sort of anti-counterfeit packaging on their spark plugs and wiper blades but I don't know how effected any of that is or was.

There has been some issues with Champion plugs as to the plug gap changing when the plug is torqued down but I'm not sure if that's a counterfeit issue or a product issue with the real items.

NGK, Denso, and Bosch are the most often counterfeited brands of plugs but Motorcraft and AC Delco fakes are also turning up from eBay and Amazon sources. Ford went so far as to put out a bulletin on how to spot fake spark plugs or other parts. Apparently the counterfeiting isn't limited to just spark plugs but other components as well.
Fake oil, air and fuel filters, fake sensors, senders, and fuel pumps are common as well.

I got stuck with a bad fuel pump/ sending unit off eBay that was being sold as being left over part being sold by or for a police garage that no longer used those cars. The pump arrived in a different looking Motorcraft box than the OEM pumps I was getting here, it was in a red and white Motorcraft box versus the typical brown box with black logos on it.
The pump itself also didn't have a name brand on it and was unmarked. The wiring was thinner, and the rubber gasket it came with was some oddball looking o ring vs the typical square o ring. The sender appeared to be made of cheaper plastic as well. Thinking it was just a later version or something I installed it anyway, and four hours later I was towing the car back home. it ran for about 20 minutes of run time tops and shut down, the fuel gauge was erratic and jumped all over the place, and the pump was locked up tight. The seller was still selling them a few months later and had been using the moniker of a CA police department and many other items were listed as being unclaimed confiscation items like bicycles, jewelry, and electronics along with other typical Crown Vic parts. The ad started out with 23 fuel pumps and after about a month all were sold. the dealer wanted $365 for one, they were selling them for $125. When I took the bad new pump to a local Motorcraft supplier they said they never saw that packaging before, and that all their's came in the same boxes I was used to seeing at the dealer.
They also said that they were then seeing counterfeit spark plugs, plug wires, filters, and sensors.
More recently I was told that there were actually people going around actively selling these fake parts claiming to be factory reps selling package type deals to shops and dealers putting fake parts into the dealers as well.
Even though a dealer was used to buying only from one wholesale distributor, there are many around the country and often more than one in a given area that compete with each other. So seeing a new salesman turn up is not a big red flag and if the prices are better, they quite likely may jump on a bargain if it makes sense. Its not like they didn't deliver either, they just sell fake items. In most cases they only came around once, sold to them once and were gone. Sort of a white van scam for auto parts.

I believe Champion plugs are now made mostly offshore, either India and/or Mexico.
Apparently quite a few brands have been getting their plugs made in India in recent years.

I would say that if your looking at something on Amazon or eBay and its coming from China or super cheap, then its likely fake.

I hope you called out that eBay dealer for selling knockoffs.

 

[airshot]

I hope you called out that eBay dealer for selling knockoffs.

Probably won't do any good, have had issues with EBay in the past, they can take up to 6 months for a resolution. Your safest bet is to use a CC with a guarantee purchase plan...thank heaven I use that for any purchase online, always had my money returned within 30 days !

 

[LDUBS]

Probably won't do any good, have had issues with EBay in the past, they can take up to 6 months for a resolution. Your safest bet is to use a CC with a guarantee purchase plan...thank heaven I use that for any purchase online, always had my money returned within 30 days !

Thanks Airshot. I'm not really familiar with eBay. If nothing else I would want to warn other buyers.

 

[freeisforme]

I hope you called out that eBay dealer for selling knockoffs.

By the time I got the pump and installed it the rest were gone and it was supposedly a county or municipal account. eBay said I could return it if I never installed it, the seller claimed they had used thousands of them with no issues. The complaint went no where. The seller account was gone a few months later after about 215 feedbacks, 9 of which all at the end were negatives. I wasn't able to leave a negative because by the time eBay got done playing games 45 days had passed and at the time that eliminated the chance of leaving feedback. the seller account was all initials and a number, gmcma79 or something like that but I'm not positive about the late two numbers. The text in the ad read and described that they were selling for the Greater Marin County Municipal Authority and their listings were supposedly a mix of surplus county equipment, abandoned or recovered items, and obsolete equipment and vehicles. They had about 18 items listed at the time including a few former police cruisers, a couple of back hoes, some computers missing their hard drives, several cases of Komatsu oil filters and some jewelry and watches and things. At the time there were quite a few similar sellers all around the country. The seller account vanished around 2018 or so listed as "No longer a registered user" where their feedback used to be.
Motorcraft said it was fake, Ford said it 'could' have been a foreign sourced/sold part that made its way into the USA somehow. The said that since they sold those cars to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as to Australia and several others there were parts being made in other parts of the world for them. They couldn't or wouldn't say where though and wouldn't stand behind it.
Its hanging on the wall here as sort of a reminder.

 

[LDUBS]

Unless I dont have a choice, I won't be sourcing any critical parts from eBay.

I use only OEM parts on the motor. This counterfeit thing is going to make me much more selective in where I buy stuff. I'm sure there are excellent aftermarket parts out there. But, I'm obsessive enough to not use them and nothing from Sierra will go on my motor. I know I'm going a little overboard here. I'm just too stubborn to change my mind until I don't have a choice.

 

[airshot]

Thanks Airshot. I'm not really familiar with eBay. If nothing else I would want to warn other buyers.

I don't use Amazon or EBay except as a last resort. I don't mind a few extra dollars to get better quality and service. I have had scammers try to get me for some bigger purchases but the CC saved me lots of headaches. If I challenge a purchase, the CC contacts the seller and they must respond within 30 days, if no response the transaction is cancelled and money refunded. Most scammers refuse to respond, and if they do, evidence is required for the validity of the item and its shipping documents. Amazon, EBay and other sales organizations just stall and run you around until folks often give up. Some CC pay right away and if the sale was a fake your out as they won't go after the scammer, instead you are out the money.

 

[Seafarer]

I had four bad water pump impellers in a row from Napa last fall.
A buddy bought a boat with a 135 Mercury on it, it wouldn't idle and didn't pump any water. With the thought we would be using it for striper fishing I ran down to Napa and had them pick me up a water pump for the next morning. I had it 9am the next day. I installed the impeller, pulled the carbs and cleaned out all the jets, changed the fuel filter/water separator and took a fuel sample. The tank had 20 gallons of water and 10 gallons of gas.
I pumped the tank, pulled the sender and mopped out the bottom of the tank and had him pick up 20 fresh gallons of fuel. The boat ran great in a barrel so we headed to the river with it. It ran great but was getting hot yet, then the tell tale stopped.
I limped it back to the dock, and on the trailer, I pulled the lower unit and found the impeller had spun inside the rubber. I called Napa, and was told they'd grab me another one. I installed impeller #2, and headed to the water with the boat. It was good for about 12 miles or so, then it started show a weak tell tale stream. I get back to the house with it, and again the impeller is spun. I gave up on Napa, and ordered one from the Mercury dealer, a 25 mile drive away. I get the new impeller and it don't look right, it turns out the dealer couldn't find a factory impeller so they got one from another source. The rubber was lifting off the hub before I ever installed it. Then I rolled the dice and ordered on off eBay that was suppose to be brand new OEM. I sent a message to the seller saying that I only want a genuine OEM impeller. The next morning I got an email saying that the seller had canceled the sale.
I then called a dealer I used to deal with in FL, and had them send me a complete new pump. They told me that the loose impellers are often from unknown sources for the older motors. $82 later the boat was good to go. By the time it was ready to use the weather had started to turn and the boat got put up for the winter.

In the past I used Sierra and Napa for years for impellers. When I called someone who deals with Sierra when I needed a few cables, they told me that 'supply chain issues' has led some companies to buy what ever or from who ever they could to keep parts in stock.

I've had good luck though with some cheap ebay impellers for the Force and Chrysler motors but every one I've gotten so far were plastic hub impellers, I've got one in a 9.9hp Force motor that's been good now for five years. No clue who makes them but the all have burgundy plastic hubs.