NOS Blues

[rboltz]

This thread is mostly just me venting about NOS parts. NOS is a dichotomy in itself and it bears out.

Today I put my NOS wiper motors in. Right out of sealed boxes when I got them. Fire up the engine and the passenger side motor takes right off, drivers side doesn't budge. Gave it some manual pressure and it breaks loose but goes very slow. Put the wipers on and the drivers side will not drive the wiper. Another defective NOS Ebay part.

Moved on to installing the mirrors. I bought one NOS one some time ago in the sealed box, from a popular supplier. Put on the used one I repainted and moved to the NOS one. Putting the nut on the stud that attaches the mirror to the arm and the glass falls out and breaks into a million pieces. The gasket that hold the glass in the frame is dry rotted!

Arrrgggggggg!!!!!!

[Fastfrankie]

Here's a trick that worked on my vacuum wipers - one of mine was sticky/not working properly. I used a small oil gun/can and squirted some motor oil in the vacuum port and worked the wiper motor back and forth by hand several times. Put the vacuum hose back on the motor, turned the switch and it has worked flawlessly since. It won't cost anything but a few minutes of your time and hopefully it will work for you!

[LuckyPabst]

Yea - those wipers have leather seals inside that need to be moist with oil to seal. NOS = 40 years of sitting and drying. A short soak in some 20wt should liven them up.

OEM mirrors are notorious for dropping the glass. The parts stores sell a chrome mirror that's very close to original and you won't lose the important parts on the freeway like I did.

Chris

[k8icu]

Also on the wipper motor check your lines. Over the years spiders and other little critters like to get in there and build nests and such. A good air hose with about 50 psi will generally clear any critters right out of the line....oh and the oil in the motor is good too. Nothing wrong with NOS parts just have to be careful and mind that New Old Stock means it was made New and now it is Old....so some caution is needed with using them.

[kwai]

Now you know why I don't recommend NOS brake lines. 40 yo rubber parts are just that 40 years old and likely won't last long when put to use.

[Bear]

Exactly!

That's probably why they're called

"New OLD Stock"!!


You think 40 year old parts are bad?!?
Try buying NOS parts for a 1916 Model-T Ford!!
(I've had parts arrive complete with a dried-up dead mouse in the NOS "unopened" package!!)

[Tomahawk715]

I'm more ed off about people who dont understand what NOS means. It doesnt mean a USED original part!

Same idiots seem to not understand what "rust free" means.

[randyscycle]

I deal in a lot of NOS stuff for motorcycles, and my experience is this:

If it is 30, 40, 50 ormore years old, it may or may not be any good, just because its new. Hard parts are usually fine, but rubber, leather, or plastic is a gamble.

Oft times, a 40 year old design wasn't very good then, and certainly isn't good now. If there is an improved, and available design, you're better off.

Where and how an NOS part was stored makes a big difference. A wet, dark basment may not always be the best place for delicate parts, and by the same token a super-dry hot attic may not be either.

What someone advertises as an NOS part, like Tomahawk mentioned, may not actually be. I have pulled many new boxes out to find an old part in them, or a new part that has deteriorated significantly and is far from new.

Of course with all this, there often times isn't any choice other than using what you can find, simply because there is no alternative.

[rboltz]

Of course with all this, there often times isn't any choice other than using what you can find, simply because there is no alternative.

Exactly. And as the old saying goes; "You pays your money and you takes your chance!"

[Bear]

I'm more ed off about people who dont understand what NOS means. It doesnt mean a USED original part!

Same idiots seem to not understand what "rust free" means.

Maybe they think NOS stands for:
"Neat Old Stuff" or
"Notoriously Overpriced Scrap" or
"Never On Sale" or
"Needs Obvious Scrubbing" or
"New Once - SUCKER!"


& I've found that the definition of "rust free" depends upon whether or not you live in the rust-belt.....
-"Rust-free" to someone in a dry environment (like Arizona or Calif) means there isn't even a HINT of surface rust to be found anywhere!
-Whereas "rust-free" to someone who lives in the rust-belt (like MI, PA, or any similar area that "paves" its roads w tons of salt each winter) simply means that you won't fall through the floors, but you probably will lose any loose change that falls out of your pocket!!