Went to a repair shop in Tulsa and changed my mind about using OEM parts

I've always been the type to grab the cheapest generic part off Amazon for dryer repairs. But last month I stopped by Johnson's Appliance in Tulsa to pick up a belt and the old guy there showed me two belts side by side. The generic one had this rough edge that he said would wear down the pulley in about 6 months. He pulled out a beat up OEM belt from a machine that was 12 years old and it still had decent friction left. Now I'm rethinking my whole approach on anything that spins. Anybody else had a generic part fail faster than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

torres.leo1mo ago

Yeah my buddy put a generic washing machine pump in and it seized up after four months. The shaft just locked solid and tore the belt off. Google it and you'll see the cheap plastic impellers crack way faster than the glass filled nylon OEM ones use. I don't cheap out on spinny parts anymore either.

blake_cooper1mo ago

I was totally with you on grabbing the cheapest part until I saw something like @torres.leo described happen to my own dryer belt. Those rough edges on the generic ones don't look like much at first but they'll chew through a pulley in no time. That old guy at the shop basically showed me the same thing you said about the 12 year old belt and now I always go OEM for anything that spins.