Hot Rods garbage….

When I was working in engineering over 20 years ago I saw Chinese bearings with 2 balls less than the equivalent SKF, NSK or other quality bearing. Consequentially the load ratings and life span . were only a fraction of the quality units .

 

It’s about $$$$$. We all have our investment funds whatever form they take. We like inexpensive things and a lot of that comes from China. So the N American companies have things made where the cost is cheaper but so is the quality. The profit margins stay high for the investors benefit...

If high quality was the objective then things may as well be made in N America but wages are higher here so the price would be higher and we wouldn’t like that. So we want high wages, inexpensive things, and our investments to do well. You can’t it all. If China can build satellites and jets then they can build other high quality things as well but we do t want them to.

 

Every swivel style caster I ever bought from HF was short by 1/3 of the ball bearings.
There is a reason those from McMaster-Carr and Graingers are considerably higher.

 

Good news is that Mexico has become the largest exporter to the USA and I have a Mexican engine in my 48 and it works great and doesn't leak a drop. And they are our neighbors.

 

If you don’t have the $$ to purchase the best the first time , how are you going to have the $$ to repair the damages and replace it a second time.

Many years ago I would get pissed to get a part from Japan , today I feel gifted to get a nail , from Japan and not China .

America , has truly lost the edge no one wants to work a laborers job , the boarder is open to allow thousands of free loaders in , If China ever decides to pull a marker in on-our debt , playing with our hobby will become building AK47s for the new government .
They steal products and copy , no labor and dollars spent in engineering , just manufacturing a nice looking copy that is of sub standard quality . China can produce quality stuff if made to , I have disassembled a few Cummins Diesel Engines , with CHINA cast into the block under the timing cover . Do not know if just block casting or all internals were from China . There has not been one issue with this stuff .

Go to the hardware store and look for nails , from America .

It’s terrible to say but I discussed with my family , my one request , please be sure I’m buried on America soil .

 

I'll bet that when Chinese people buy stuff, they don't often say...
"Oh crap, it's made in the USA."

 

When I worked for a large oil and gas company, there were projects to get steel and parts made in China to save costs. The summary is they also have high-quality stuff, but the cost was equivalent to products made here. In order to save money, the result was doing testing and analysis to determine whether cheaper products could be "good enough" for the application. China builds what there is demand for. The demand comes from consumers and corporations to spend less and/or have higher profits.

Greed and being cheap are to blame.

 

The fact that it seems no one has looked into this any further than bashing Speedway and China slightly amuses me. I like to compare these conversations to wheel bearings and their proper adjustment because I believe most folks understand wheel bearings better. Ask yourself a few questions…after you adjust wheel bearings, do you drive around the block and then re-adjust them? You know, to “break them in”. Do you adjust them with the weight of the car on them? Of course you don’t. Maybe you can also grasp that bearings are metal on metal and once set properly, they will not need any adjustment for a really really long time, if even ever. People can also probably understand how that wheel bearing would perform if was set too loose, or even worse, too tight. I think I’ve made my point on that subject, let’s move on to the steering box now. In the steering box, there’s multiple bearings to be concerned with. There are bearings that affect the performance of the box that are adjusted by the big nut / lock ring and then the “normal” adjustment that is controlled by the adjustment screw. According to nearly every person and every instruction manual I’ve ever read, you’re supposed to adjust the box with the single adjustment screw provided on the cover plate. And this, again in my opinion, is where the problem is. I’ll state right now that I have read the Speedway instructions and watched the Speedway video on adjustment on YouTube and they are simply both wrong. There’s some general consensus that the large nut with the lock ring is properly set from the factory and is not to be touched. And it would be such a great world if that were true…we deserve that to be true, as proud Americans. We deserve, if we buy something with multiple bearings in it, to only have to adjust 1 of those bearings (pounding fist on table). God damn it! This is a travesty! USA USA! Sorry , I got carried away…
So yeah, the big nut “adjustment “ is the problem. The child assembling the box doesn’t care and doesn’t know that if the big nut is too tight, the box will never be smooth and the owner driving it around the block and continuously adjusting it with the adjusting screw will never be happy. The reason the big nut is often too tight is because I suspect whoever assembles it…1.) doesn’t know and doesn’t care what a properly adjusted bearing “feels like” (not too tight / not too loose) and 2.) When they tighten the lock ring, they don’t hold the big nut from slightly tightening at the same time. The big nut wants to tighten when the lock ring is tightened and you must hold the position of the big nut while you tighten the lock ring and obviously they don’t do that. The big nut needs to be “right” before moving on to the “normal” adjustment screw.
Ok, I’m going out to the garage now and am going to switch the cotter pin on my wheel bearings from the “feels right” spot on the castle nut to the next tighter position.

 

Which would you choose?

 

Pure Crap, Those boxes wouldn't hold up behind a go kart, let alone a 2,000 pound plus vehicle! 60 Special

 

Damn. I should have guessed it would devolve to this when I posted…. Sorry fellas.

 

My Scat stroker kit was made in China but finished in Redonda beach, California. I couldn’t be happier with all crap I’ve put this engine through.

 

So, anymore pics of the worm n sector, races, & inside of the box? Guessing the ball bearing chunks tore everything up, but am curious. It had to come apart somewhat to get the chunks out?
So, in theory, if the balls would be replaced w/quality & w/the correct # of them, & Chuckys' adjusting advice followed, is this PoS salvagable for actual use? I've got 3 low mileage Vega boxes, so don't need Speedy-"stuff", although if the box is alum, & salvagable(safety), it *might* make a ersatz-alum-'vair. ???
'Tain't china-bashing per-se, but the crap that is sold to replace now-unavailable orig stuff, at a slightly lower price, but that at least is highly questionable for quality. & no, not everyone can afford top-tier stuff, even *if* there was enough to go around...
Marcus...

 

It is funny though how people seem to have money for the latest cel phones with all the doodads but they pucker up at the thought of buying quality brake and suspension components for their projects.

 

I'm in the process of running 220v in my garage. Didn't trust the $10 outlets from the big box stores, so I spent $75 on a commercial grade Made In USA Hubbell unit instead. Much heavier and more robust to give me peace of mind. There's a saying: Buy the best and cry once!

 

Have not heard that one, but I like it.

"Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten." I think that was Gucci.

Then there is this from Ben Franklin:
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

 

@cfmvw I always heard it but once cry once. Same meaning of course. If you have to buy 2 of the half price ones or one of the half price ones and one of the pricey good ones you haven't saved anything.