Equivalent automotive parts

[Dan Thomas]

So true ..... in the 1980's I had a small Toro riding mower that needed a new belt after years of hard use .... the belt was a green color and the dealer wanted $46.00 for a new one , which I thought was ridiculous so I went my local auto supply and got a regular black rubber belt for $7.00

It stretched 15% the first week which I took care of by adjusting the idler pulley ..... but then began to shred and fail by end of summer so I bought the Toro one which lasted another 10 years until the motor wore out.

Yes. There are a lot of belts out there and they're not all equal. The average hardware-store belt is a fractional horsepower belt, typically found on power tools or your furnace fan. Then there are industrial belts, which are tough and strong and have A, B, C sizes and so on that refer to the belt width. Automotive belts are somewhere in between the two extremes. And the V-angle of these things aren't all the same, so the wrong belt doesn't seat properly in the pulleys.

So your automotive belt, which was designed to drive the alternator and water pump, neither of which consume much power, couldn't handle the load of the mower deck, which sucks up a lot of the engine's HP.

 

[Dan Thomas]

The following are offered as examples only:
Intermittent: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/solenoidx610030.php
Continuous: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/solenoidx610028.php

Yes. See the differences in specifications:





The current-carrying capacities are different, by a wide margin. So are the duty cycles. But look at the coil amperage: 0.8 amps for the continuous (master), and 2.9 for the intermittent (starter). One sticks a starter contactor into the master's spot, and it will get awfully hot real soon and burn out. How much money did one save? Not to mention an inflight power system failure...

 

[Gary Ward]

You do get what you pay for in most cases.
I put a new belt on my 172 recently while it was getting a new motor. I took the part number off the belt which was the same number in the parts manual and gave it to Spruce. They had it in stock and shipped to me in 48 hours. I think it cost around 80 bucks? Like said I bet old one was 15 years old, so 80 is not that bad, IMO. I know I have the right belt so no worries on my end.

I also keep all my receipts with my logs. So the next owner knows where the part came from and approx how old it is.

 

[Hang 4]

Get a Piper belt, it will have the Gates packaging and the Piper part # written with a silver sharpie on belt. The Part # sticker and the Sharpie writing make the exact belt you get at NAPA about 5 - 6 times more expensive. Piper buys them from Gates, then they magically turn into aviation quality.

 

[Gone Flyin]

The following are offered as examples only:
Intermittent: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/solenoidx610030.php
Continuous: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/solenoidx610028.php

If you check the specs of the continuous duty version, above, you will see it offers 200 amps. The one I just bought (for $15... not $5. Price went up from last year, it seams) is rated 300 amps continuous.

Remember a golf cart solenoid is on all the time, when the cart is running.

If you feel this is not for you... don't buy one. Personally, having a spare in my plane in case mine fails is worth the $15.

 

[Dan Thomas]

If you check the specs of the continuous duty version, above, you will see it offers 200 amps. The one I just bought (for $15... not $5. Price went up from last year, it seams) is rated 300 amps continuous.

Remember a golf cart solenoid is on all the time, when the cart is running.

If you feel this is not for you... don't buy one. Personally, having a spare in my plane in case mine fails is worth the $15.

My point, which you missed, is that if you use an automotive starter contactor in that spot, it will burn out and shut down your entire electrical system.

 

[A Martin]

Years ago my neighbor had a 1950's era MACK truck he used to haul potatoes from the field.

It had the Thermodyne engine and needed a new thermostat .... none available except through Mack original equipment factory replacement parts .... paid over a hundred dollars for it and when he got home he looked on the box and it said .... "made in China"

.

 

[DenverDave]

It's worth mentioning that the current state of the automotive parts market it a lot different than back in 1970. Many big brands who made parts for our planes now have several sub-brands and parallel product lines. Usually retail automotive aftermarket is the most cost cut of them.

 

[Timbeck2]

Get a Piper belt, it will have the Gates packaging and the Piper part # written with a silver sharpie on belt. The Part # sticker and the Sharpie writing make the exact belt you get at NAPA about 5 - 6 times more expensive. Piper buys them from Gates, then they magically turn into aviation quality.

Well they have to pay the guy to take it out of it's sleeve, mark it with the part number and put it back into the sleeve and silver ink is expensive.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Well they have to pay the guy to take it out of it's sleeve, mark it with the part number and put it back into the sleeve and silver ink is expensive.

That, but they also have to create a bunch of paperwork to track that belt from its source to the vendor or end user. Paperwork is often more expensive than the part.

 

[Jim K]

Well they have to pay the guy to take it out of it's sleeve, mark it with the part number and put it back into the sleeve and silver ink is expensive.

I prefer to think the parts have to be blessed by a virgin. At least that explain the price and the lack of availability.

 

[DFH65]

So your saying Tractor and Aircraft Supply isn't a legit source for parts?

 

[Zeldman]

Years ago my neighbor had a 1950's era MACK truck he used to haul potatoes from the field.

It had the Thermodyne engine and needed a new thermostat .... none available except through Mack original equipment factory replacement parts .... paid over a hundred dollars for it and when he got home he looked on the box and it said .... "made in China"

My tractor is a Jinma, made in China. I had to order a part for it. When I got the part I noticed it said made in Mexico....