A caution on NEW parts...

[just me]

If you are buying any NEW mfg'd parts that have rubber components and are coming from Newstar (India, China, etc.) Expect failure inside 12 months.
EVERY rubber item purchased from overseas vendors on my truck has turned to powder and failed in the last 10 months.
Windshield frames, grommets, headlight bushings, wipers, etc, etc.

[w30bob]

Hi Just me,

WOW.....that's not good news. Have you contacted S&S to let them know?

regards,
bob

[just me]

No. I can't imagine it doing any good. They probably have no control over it, either. Now I'm concerned about all the rubber in the Douglas connectors! I'm thinking I should have them reproduced in silicon rubber here in the states and just replace them all.

[w30bob]

Hi just me,

It might do more good than you think. First, they have their reputation to protect......if they lose that they'll lose a ton of money. And we all know how important money is to companies. Second, they can't fix a problem they don't know about. Not saying they will fix it, but they at least deserve the chance.

I dont' think I have any of Newstar's rubber products, but I'll check. If I do I'll leave them outside and see what happens. I believe Charles at M-Series is a distributor of Newstar parts....if he reads this he'll probably chime in.

How hard is it to make rubber parts in silicone? What's the process like?

thanks,
bob

[just me]

I have a company that makes custom plugs for paint masking industrial processes. As a DIY, you make a mold and inject the rubber compound. A lot of information in the train hobbies although they do it the other way around and make the mold from silicon rubber and pour plaster in it. If I do it, I'll make an aluminum 3 part mold and inject the silicon into it.

[MSeriesRebuild]

Hi just me,

It might do more good than you think. First, they have their reputation to protect......if they lose that they'll lose a ton of money. And we all know how important money is to companies. Second, they can't fix a problem they don't know about. Not saying they will fix it, but they at least deserve the chance.

I dont' think I have any of Newstar's rubber products, but I'll check. If I do I'll leave them outside and see what happens. I believe Charles at M-Series is a distributor of Newstar parts....if he reads this he'll probably chime in.

How hard is it to make rubber parts in silicone? What's the process like?

thanks,
bob

New Star was a decent source several years back, but with a new guy at the helm of the military parts division, I had to distance myself. I tell suppliers what we will accept and what we won't in relation to quality. He tried me, I shot back, he refused to make junk items good, so I simply told him the alternative. After a few days, he came around and took the import stuff back. I never did any further business. I have way too much to do to waste time haggling with a seller over poor quality goods. We have not done any significant purchases from New Star in the last 4 years. I did receive an email just this past week informing me that the guy who gave us problems was out at the end of this month. I will check into the new state of affairs after Oct. 1.

We have been purchasing our parts from a different wholesaler, AAA Military of Linden, NJ over recent years. I can't think of a single issue that we have had related to poor quality parts. We put out enough of this stuff that we would certainly have received negative feedback if customers were having problems. We have also used many of their products in our component rebuilds; no issues.

In relation to rubber components from New Star, years ago we did have some issues with their steering knuckle boots used on 2 1/2 and 5-ton trucks. They were total junk; didn't last 10 days before falling apart. I stated my case, they sent out new boots to replace the bad ones, we had no more issues. Most folks here already know this about us; we are very selective buyers, doesn't matter who the seller is; we will check out your product, we will call your hand if issues warrant. Honesty, we have had more issues with rubber parts purchased from typical vendors you all know well than we ever did with New Star products.

[just me]

The windshield on my truck is an AAA part and the rubber has turned to dust. My headlamp bushings came from VPW. My Douglas stuff has come from all over. The total (multiple failure modes) junk fuel sender from MWM. The wipers from ABLINN. It isn't a single source issue. The stuff that is surviving is all ancient NOS that was properly stored.

[isaac_alaska]

I can 3d print in rubber....if anyone wants me to try printing some of this stuff. post a pic and i can tell you if i think it's printable or not. i think things like wire boots should print pretty easy. I don't know how durable this rubber is over time...but everything i've tried to do to it so far hasn't affected it. lots of chemicals, gasoline, and extreme cold + big hammer didn't hurt it