Aftermarket parts guidance 93 Toyota Camry

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My 1993 Camry with 176K is in need of a timing belt and I was going to replace the water pump at the same time. I have looked online for parts and Rock Auto seems to have the best prices with the quickest shipping times. I don't have much experience with the Aisin or Beck/Arnley brands and would appreciate input/first hand knowledge especially on the water pumps.

The car currently has a Gates timing belt on it with an Orielys' house brand water pump. I have no objections to staying with a Gates timing belt however I would prefer to avoid the house brand low end water pumps.

Thanks in advance. I
 
The Aisin kit for my Sienna has an OEM (Aisin) water pump, Koyo idler/bearings and a Mitsuboshi belt - all the same as what you get from Toyota but at a significant price discount. I can't recommend them enough.

The Mitsuboshi belt is thinner and more flexible than aftermarket belts and is easier to install by yourself since it is less prone to slipping off the pulleys. In addition, the one aftermarket belt I tried once had the timing marks slightly off to where it was confusing whether I had it installed correctly or not. I returned that belt and bought an OEM one which lined up perfectly.
 
While I dont have an issue using aftermarket parts, I have been using only OEM t-belts on my Camrys. If you shop around a bit you can find them at just about the same price as aftermarket. I do use aftermarket water pumps, tensioner and idler bearings/pulleys.

Beck/Arnley buys from the OEM makers and repackages the parts. Often you will get an original part, but it will cost you more than Aisin - And Aisin is good enough.

I assume you have the 2.2 5sfe - I'd replace the oil pump cover gasket while you are in there. They often leak and make a mess of things, including your t-belt. It's easy to replace while your there. I actually prefer FelPro for this and most gaskets as they update and improve their offerings continually versus the big batch Toyota must have made and is still selling.

If your upper motor mount (Dogbone) is going bad, many people have replaced it with one from 97-01 Camrys. Just have to change the mount and the bracket where it bolts to the engine. Why? Eliminates the vibration felt in the steering wheel! Feel free to PM me if you have a question or want more info. I have a lot of experience with these cars!
 
BA does not always buy OEM parts, lately it has been a lot more Chinese parts from what I see. The repackaged OEM that they used to do a lot is quickly becoming history IMHO.

The Aisin kit is nice because they list what manufacturers make the products (either their own or otherwise). I even bought an Aisin timing belt kit for my Honda when I knew they weren't OEM. The quality was excellent.

Originally Posted By: robshelton
Beck/Arnley buys from the OEM makers and repackages the parts. Often you will get an original part, but it will cost you more than Aisin - And Aisin is good enough.
 
Very true. B/A is going downhill fast using some real rubbish parts. I bought a housing from them and in the box was an URO part, some of the worst trash on the market.
I wont buy anything from them after that. Having the balls to sell that as a quality product shows the direction the company is going.

Aisin is a lot better than good enough they are top shelf kits.
 
Thanks for all the replies and the guidance. I ordered an Aisin kit from Rock Auto today using the 5% R/A code. Made the cost for the kit a little over $90 which seems more than fair for quality parts.

Too bad that B/A has moved away from selling higher end parts since they are available in some applications from AAP. The prices are okay if the right coupon code can be found since shipping is free in most cases.
 
Plenty of B/A parts are still high quality. I've bought lots of them in the last couple years and pretty much everything I've received was good quality. I'm not cashing them in yet because some people get an occasional part they don't like.

One thing that's good about B/A is they have very, very responsive customer service agents. I've emailed them a bunch of times asking the COO of a part and they always respond very quickly.

However, Aisin stuff is really good quality, normally. I'll take an Aisin timing kit over a B/A kit.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
Aisin for everything, that was probably OEM. Make sure you find the bitog rockauto code for 5 percent off.


yes, japanese seem to be able to get the chinese to build good stuff american ceos can't
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
Plenty of B/A parts are still high quality. I've bought lots of them in the last couple years and pretty much everything I've received was good quality. I'm not cashing them in yet because some people get an occasional part they don't like.

One thing that's good about B/A is they have very, very responsive customer service agents. I've emailed them a bunch of times asking the COO of a part and they always respond very quickly.

However, Aisin stuff is really good quality, normally. I'll take an Aisin timing kit over a B/A kit.

It has nothing to do with getting a part someone doesn't like. Rock Auto sells the housing neck from Uro for half the price as the BA but when you open the BA box the URO part is inside.
They didn't even bother grinding the name off. Buying parts from Rock, waiting then having to either throw them away and buy something else if its only a few bucks or reorder and return and wait some more is not how i want to buy parts.

This is the third real iffy part from them for German cars. IMHO thats enough reason to cross them of the list.
 
I know, you've shared your distaste with that Uro part before on the forum.

Not trying to start an internet keyboard-arguing contest, simply saying that they've been good to me. My experience doesn't match yours and I'll keep using them.
 
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