This seems to be very common in the SJ Forester and other Subarus of the 2010s. They all do it
Are those cheap ebay clocksprings worth using?
- Thread starter slacktide_bitog
- Start date
This seems to be very common in the SJ Forester and other Subarus of the 2010s. They all do it
I'll be doing an '11 Outback soon, too. I sourced an ebay one for that alsoThis seems to be very common in the SJ Forester and other Subarus of the 2010s. They all do it
They're easy. 99% of the time I just bang all around the wheel and it comes off. Rarely need a puller.
The price difference is usually $30‐40 vs $200‐300. As these are often older vehicles, people don't want or can't afford OEM.
To be fair, I haven't seen the Subarus trigger an airbag light. But in the case of a Tundra with an airbag light, presumably the system has been disabled. Now, if the cost of OEM is high enough that the owner says "I'll just deal with it and do nothing" (as is the case in my experience) OR aftermarket makes it inexpensive enough they'll try a fix, which is worse? Now you're looking at guaranteed no airbag vs normal operation.
Let's also remember that we're often talking about vehicles that are 11 to 26 years old with high miles. In the case of Subarus it may be an older vehicle but with very low mileage, in which case OEM still feels like the definition of insanity: replace with the same failure-prone part and expect a different result.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2024
- Messages
- 1,693
So I just did a search for aftermarket clock springs that would be good enough, and StandardBrand dot com came up. Jumped down the rabbit hole and lo and behold, they MUST be good, as their version for my 4Runner retails for $600 to $750 
.
Mileage may vary for the Subarus, maybe worth checking.
.Mileage may vary for the Subarus, maybe worth checking.
So I just did a search for aftermarket clock springs that would be good enough, and StandardBrand dot com came up. Jumped down the rabbit hole and lo and behold, they MUST be good, as their version for my 4Runner retails for $600 to $750
Mileage may vary for the Subarus, maybe worth checking.
I didn't find a Standard/SMP clockspring, but I did find Shee-Mar which claims to be an OE supplier and has been around since 1970
Shee-Mar does kind of sound like a cheap Chinese knockoff name, and that $100 clockspring could be the same thing as ebay or reboxed OE or anything in between
As seen on the MrSubaru video, the OEM clockspring is made in the Philippines, but I don't know who the supplier is.
I've used SheeMar pdl actuators in Focii (which are, of course, the entire door latch assy). They seemed "fine" but I can't attest to longevity. Sometimes in applications which are no longer supported by OEM they're one of the few options. And I'll always try SheeMar over Dorman!I didn't find a Standard/SMP clockspring, but I did find Shee-Mar which claims to be an OE supplier and has been around since 1970
Shee-Mar does kind of sound like a cheap Chinese knockoff name, and that $100 clockspring could be the same thing as ebay or reboxed OE or anything in between
As seen on the MrSubaru video, the OEM clockspring is made in the Philippines, but I don't know who the supplier is.
I've lost faith in SMP for the most part. I think they still have a better chance of being decent, but they're no longer guaranteed quality. That said, I'm not sure I've ever seen an SMP clock spring, but I suffer from CRS
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2024
- Messages
- 1,693
It's a very simple part with very stringent requirements as far as materials go. Material tension, durability, resistance, gold plated where needed - the perfect candidate for passing savings down to the client's safety
Okay, but $600.00 worth of stringent requirements?It's a very simple part with very stringent requirements as far as materials go. Material tension, durability, resistance, gold plated where needed - the perfect candidate for passing savings down to the client's safety
And since it's hidden, you can use the same part on a Ford Fiesta that fits a Jaguar. Just leave a couple extra conductors. Use the same part for 20 years and the price will come down.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2024
- Messages
- 1,693
Absolutely not, of course. I'll chart more than half of it to stocking fees and such - if we're talking about my 30 years-old 4Runner. Parts get more expensive for older cars.
I used to work IT in a parts warehouse back in France in a different life, and we had a legendary full exhaust line for an Opel Ascona (a cheap econobox by then already 20 years old) that was carried around unsold from year to year, becoming more and more expensive as years piled on. Not sure what the exact deal was but I remember that the parts manager or whatever was getting red in the face any time he'd hear about it. They couldn't trash it, they couldn't sell it.
A new original clock spring for my BMW is less than $300 retail and like $150 if searching online.
It's pretty normal for there to be commonality across a manufacturer's lineup for this type of part and I doubt that they get a lot of redesign.
Heck, how many high buck cars use the switchgear from cheaper models, maybe with a different customer facing piece?
Call it a maintenance iten a buy 2-3.
I must have gone lucky because I've never replaced a clock spring on any vehicle ever.
I haven't either!
Yeah, they basically never go bad, except on select cars that are known for problems with it, such as Subarus from the last 10-15 years
No experiance here either- and if I did I would favor oe or used oe.
You would think but nope. 36K/3 typically.
Only because not enough owners have filed complaints, if it is a pattern failure.
I do wonder what a normal failure rate is for these things?
I've never had to replace one in cars as much as twenty years old.
Similar threads
