Thoughts on plastic replacement parts?

[SC Maintenance]

I am rebuilding another front crash on an Xterra - this one a 2013. My kid ran into someone again on the Xterra we bought after she crashed mine (which I fixed as well).

On the last one I replaced the fan and shroud with recycled parts, but 20 year old plastic parts don't really inspire confidence - especially the fan.

So I can get an OEM fan for $125 and an OEM shroud for $115 from Z1 (online Nissan dealer) plus shipping. I am definitely interested in saving money on this rebuild where I can.

Or I can get one of these for the fan:

And this for the shroud.

Thoughts?

 

[NibbanaBanana]

I'd go with the RockAuto options. Maybe not the cheapest.

The OE rubber duct from on frame air box to the engine on my Aveo vibrated to the point that it split pretty early on. Replaced with a Dorman and it's held up great for years and years now. OE door handle just shattered for no reason other than age. Replaced with a Dorman. Appeared to be very good quality.

 

[Mechanician]

Maybe a plastic crash helmet for her would be a good investment?
Good luck with this complex equation of gambling on plastic.

 

[Cujet]

I've had almost exactly the same lifespan from the aftermarket plastic parts as OEM. I do look at the reviews. But it is very likely the material is very similar. Nylon 66 for the fans, (polyamide 66). The stuff is good enough for ultralight aircraft props, as long as the lifespan is taken into account.

 

[shortyb]

New(er) manufactured plastic parts should be fine for a 13 year old vehicle, get the RA parts. OEM and aftermarket are made by same manufacturers most times anyway. Should last til you get rid of it or it gets crashed more extensively.

 

[The_Jeff]

My BILs 2014 Focus had all sorts of plastic in the front end, like the upper radiator support. It seemed to still be "good plastic" eg not brittle.

I'd get the cheapo rockauto parts for reasons others gave.

 

[doitmyself]

Given the situation, I'd follow the advice above.

Off topic - my grandkids are new drivers and I get to experience it vicariously. Do you care to share how you are managing the situation as a parent? There is no silver bullet and parenting is a unique challenge, different for every family. Thanks.

lol, one of my coworkers son was crash prone: Once in the ditch (snowstorm). Slid on ice into pole barn, breaking 6 x6 timber. Rear ended someone while driving in a parade!!! Got ticketed. Insurance was up the wazoo.

 

[Chris142]

How many manufacturers of these parts can their be? Is there a good chance that you will be buying from the oem supplier under a different name?

Did some guy in China wake up one day and decide to go into making exterra fans?

As for the shroud I'd buy the cheapest I could find. I'd do research on the fan and see if there's any complaints.

Or just buy that from the dealer for piece of mind.

 

[shortyb]

Sorry for the OT, @doitmyself, consider Tire Rack's Street Survival course, or check with local police department to see if they have a youth driver program.

I used to coordinate our youth driver program in VA with my department and we used the training academy's track for exercises. Not the basic driver training stuff, mostly accident avoidance, car control on areas of lesser traction, braking and steering, ocular driving etc. We tracked collision rates of graduate drivers and they had extremely low instances of collisions.

I'm also still an instructor coach for the Street Survival program. Same basic courses as the police sponsored ones, but students use their own cars. I like this because it forces drivers to learn their limits, and their cars limits, in these situations. BMW Performance Center right up the street (so to speak) offers advanced teen driver courses that focus on more applicable advanced skill training too. Know it isn't close, but lots to see and do in this area if you take the trip.

Link to TRSS:
https://streetsurvival.org/

 

[grasscutter]

I'd go with the Dorman fan blade and they only give you one choice on the shroud.

 

[K2K2]

I am rebuilding another front crash on an Xterra - this one a 2013. My kid ran into someone again on the Xterra we bought after she crashed mine (which I fixed as well).


Thoughts?

Sounds like mx is under control.

Ran into someone *again* indicates texting or inattention of some sort. Maybe some more driving education or lessons?

 

[RBT]

I am rebuilding another front crash on an Xterra - this one a 2013. My kid ran into someone again on the Xterra we bought after she crashed mine (which I fixed as well).

On the last one I replaced the fan and shroud with recycled parts, but 20 year old plastic parts don't really inspire confidence - especially the fan.

So I can get an OEM fan for $125 and an OEM shroud for $115 from Z1 (online Nissan dealer) plus shipping. I am definitely interested in saving money on this rebuild where I can.

Or I can get one of these for the fan:

View attachment 350748
And this for the shroud.

View attachment 350749

Thoughts?

Time for a bus pass for the kid. That is what I told my son (threatened actually). It worked.

If the car is otherwise sound for a few bucks I would go with the Nissan but if you did this before, then you know what you are doing and trust your instinct.

Finally I have a strong bias against anything made by Dorman that serves a function that is required for the vehicle to be mobile.

Good luck.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Sorry for the OT, @doitmyself, consider Tire Rack's Street Survival course, or check with local police department to see if they have a youth driver program.

I used to coordinate our youth driver program in VA with my department and we used the training academy's track for exercises. Not the basic driver training stuff, mostly accident avoidance, car control on areas of lesser traction, braking and steering, ocular driving etc. We tracked collision rates of graduate drivers and they had extremely low instances of collisions.

I'm also still an instructor coach for the Street Survival program. Same basic courses as the police sponsored ones, but students use their own cars. I like this because it forces drivers to learn their limits, and their cars limits, in these situations. BMW Performance Center right up the street (so to speak) offers advanced teen driver courses that focus on more applicable advanced skill training too. Know it isn't close, but lots to see and do in this area if you take the trip.

Link to TRSS:
https://streetsurvival.org/

I recommend streetsurvival to everyone with a teen that I know that is starting to drive. My kids and daughter-in-law took it, you can tell their confidence and awareness changes through the class but more importantly their awareness of surroundings.

My son did it 2x so his girlfriend (now wife) would do it. They did it at Consumer Reports car testing facility in CT. They have an area that they can flood for wet skid pad. My daughter did it in NJ at Campgaw Ski area. They don't have fire hydrants there. Local fire dept brought a tanker and engine and cases of Dawn dishwashing liquid. They soap/foamed the lot area for the skid pad.

I posted about it multiple times. They have classes across the USA. I have some links to my Google pictures/videos if you search.

For the crash parts I would at least try the Rock Auto ones. I've gotten the same brand and part# from RA that Autozone charged 2x the amount for.

 

[jsean]

You’ll be fine with using the Dorman/SKP fan and the generic various mfrs shroud. My old QX4 had a Dorman fan on it (I bought it with one of the fan blades broken on the OE one) and I put about 50-60k miles on that thing if I remember. I sold it and the next guy drove it 4 more years - about 30k more miles - before the rust got so severe it wasn’t road worthy. The Dorman fan was still intact fwiw.

 

[JTK]

In this situation, I would definitely try the RA parts vs OEM.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Delete

 

[JHZR2]

I’m running oe plastic fan on some of my old turbodiesels. They reduce the load compared to the metal ones, and are easier on the fan clutch.

Some stuff goes bad, some doesn’t. I wouldn’t be terribly concerned with quality plastic parts that aren’t wetted with coolant.

 

[SC Maintenance]

How many manufacturers of these parts can their be? Is there a good chance that you will be buying from the oem supplier under a different name?

The last time this fan was used was 2019 Frontier. I am guessing there out of production so the Chinese aftermarket are not likely the same.

Did some guy in China wake up one day and decide to go into making exterra fans?

Plastic parts are ridiculously easy for the Chinese to copy. 3D laser an original to get a stp model, CNC a mold, inject the part. All subsidized by the Chinese government.

 

[AZjeff]

Are you trying to keep 2 Xterras running now? If you think it may happen again get the cheap stuff.

Maybe find out what daughter has against Xterras too...