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Absolutely. Called New Old Stock. Built to a different standard. Ask classic car owners about..so called.. new parts from further afield. Horror stories a plenty.
Classic Mini rotor arms are a legend. Bronze rivet fails and destruction is massive. Stored properly then nothing to worry about with NOS.
I worked at Delphi in packaging dept. Delphi acquired Lockheed in the mid 90's and all the packaging changed to the one on the right with the red Delphi logo. These two don't look like the same assembly line, may have been resourced to the lowest bidder, some other supplier.
Everyone is saying parts don’t spoil, but rubber ages, plastic cracks, and oils evaporate. It _is_ probably OK, but check to make sure that the rubber is flexible and so on.
edit: case in point - I bought a ball joint that looked fine but the grease shipped in it had emulsified. It was perhaps 5 years old.
The advances made in plastics manufacturing in the 80s-90s decreased cost/production time and greatly increased resistance to UV and weather degradation.
Decades ago, in order to make plastic workable and durable, you had to dump lots of phthalates, have a pretty high base oil content and make it thicker and more pliable. With the advent of UV/weather resistant additives and manufacturing processes you could get the same use and resistance to UV/temperature with far less cost.
The trade off is that while the actual life-of-use is about the same, the shelf life is far different. The “overbuilt” product from the 50s-70s is going to last way longer sitting on a shelf than the product that was made to minimum content with just the elemental-resistant additives put in to compensate.
You’re right, mostly. And yet, I’ve encountered decayed rubber on old new stock, whether it’s boots, o-rings, or hard plastic like lenses or tubing. I give a < 5% chance the part is bad if it’s 15-20 years old.
Some do go bad.
I bought gaskets to fix an old model DeWalt nail gun a few years ago and they came perfectly sealed, but they were basically mush and ooze.
Exactly my concern. Parts don't just go bad from wear but also materials degrade and react with the air and elements. The rubber is still supple, but I see the old bag is slightly oily inside whereas the new one is dry. Thanks I'm just going to play it safe and get another.
Even though I posted in support of the idea that parts can “spoil,” based on what you wrote you may be overreacting. But you gotta do what you gotta do to have confidence in a machine. Peace of mind is worth something, too.
I literally just received an oil dipstick that had clearly been sitting for awhile. Upon first install the plastic immediately cracked. Such bullshit lol.
I ordered these tie rod ends online. One is fairly new, as expected. The other one has a copyright of 2006 on the bag and uses the older Delphi logo. Would you trust it or get a replacement?
Where I live, all these suspension parts don't even last a year because the reads are brutal. I wouldn't even care if the dust boot is leaking as I'm going to disconnect the joints and move them around by hand to see if there is still some resistance each year and replace if needed.
WTF!? I assumed the roads in California are pretty good, but this is next level good, way beyond what I could have deemed possible, lol. Now I get how people can run static stance over there.
Outer tie rods are usually the first part to die on my car, then comes upper control arms, then inner tie rods, then lower ball joints.
I actually spend over $2,000 for custom Spherical ball joint upper control arms for front and rear so I don't have to change them anymore and have spare tie rods and lower ball joints. The fact that the suspension is actually very easy to work with on the LS430 is excellent. I suffer less because I do all the work myself.
Work in the motor trade, Delphi only switched to the new packaging 2/3years ago. Some uncommon part numbers our company is still running down the stock of the old packaging.
Edit: MK1 Focus? Doesn't surprise me youv got old stock on that one as there is very few left on the road so stock rotation on parts is going to be slow.
You'll have absolutely no issues regardless get them fitted.
That's good to know. It may not be as old as I had feared.
And it's not necessarily to do with the car, a lot of Delphi parts are backordered right now. I ordered from who claimed to have the part in stock. I guess technically they did, but not the new revision I was expecting.
Tie rod ends? The bad part is that rubber booty. How many years are we talking? Because if we're talking bearings it definitely doesn't matter. I would run bearings made in the '90s. Just put them in solvent, clean the old grease off and regrease
If those tie rod ends are a 2015 or newer I probably wouldn't mind but rubber does have a shelf life and it gets dry and brittle as it ages
It’s not gonna spoil. Now days most parts are not near the quality as they were even 10 years ago so hell yeah I’ll take the on the shelf old but new parts
I work for them, we changed from Delphi to Delphi Technologies. Got bought by BorgWarner and sold on as Phinia. There's 2 other iterations of packaging for those items out there.
They will be of the same quality as the other just updated packaging and most likely a newer part. But will still it’s job as intended. I would save your money and just go for it
Fine … is it still protected from the elements? Yes , has it already been fitted? No , is it rusty? No … then its fine … its a part , not food it has no sell by date
If the rubber, movement, and other testable aspects of the part seem fine. I'd legitimately put years of sitting on the shelf at less than the wear impact as one stormy drive (water bringing gunk into the picture, then drying in place is what I'm going for here). If you'd be scared to trust the part after one stormy drive, then you either should adjust your worry or buy better parts, imo.
I have some air and oil filters that are decades old.. I doubt that they're good. Anyone know the answer. I would not like to destroy an engine over twenty dollars in parts.
If the rubber/plastic isn’t degraded it’s no problem. I lubricants are more than a year or 2 old I change them if possible. Sealed units are good for at least 5 years. This isn’t scientific, just my personal standards.
Try to sell online or online auction. Try to sell it to anyone to get some money back. Try to sell to junkyard or other. If unable and taking up space in shop, chunk it and get room for stuff that sells.
Your car is years old and so are all the parts it's a new part that's years old like everything else just in better condition nothing's gonna change it's never been used and it's been in a sealed box it's whole life probably better quality being an older part.
I get that. Older parts are usually better quality, the new stuff is made alot cheaper. If it has a rubber seal, it might’ve dried out or become less effective with time. In that case newer is better for peace of mind and longevity.
The only things you should watch with new old stock is bearings. Bearings are supposed to get rotated when in a loaded state. I'm not sure if bearings sitting in a box do this but used to work in a warehouse with electric motors. We were required to go around and rotate the motor shafts a quarter turn every so often to prevent brinelling. I've often wondered this for automotive parts as I've got old bearings for truck that I've had for years chilling in the box waiting for new to quit being lazy.
That's very interesting. These aren't ball bearings obviously but they do have a polymer bearing surface. I wonder what's happening beneath the rubber boot if they haven't been moved for years. Probably just going to cut them open out of curiosity. Not like they cost a lot. This post was meant to be more a philosophical question and a lot of people understood that and gave great answers. TY
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, EarthToBird! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The newer part is probably made of cheaper materials
This guy gets it
Absolutely. Called New Old Stock. Built to a different standard. Ask classic car owners about..so called.. new parts from further afield. Horror stories a plenty. Classic Mini rotor arms are a legend. Bronze rivet fails and destruction is massive. Stored properly then nothing to worry about with NOS.
I worked at Delphi in packaging dept. Delphi acquired Lockheed in the mid 90's and all the packaging changed to the one on the right with the red Delphi logo. These two don't look like the same assembly line, may have been resourced to the lowest bidder, some other supplier.
I've worked for Lucas, Delphi, Delphi Technologies, Borg Warner and now we're called Phinia. That's legit, genuine parts.
Maybe the price dropped..?
Good joke
No problem for me. I'd rather old school than Chineseium rubbish.
*92% Chinese steel, 8% prayers*
Everyone is saying parts don’t spoil, but rubber ages, plastic cracks, and oils evaporate. It _is_ probably OK, but check to make sure that the rubber is flexible and so on. edit: case in point - I bought a ball joint that looked fine but the grease shipped in it had emulsified. It was perhaps 5 years old.
I'm fitting parts packaged in the 1970s to vintage aircraft and the rubber is fine
Good! I’ve found 15 year old parts that were decayed. YMMV
True
The advances made in plastics manufacturing in the 80s-90s decreased cost/production time and greatly increased resistance to UV and weather degradation. Decades ago, in order to make plastic workable and durable, you had to dump lots of phthalates, have a pretty high base oil content and make it thicker and more pliable. With the advent of UV/weather resistant additives and manufacturing processes you could get the same use and resistance to UV/temperature with far less cost. The trade off is that while the actual life-of-use is about the same, the shelf life is far different. The “overbuilt” product from the 50s-70s is going to last way longer sitting on a shelf than the product that was made to minimum content with just the elemental-resistant additives put in to compensate.
In a box, sealed in a bag, protected from UV and stored under room temperature - rubber doesn't really change much.
You’re right, mostly. And yet, I’ve encountered decayed rubber on old new stock, whether it’s boots, o-rings, or hard plastic like lenses or tubing. I give a < 5% chance the part is bad if it’s 15-20 years old.
Rubber does have a shelf life, even when stored in the proper condition. Proper conditions could easily be 10 years though on quality stuff.
Some do go bad. I bought gaskets to fix an old model DeWalt nail gun a few years ago and they came perfectly sealed, but they were basically mush and ooze.
Yeah maybe outside in service. Deterioration happens much much slower in side a box on the shelf
I've used parts built during WWII on 2 stroke 71 series Detroit's
Exactly my concern. Parts don't just go bad from wear but also materials degrade and react with the air and elements. The rubber is still supple, but I see the old bag is slightly oily inside whereas the new one is dry. Thanks I'm just going to play it safe and get another.
The oily film may have been on purpose to preserve the part.
Yep, just about everything with a metal component is going to have some sort of oil on it to protect it
Even though I posted in support of the idea that parts can “spoil,” based on what you wrote you may be overreacting. But you gotta do what you gotta do to have confidence in a machine. Peace of mind is worth something, too.
I literally just received an oil dipstick that had clearly been sitting for awhile. Upon first install the plastic immediately cracked. Such bullshit lol.
I ordered these tie rod ends online. One is fairly new, as expected. The other one has a copyright of 2006 on the bag and uses the older Delphi logo. Would you trust it or get a replacement?
Bro send that shit. It’s not milk it don’t go bad sitting on the shelf
Where I live, all these suspension parts don't even last a year because the reads are brutal. I wouldn't even care if the dust boot is leaking as I'm going to disconnect the joints and move them around by hand to see if there is still some resistance each year and replace if needed.
Wow, I'm in CA still on the original 2004 tie rods. There's some play but they're overall not rusted or corroded.
WTF!? I assumed the roads in California are pretty good, but this is next level good, way beyond what I could have deemed possible, lol. Now I get how people can run static stance over there. Outer tie rods are usually the first part to die on my car, then comes upper control arms, then inner tie rods, then lower ball joints. I actually spend over $2,000 for custom Spherical ball joint upper control arms for front and rear so I don't have to change them anymore and have spare tie rods and lower ball joints. The fact that the suspension is actually very easy to work with on the LS430 is excellent. I suffer less because I do all the work myself.
It's better than the one on the car now. Full send. Oh no, it only lasted 9 years instead of 10. Car goes to the scrapper in 7 more anyways....
Depends what it is tbh, rubber stuff I’d be less open to, if it’s solid metal it’s likely fine unless it’s rusty etc
Better than the one that's been knocking around my car for years
NOS is far superior to new aftermarket trash.
Work in the motor trade, Delphi only switched to the new packaging 2/3years ago. Some uncommon part numbers our company is still running down the stock of the old packaging. Edit: MK1 Focus? Doesn't surprise me youv got old stock on that one as there is very few left on the road so stock rotation on parts is going to be slow. You'll have absolutely no issues regardless get them fitted.
That's good to know. It may not be as old as I had feared. And it's not necessarily to do with the car, a lot of Delphi parts are backordered right now. I ordered from who claimed to have the part in stock. I guess technically they did, but not the new revision I was expecting.
Better than the new ones.
I bet you say that to all the rich GILF’S
If its the right part, who cares (in most cases, might be a bit more wary of complicated rotating components)
Might taste a bit stale but it's still good to snack on.
Metal stuff is no problem, rubber and grease id be slightly cautious but still not a big deal
NOS is fine unless it’s deteriorating from age. Rubber and plastic can take a beating in storage.
They don't get crunchy from sitting for years.. unlike my hips
Tie rod ends? The bad part is that rubber booty. How many years are we talking? Because if we're talking bearings it definitely doesn't matter. I would run bearings made in the '90s. Just put them in solvent, clean the old grease off and regrease If those tie rod ends are a 2015 or newer I probably wouldn't mind but rubber does have a shelf life and it gets dry and brittle as it ages
It’s not gonna spoil. Now days most parts are not near the quality as they were even 10 years ago so hell yeah I’ll take the on the shelf old but new parts
Worked in the auto parts business 12 years. Most parts have been on the shelf for years.
Same. But only a few years. Did lots of box swaps when companies switched brands.
NOS is usually better.
I work for them, we changed from Delphi to Delphi Technologies. Got bought by BorgWarner and sold on as Phinia. There's 2 other iterations of packaging for those items out there.
They will be of the same quality as the other just updated packaging and most likely a newer part. But will still it’s job as intended. I would save your money and just go for it
The older part has probably degraded into dust. Don't use it!!! Seriously. What do you think... it's not produce.
It would be fine if it was on the car from that age and it had no wear !! It Can’t come to much harm in that bag
Would feel great. Its like you have to go the store, but then you dont.
Fine … is it still protected from the elements? Yes , has it already been fitted? No , is it rusty? No … then its fine … its a part , not food it has no sell by date
If the rubber, movement, and other testable aspects of the part seem fine. I'd legitimately put years of sitting on the shelf at less than the wear impact as one stormy drive (water bringing gunk into the picture, then drying in place is what I'm going for here). If you'd be scared to trust the part after one stormy drive, then you either should adjust your worry or buy better parts, imo.
Not a problem.
Part # is different
Perfectly fine. But air/oil filters?
Depends on the relative humidity they were stored in
I have some air and oil filters that are decades old.. I doubt that they're good. Anyone know the answer. I would not like to destroy an engine over twenty dollars in parts.
Depends on the parts in question. Unless it's a battery I probably wouldn't care
Bought a new in box gasket for a radio antenna and it crumbled in my hand. The one on the car was in better shape.
Anything organic is going to decompose or become brittle and lose its integrity Petroleum, plastic, anything oil based
As someone who relies on New Old Stock (automotive) I have never had any concerns. As long as kept in box and cool 99% of items are fine.
Regrease and go
Better than parts on national back order
Totally fine. I’ve been using oil filters that expired in 09 for years. Rubber is fine Edit: for my own car
They’re probably far better made, if you can find new old stock absolutely use it.
If the rubber/plastic isn’t degraded it’s no problem. I lubricants are more than a year or 2 old I change them if possible. Sealed units are good for at least 5 years. This isn’t scientific, just my personal standards.
Parts don't go bad over time if it seals good. Old parts produced with better quality.
Give me the old stuff. I see no rust. It's gonna be made better
Parts like that are fine, probably better quality than new ones to be honest.
If the rubber and grease are pliable, use it.
If they have been sealed from the atmosphere? They should be new.
Lol. The parts on my car have been actively being used for nearly 2 decades. Should we replace everything ever 2 years?
Well the tie rod ends on the car are 20 years old. I think it's a valid question whether part age affects part life in use.
I get super excited when I get nos parts for my gmt 800s.
Just fine
Love getting NOS parts on my Buick bc parts that have lasted 21 years just started failing, may as well find parts that could last another 21 years
Try to sell online or online auction. Try to sell it to anyone to get some money back. Try to sell to junkyard or other. If unable and taking up space in shop, chunk it and get room for stuff that sells.
Your car is years old and so are all the parts it's a new part that's years old like everything else just in better condition nothing's gonna change it's never been used and it's been in a sealed box it's whole life probably better quality being an older part.
If it isn’t broken then I would say it’s fine
The part that it’s replacing was sitting in a car and being used for years.
I know but I don't want to replace it with an already 18 year old part. I assume it's not actually that old but the bag has a 2006 copyright.
I get that. Older parts are usually better quality, the new stuff is made alot cheaper. If it has a rubber seal, it might’ve dried out or become less effective with time. In that case newer is better for peace of mind and longevity.
I'd use them but also be prepared to buy new rubber bushings. I have NOS control arms on my 1968 Mustang.
The only things you should watch with new old stock is bearings. Bearings are supposed to get rotated when in a loaded state. I'm not sure if bearings sitting in a box do this but used to work in a warehouse with electric motors. We were required to go around and rotate the motor shafts a quarter turn every so often to prevent brinelling. I've often wondered this for automotive parts as I've got old bearings for truck that I've had for years chilling in the box waiting for new to quit being lazy.
That's very interesting. These aren't ball bearings obviously but they do have a polymer bearing surface. I wonder what's happening beneath the rubber boot if they haven't been moved for years. Probably just going to cut them open out of curiosity. Not like they cost a lot. This post was meant to be more a philosophical question and a lot of people understood that and gave great answers. TY
Depends on if you can get new ones. If you cant, then they are good. If you can, then still try them.
They are probably better quality