RE-PRO RUBBER GAITERS

[goff]

Were can you buy proper decent rubber gaiters that don't perish , Take a look at these rear hand brake gaiters that have never been on the road are only 6 months old!!!!!!!!!!, Absolute SHITE ,This is a replacement set FOC as the first set perished and again had not been on the road or sat in sunlight, Just fitted to the the car as its still under restoration , But not only these also the dust cover gaiters on the swinging arm , the gaiters on the knuckle joint front suspension, These items are not a 5 minute job to replace, All were bought from Mini Sport , They did replaced the rear brake gaiters FOC , but as you can see from the photo's the replacements are know perished after 6 months under the car in a car port, No wonder i get grumpy ,I thought it was my age , Anyway i will not be contacting Mini Sport for a replacement as the Quality is Shite, OK i know they are made in China or the far East but Mini Sport are selling this stuff on , Where is the Quality control ?????.
Can you buy proper rubber Gaiters and dust Shields ???????????

Regards
Goff

[woodypup59]

In my job we wanted to get some corridor bellows made (the bit you walk through between train carriages).

The Chinese were a quarter of the price of the UK ones, but they simply could not make them strong enough.

Three times we asked them to up the strength of the material and three times they couldn't match the spec.

They can't help themselves from shoveling a whole load of reclaimed rubber crumb in with a bit of good raw rubber and hoping the customer doesn't notice.

And the Indians are only a little better.

[Andrew1967]

Chinese kwality at its best

The only decent rubber available is NOS genuine BMC/BL rubber so that limits sourcing from eBay, auto jumbles and the odd NOS specialists, not the usual general parts suppliers.

Also, that's why genuine stuff is so expensive.

[nic]

This does need to be sorted.

My track rod ends perished before the car even left the garage.

Surely Minispares can finally get some quality items produced? Everyone is so cheesed off with the current crud available they could even charge a premium for an example that lasts

[Spider]

Yeap, I went through a whole (frustrating) pile of rubbers that went like those or worse, many while I was still doing various builds, even before we got the wheels back on them They all came from one supplier too, I did try a few others, but they were all sourced from the same manufacturer, though I have found those that I have been supplied over the past 12 months or so are now - thankfully - are closer to what they should be, but still not 'there'.

The rubbers are worth peanuts compared to the time it takes to swap them over.

I know some suppliers do read these forums, my only message is please, stop selling us sub-standard parts*. If it costs more for a product equal to OEM, then so be it, I don't mind paying whatever it costs, I don't want to have to revisit a job I only did (say) 12 months ago. This is not just limited to Rubbers, though they seem to be the worst culprit.

*Not all products or suppliers sell 'sub-standard' parts but there are notably a few products / suppliers that it appears seem to have some areas to themselves and it would be appreciated if you guys could raise the bar please. Much of the stuff I'm banging on about here I have also read about in this forum, but there are so many many more. If any suppliers / manufacturers wish to know who or what I'm talking about, drop me a PM or an email, happy to discuss.

[nick rogers]

When I was last in Japan I was shown some CV boots made there which were vastly superior to anything we could get, including BMC NOS. They asked me if I thought that customers in the UK would be interested in them. The price would have been about £12 each when our own non-gen were about £3. After having had customers complain about the price of parts for the last 30 years I declined the offer.
The Japanese had made them because the quality of rubber gaiters etc from the UK had got steadily worse.
We all know that it is false economy to keep replacing boots that have never seen any life on the road but I still think that very few people here would pay much more for good quality. If I am wrong then I apologise.
I wonder what other rubber parts they have manufactured.

[STG95F]

Had major problems with all the rubber bushes the car had never been on the road or the subframe fitted to the shell and the rubber were shot . total Crap .

Does anyone know what are the best bushes /rubbers to use ?? As we have said its the time and effort to replace them over and over again

[Spider]

When I was last in Japan I was shown some CV boots made there which were vastly superior to anything we could get, including BMC NOS. They asked me if I thought that customers in the UK would be interested in them. The price would have been about £12 each when our own non-gen were about £3. After having had customers complain about the price of parts for the last 30 years I declined the offer.
The Japanese had made them because the quality of rubber gaiters etc from the UK had got steadily worse.
We all know that it is false economy to keep replacing boots that have never seen any life on the road but I still think that very few people here would pay much more for good quality. If I am wrong then I apologise.
I wonder what other rubber parts they have manufactured.

Thanks Nick. I have looked to Japan, briefly, but I don't know who's who in the zoo over that way. I don't give a rats about the price, would you be able to provide any leads?

[mab01uk]

You could try Turtle Trading of Japan.....email this guy who I think deals with the UK side of things and is English speaking, sabu@turtle-trading.co.jp
http://www.turtle-trading.co.jp/
You could also ask Mini-Machine in UK below for the latest contact details for Turtle Trading:-
http://www.m-machine.co.uk/links.html

As Nick said I don't think the vast majority of UK Mini enthusiasts who run 'regular' Mini's on a shoestring will yet pay the prices required for quality.......watch the crowds at any Mini show in the UK buying parts from 'here today gone tomorrow' traders selling cheap unbranded Chinese imports rather than ordering something that will fit and last longer from Somerfords or Minispares. I suppose that may change over the next 10 years or so as the remaining 'daily driver' Mini's disappear and most that are left become cherished classics?

[Tim]

...I suppose that may change over the next 10 years or so as the remaining 'daily driver' Mini's disappear and most that are left become cherished classics?

I think we reached that point in Australia some time ago. We stopped getting Minis in 1978, so those that remain are now almost all owned by enthusiasts and collectors. I'm with Spider, I don't want the best price, I want great quality.

Tim

[mk1coopers]

I was thinking of changing my old CV boots whilst I'm doing some work in that area of the car, after seeing those pictures I think I'll stick with what I have , I've also got no problem with paying for quality parts, I'd rather not be doing the job twice, perhaps we just need the choice from the suppliers now, I'm sure if they start with low volumes they will be able to gauge the interest in the parts and adjust stocks accordingly

[nick rogers]

Well, the conversation I had in Japan was 7 years ago so maybe folks here will now pay the price for quality. I will check with my contacts there and hopefully have some news.

[nick rogers]

I just had a reply from Japan on availability. They do the CV boot and steering rack boot. Not sure about price until I know carriage costs and yen/pound conversion. I will get a small quantity of both and see what happens.
Also I will check if they do any other rubber parts. The manufacturing company is called Valtain and I saw a lot of products with that name on while I was there.

[woodypup59]

I always keep a few of all these rubber parts in stock ie CV boots, TR ends, brake hoses, susp parts, etc and these are in my parts dept in the loft (which I know is NOT ideal). If these survive a summer's heat, I know they'll be good for a few years on the car.

Put me down for a pair of each of these Japanese parts please Nick, if you are willing to get some in.

As above, given the time it takes to get a drive shaft out once (let along again a year later when the boot has split just before the MOT), I'm willing to pay a premium.

[YMJ]

I can fully concur with all that is said......many years ago I bought a job lot of Chinese prophylactics and look at the trouble they caused....!

[jay weinstein]

years ago i ordered condoms from china and they sent latex finger protectors.

[Spider]

Thanks mab01uk for the lead for sure, but my Japanese isn't too good.

Nick, thanks for sending an enquiry, I'll be interested to see what they can do.

[mab01uk]

Thanks mab01uk for the lead for sure, but my Japanese isn't too good.

Nick, thanks for sending an enquiry, I'll be interested to see what they can do.

Some rather expensive Japanese Mini parts catalogues on ebay below, each with a few pages pictured showing some of the range available:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOOK-MINI-PARTS ... 0720139470

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOOK-MINI-Par ... 0845166937

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BOOK-MINI-fre ... 4d004b0a8c

Delta Mini Online Shop:
http://www.mini-delta.co.jp/index.html

English version coming soon:
https://www.mini-delta.com/

[clm]

Oddly something I have been thinking of as well... this was a new boot about a year ago, bought it from m-parts :/


Chris

[mk1]

The quality of rubber components has been a problem for many years now.

As has already been said it is still possible to get good quality rubber parts made, but whether there would be a viable market for these parts is IHMO questionable. Of course a few people will always be happy to pay a premium for something that they KNOW is a genuine quality part, but what happens when another firm see that someone is selling a rubber boot for £10. easy, they up the price of their crap imported Chinese rubber boot sell loads as premium, get the real premium ones a bad name & most people go back to buying the cheap shit Chinese ones at "bargain" prices as at least they know what they are getting.

The truth is that most people still buy on price & in most cases if you pay cheap shit prices, you get cheap shit.

I do feel that on parts like this there is a genuine market for premium quality items but if this was a viable market that would sustain the investment needed is I reckon doubtful.

I would love to be proven wrong though.