When is Motorcraft Necessary?

[FireSafetyGuy]

My mechanic always recommends Motorcraft parts for engine related repairs or replacement. I’m needing to replace my AC/heat blower unit. The price varies widely depending on manufacturer. Am I really gaining anything by spending twice the money for a Motorcraft, motor?

 

[Zpak]

My mechanic always recommends Motorcraft parts for engine related repairs or replacement. I’m needing to replace my AC/heat blower unit. The price varies widely depending on manufacturer. Am I really gaining anything by spending twice the money for a Motorcraft,

Quick anecdote, years ago I blew a heater core in an 89 town car with 156,000 miles on it. Went to autozone and grabbed one for twenty bucks and spent the next five hours changing it. Ten thousand miles later, guess what job I was doing again because I saved $30. The motorcraft one lasted 156,000 miles.

 

[FREAK_SHO]

My mechanic always recommends Motorcraft parts for engine related repairs or replacement. I’m needing to replace my AC/heat blower unit. The price varies widely depending on manufacturer. Am I really gaining anything by spending twice the money for a Motorcraft, motor?

Wallet my feel it up front, but you will save time and money on the back end.

 

[Joshw0000]

What's the swap cost? Or are you doing it yourself? I'd say since it's not necessarily a safety feature, if the savings are substantial I might consider aftermarket. But if Motorcraft is less than twice the cost of Auto Zone, I'd get Motorcraft.

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[Jordan_R]

Simple parts I will try a value version. I say value because there is cheap, there is value (usually name brand quality part) and there is OEM. Now if it's a big job I am not going to want to do it twice I am going with OEM part all day long unless there is verified success with the aftermarket verson.

 

[SHO-moco]

In my experience most parts are all made by the same folks just shoved in a different box. I have bought Motorcraft and had to do the job twice because of faulty part. I have bought aftermarket and had to do the job twice because of faulty part. Ford, just like all manufacturers outsource their parts usually to the best bidder. Depending on the part I am replacing I then look at brand. Example, motorcraft electric coolant pumps are made by bosch. I can buy the motorcraft replacement for 170$ or I can buy the bosch part number that is under the motorcraft sticker for 60$. But as others have said if I was and when I did the cam phasers during the timing and water pump job I went with motorcraft Phasers & water pump, Cloytes chain set, and a Melling oil pump.

 

[Joshw0000]

I replaced all of the wife's spark plugs and coils with OEM Motorcraft for the 200K service on her 2017 Explorer. 2 months later, we get misfires on cylinder 3 which is a PIA to get to (it's in the back, under the intake manifold). So I pulled the plug/coil from 3 and swapped with 6 (in the front, more accessible) and the misfire moved to 6. Turns out the new Motorcraft coil was bad.

I price shop for everything. The coils came from Walmart (which they honored the warranty) and the plugs came from eBay.

I always use Motorcraft oil filters (12 pack on Amazon is the cheapest I can find), Motorcraft coolant, transmission fluid, etc. I used aftermarket parts when I was chasing an evap issue a few years back. I fixed the issue by throwing parts at it for cheaper than a shop would have charged to diagnose. And they're easy to swap if I ever have to do it again.

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[SM105K]

It depends. I usually try to use OEM replacements. I have found they are more pricey, but last longer.

 

[Majestic]

That particular part is only $50 more for the Motorcraft unit. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[marshallma0504]

That particular part is only $50 more for the Motorcraft unit. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

I concur with the do motorcraft if it’s a major part. I did my steering rack and OEM was $1,100 and aftermarket was $900. Some items it’s not worth it but the big ticket ones there will be a difference.

 

[SHOdded]

i have used oem suppliers hitachi, ntk, bosch, even dorman and airtex (not oem) etc for replacement parts. i feel things have changed since the C19 thing. QC has dropped drastically. it is hard to really trust non-oem parts for the long haul.

definitely would not use offbrand products. many counterfeit items around, especially ebay and amazon, posing as oem too.

all in all, yes, ford/motorcraft is your best bet. there are a few exceptions, but the list isn't long.

 

[LilCop2002]

That upper driver side blend door actuator got me a few times until I claimed warranty and payed extra for the MC version. Though it had a much shorter warranty, I haven't had to change it in a long while now.

I am not, however opposed to non-MC parts.

 

[Zpak]

That upper driver side blend door actuator got me a few times until I claimed warranty and payed extra for the MC version. Though it had a much shorter warranty, I haven't had to change it in a long while now.

I am not, however opposed to non-MC parts.

I’m not ether if it’s a job you don’t mind doing again, or won’t strand you.

 

[LilCop2002]

That actuator? 100% motorcraft

 

[Zpak]

That actuator? 100% motorcraft

No brainer.