Ordered a supposed OEM genuine valve cover gasket but the quality of the part has me questioning its authenticity. I know fakes have been getting harder to spot through the years, especially the quality of packaging, but in comparison to the part I removed, there is no comparison. Not only is the quality seemingly better on the part coming off but the design of the seal is different.



This is a valve cover gasket for my 2003 7.3.



Packaging looks good. No misspelled words or logo issues. Resolution looks good on the print.







Mold flash







Mold flash on left, possible mold defect at top







Short shot, blister?







Weld lines, mold defect?







Just a picture of some plug markings







Also, the original gasket rubber looked to have a circular cross section. The new one appears to have a triangular cross. Could be that the old one was just smashed down for the last 19 years and took a permanent set. You can see the peak in this picture of the new gasket. Dont have a pic of the old one.







I guess this could be OEM but the quality is terrible. This truck is new to me so Im not familiar with the OE standards of Ford. My other vehicle is a Mercedes and the OEM parts are MUCH better than this. If this IS OEM Im ok with it as the original one lasted for 19 years but this quality has me wondering if this is some CHINA OEM knockoff.

Hoping you guys can lend your opinion based off of your experience.

 

I would ask where you bought it from? Typically you will see fakes if you buy it from Amazon or eBay. Those labels are so easy to make with today’s computer technology. I tend to only buy from sellers that I KNOW and they only use actual OEM parts and buy them from reputable wholesalers. Places like Riff Raff Diesel, CNC Fabrication, Dieselorings.com just to name a few. These sellers make their living office selling parts for the 7.3 L, they also understand that with the Internet bad service and or bad parts can cost them money. I’ve seen every one of these owners step up if there was a question with regards to a part or quality of a part and make it right immediately.

I would compare what you paid for it with what Riff Raff diesel charges for it. In the end you have two choices, install that one see if it works, see if it even fits with all the burrs on it or return it and purchase from one of the sellers above. If you choose the latter option and you see the same issues then you can make your conclusion on whether the initial one you had was a big deal or not…. Good Luck, make sure you let us know what you decide.

 

@ESwift recently received some OEM UVCH's that were of very poor quality as well. They were purchased from a reputable source if I remember correctly.

 

I bought some alliant vc gaskets and uvch a while back, qc had def gone down, I believe theeyare china now. Motorcraft is mexico and generally better qc, but things may have changed. Did you purchase froom a reputavle vendor?

 

Thanks for responding guys!

I bought the gasket through ebay from New England Performance Products. Ive purchased from RiffRaff, Diesel O-Rings and the like before and I do like supporting those suppliers but I tend to lean ebay only because having all my online purchases in one place when tax season comes makes it easy to account for and their "purchase history" page is perfectly designed. The prices are usually comparable, though and Im going to make more of an effort in the future to purchase from the forum retail favorites as Im tired of having to question and wonder about the parts Im receiving. Surprisingly, sometimes my local stealership has competitive prices on parts. Sometimes.

New England Performance Products has their own website and appears to be a diesel repair shop specializing in Powerstrokes that also runs a retail shop selling OEM and aftermarket products for those engines.

Interesting thing about it is that the shop is in CT and the original shipping label that was affixed to the part packaging has two addresses. Ford Hartford HVC and Family Ford Enfield. Both in CT. Family Ford Enfield is a Ford Dealership in CT and Ford Hartford HVC is a regional Ford parts distribution facility in CT.

If the label is genuine then Im guessing that this part originated from the HVC facility to the nearby dealerships parts inventory and thats where it was purchased by NEPP likely at their shop account discount and resold for a small markup on ebay. They were actually the cheapest OEM VC gasket on ebay. The Enfield dealership being so close to the Hartford HVC likely affords them a tight relationship and accompanying discount and that is passed along the line locally --->HVC>Dealer>Shop>end consumer.

If the origination label is fake then Mr. Chinaman put a lot of thought into it. Or they just direct copied an example they had on hand. So I guess I lean genuine but damn this part looks like something I scraped off the bottom of my shoe. Shame on Ford. This doesnt look like no B10 part. I guess its true that they dont make em like they used to. Even if its 2003 to 2021. Maybe Id be better off peeling one off a low mileage 7.3 out the scrap yard. ........

 

If there's quality control issues on parts like this from Ford, is it possible to source them from IH?

 

The package look like it was ever resealed potentially? I’ve seen some stuff where someone will buy OEM and chinese carefully open the OEM and replace with knockoff and go get a refund. Not saying it happened but possible.. hate to think this is the “new” standard but unfortunately not surprising the way every thing else is going... 🤦‍♂️

 

The gasket looks just like the ones IH sells, none of those issues are on the actual sealing surface. These engines are not being supported like they were and parts are getting harder to get and the quality has gone down on some parts.

 

In 2018 when I replaced my GP's, UVCH's and gaskets, the parts were ordered from RiffRaff. The UVCH's and gaskets I received were from International. It is possible that RiffRaff sources parts from both Motorcraft and International and I got what I got.

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, the International UVCH's and gaskets were of good quality and condition. I inspected them like I do most other parts I install and removed a single Dorman UVCH. I saw a difference in the wire quality between the International and Dorman, but the other UVCH was original at 225,000 miles or so and looked a lot like the new International UVCH I had on the bench.

Brian Hanks has a good point, there may be a bit of a "bait and switch" going on...

ford390gashog is spot on as well. As the sun sets and rises, it will be increasingly more difficult to source parts. The engine design is 20+ years old and out of mass production for the public for the past 18 years. It is the nature of the beast I guess for us to drive, love and keep these dinosaurs alive.

 

ALL or virtually all US name brand parts are actually sourced overseas. Just because it says OEM Motorcraft, Mopar, GMC etc. on the label does not mean you are getting a top quality American made part. Chances are real good you are getting an actual OEM part sourced from a third world country using "slave labor" with the absolute minimum of quality control!
Just look to see how many NEW vehicles are on your dealers lot now that chips and mechanical parts are not arriving at the ports as usual!
Bring it ALL back home, employ your neighbor - PLACE AN IMPORT TAX OF 300 % on ANYTHING THAT IS NOT 100% MADE RIGHT HERE!!!!

 

This right here!!!!^^^^

 

I know a guy who was working on that.

 

I am a "Boomer", son of a WWII vet. My father after the war went to work in a GM factory in Ohio making ball bearings. He had a high school education, probably more of an education driving a truck through North Africa, Italy & Europe. Came home and made a good living (enough to afford a suburban home and raise 5 children). I went to work full time @ age 16 in a die cutting shop before the "rust belt" became rusted by corporations selling all our manufacturing capability to our enemies. I worked my way up from machine operator thru a 4 year apprenticeship to become a die maker where we had government contracts requiring +/- 0.005 in. and automotive contracts +/- .05.
All this before CNC .
We need men like my father, and opportunities like I had to restore American greatness. Good honest work for our country men - to heck with China!

 

and the REAL kicker if we would have done it already we wouldn’t have such impact on this current inflation and shortages now driving up prices. Soo, now we get to pay what it would’ve costed to buy all USA parts to start with etc. except it is still all cheap farmed out stuff.

 

I have found my people.