Toyota don't directly manufacture everything they sell in a nice red Toyota parts box with a 10+ digit Toyota part number. That's not news to most people here I'm sure, but there was a time years back when I thought they did. There are plenty of parts that are manufactured on contract by other manufacturers, and sold exclusively to Toyota. In this case, Toyota is your only source for a genuine replacement part. There may be third party options available, but they'll be imitations of the genuine part, of varying quality.
There are also plenty of parts that Toyota use however, which are manufactured by third parties you can buy directly from. Sure, you can buy directly from Toyota, but you're basically paying a premium for them to re-box a third party part and stick a label on. The parts are exactly the same. Bearings are a great example. I don't think Toyota manufacture any bearings at all. Other people do that better, at scale, for a reasonable cost. Why pay more to re-invent the wheel? Bearings are the most obvious, because they're often branded, telling you who made them and the OEM part numbers. Sometimes you can even see them on online pictures, like this one from Partsouq:
In this case, we can clearly see that 90366-50007 is in fact a Koyo HC TR100802-2, or rather, the Koyo part meets Toyota OEM specifications for this part. Maybe Toyota used Timken bearings in the factory in some cases depending on cost/availability, who knows? Either way, the point is, I can confidently buy the Koyo part in this case and know that I'm getting a part that is probably identical to the Toyota part already in my vehicle. Why would I bother? Well, here's what the "Toyota" part would cost me today on partsouq:
And here's what the Koyo part number, IE, the exact same part in a different box, would cost me today on partsouq:
While I know this, how do I find the third party OEM part numbers? There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive listing anywhere on MUD. I know some part numbers myself, sometimes from seeing them in pictures like this, sometimes from seeing them on original parts in the vehicle, and sometimes from ordering the "Toyota" part in the pretty red box and seeing the markings on them after I open them. Sometimes the costs are significant. I wish I'd known the 13505-17011 1HZ timing belt idler pully was really just a Koyo U00135R before I paid 3x the price for the Toyota box.
What I'd like to do in this thread is try and compile a comprehensive list of third party parts, which are known to have been used directly by Toyota in the 80 series at the time of manufacture, and/or are sold new by Toyota today with their part numbers on the box, but can be bought directly from their supplier.
Anyone have some good references?
There are also plenty of parts that Toyota use however, which are manufactured by third parties you can buy directly from. Sure, you can buy directly from Toyota, but you're basically paying a premium for them to re-box a third party part and stick a label on. The parts are exactly the same. Bearings are a great example. I don't think Toyota manufacture any bearings at all. Other people do that better, at scale, for a reasonable cost. Why pay more to re-invent the wheel? Bearings are the most obvious, because they're often branded, telling you who made them and the OEM part numbers. Sometimes you can even see them on online pictures, like this one from Partsouq:
In this case, we can clearly see that 90366-50007 is in fact a Koyo HC TR100802-2, or rather, the Koyo part meets Toyota OEM specifications for this part. Maybe Toyota used Timken bearings in the factory in some cases depending on cost/availability, who knows? Either way, the point is, I can confidently buy the Koyo part in this case and know that I'm getting a part that is probably identical to the Toyota part already in my vehicle. Why would I bother? Well, here's what the "Toyota" part would cost me today on partsouq:
And here's what the Koyo part number, IE, the exact same part in a different box, would cost me today on partsouq:
While I know this, how do I find the third party OEM part numbers? There doesn't seem to be a comprehensive listing anywhere on MUD. I know some part numbers myself, sometimes from seeing them in pictures like this, sometimes from seeing them on original parts in the vehicle, and sometimes from ordering the "Toyota" part in the pretty red box and seeing the markings on them after I open them. Sometimes the costs are significant. I wish I'd known the 13505-17011 1HZ timing belt idler pully was really just a Koyo U00135R before I paid 3x the price for the Toyota box.
What I'd like to do in this thread is try and compile a comprehensive list of third party parts, which are known to have been used directly by Toyota in the 80 series at the time of manufacture, and/or are sold new by Toyota today with their part numbers on the box, but can be bought directly from their supplier.
Anyone have some good references?
