Swapped out my hydraulic pump for a cheaper brand and regretted it immediately

I compared a Parker pump to a no-name knockoff on a 2005 Peterbilt last month and the difference was night and day. The knockoff started whining after about 60 hours of run time, while the Parker one I replaced had lasted 4 years without a peep. What kind of luck have you guys had with aftermarket vs OEM hydraulics?

4 comments

4 Comments

garcia.wren10d ago

Oh come on, 60 hours is a decent run for a budget pump when you're talking about a fraction of the price. With all due respect to Parker, is the cost difference really justified if you're not running commercial hours? Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't, but the savings add up over a few swaps.

rowanr8811d ago

No way, only 60 hours before it started whining? That's honestly brutal lmao. I've seen cheap pumps give up way quicker than that but usually you at least get a few months out of them before they start making noise. The fact that the Parker one went 4 years without a peep is exactly why I stopped trying to save money on hydraulics altogether. Price difference is rough upfront but the downtime and headache from a blown cheap pump just isn't worth it to me lol.

zarag1711d ago

You ever have one of those cheap pumps that works perfectly until you need it most? I had a no-name hydraulic pump on a log splitter that ran great for like two weekends, then on the third one it just locked up mid-split with a log halfway through. Had to borrow a neighbor's splitter for the rest of the season while I waited for a replacement. The Parker pump I put on after that? Been three years and it just hums along like nothing. What kind of setup are you running yours on?

lilyt2310d ago

Heard a buddy tell me he bought a cheap pump for his wood splitter and it lasted exactly one full Saturday before it started screaming like a banshee. He spent the rest of the season borrowing my splitter every other weekend while he waited for a replacement to ship. Swore he'd never cheap out on hydraulics again after that and honestly I get it.