Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

2005 TJ Heater Core - OEM?

1K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  fishnyc22 
#1 ·
Hey guys. I am dreading replacing my heater core. I've been enjoying the summer with no heat but its getting to that time. Question. I decided to spend the extra money and get an OEM heater core as they are apparently made better. I got it in the mail today but I want to make sure what I got is an OEM heater core. The reason I ask is that the versions I've seen in videos has a longer copper stem coming off the core itself. This is plastic and stubby. Can anyone with experience with this let me know if what I received is in fact OEM. Seller I got it from says it's OEM. But want to be sure.

Thanks.
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#7 ·
That is an OEM heater core, they changed the design from the full metal to this in 2003ish can't remember the exact year.Just replaced mine and it looked the same, from what I researched only the Mopar ones have the brown plastic end cap. Install is fairly easy, no need to remove the wheel budget 5-6 hours if you have never done one.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the replies guys. I did follow back up with the seller who said that it is 100% MOPAR OEM. It does seem like the spectra model has the black end cap where this one is brown. So let me ask then. If the ones I see in the videos with the copper pipes is what I have, what connects the stubby connections on here up to the firewall ports? OR am I misunderstanding? Thanks again.
 
#10 ·
So the seller uses OEM all over the post and even says manufacturer is MOPAR. But when asked, here's what they wrote:

"Thank you for being interested in our parts. Our aftermarket parts are made are manufactured in Taiwan but the materials and quality sets are US standard."

And followed up with

"Just to give you a little insight about aftermarket parts, An aftermarket part is any part for a vehicle that is not sourced from the car's maker. The quality may be equal to or greater than OEM parts. Please refer to this link for more information: https://www.edmunds.com/car-care/aftermarket-versus-manufacturer-car-parts.html. "

So this is not an OEM part. I paid a premium for what I thought was going to be an OEM part. I may as well have purchased the $30 Spectra heater core. The brown part of the core is stamped "Made in France". So is it made in Taiwan or France? Regardless... Very annoyed.
 
#12 ·
If they are advertising OEM Mopar, you need to leave feedback that they are not in fact delivering what they advertise. They also left out the part where the quality can be far less than OEM. I went through that with a windshield seller on EBay. They advertise OEM glass and when I got the part, it turns out Pittsburg Glass is located in China and they clearly or not so clearly depending on your perspective do not understand how to make glass windshields to the same quality as OEM. The tint is off and the ripples in the glass are very pronounced.

When I contacted the company with the issue I got this jibber jabber email defining what OEM meant.
 
#13 · (Edited)
They absolutely said that it was OEM, and not only that further in the description (from the link above) it says

Genuine OEM: Yes
Brand: Mopar
The part or sub-assembly you are purchasing is a Genuine OEM Factory Original part sold by an authorized Genuine OEM parts reseller. The part is not "like OEM", it is the Genuine OEM part sold by the vehicle manufacturer.​

Turns out the brand is MARTIN which I can't seem to find out much about it. Anyone know if it's a good brand? I guess I'm going to return it and buy this one
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top