The new one of course comes from overseas and if you think it’s hard to find parts now just wait till these imports start breaking down, if you can’t get the part then you buy a new one and the process just keeps repeating, and they’ve got us by the you know what.
This has been going on for some time, particularly in the auto parts market.
*Many U-joints on drive shafts are not replaceable. You have to by a new drive shaft – for several hundred dollars (U-joints would have cost you about $30).
*Many steering rack (rack and pinion powered steering) end seals are not replaceable.. you have to replace the entire rack assembly. The seals are the parts that wear the fastest.
*Most distributor gears are not replaceable – you have to replace the entire distributor when the gear gets worn. Interesting side note is that aftermarket performance distributors have replaceable drive gears.
The ‘excuse’ that many auto manufacturers, parts suppliers etc give, is that it reduces the amount of inventory they have to carry. The truth is that the real reason is that they get to charge a lot more for what would normally be a small cost repair. More than 40 U-joints would fit in the storage space occupied by one drive shaft. Likewise for distributor gears and rack and pinion end seals.
It seems to be a variant on the old ‘planned obsolescence’, with the real intent to separate the consumer from their money.
