I was on RockAuto.com and I saw some of the parts under the description list "Red Service Grade".

What is that?? Is that what the dealer would replace it with?

Thanks!

 

I too was trying to find the definition of "Red - Service Grade" so I wrote RockAuto and asked. I was shopping front end parts. Here was their reply:
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"To answer your question, "Red service grade" indicates that the part is not on par, in terms of caliber and quality, with the other parts listed for that application. Generally, one would only want to order "Red" grade parts, when performing a trade in, or selling a car for parts, and you need the parts that you are ordering to be merely serviceable for a short period of time. These parts are not recommended for long term, high performance use, and therefore are categorized as "Red" grade. That accounts for the low price, and generally, you would never want to order these parts, unless you can help it. So therefore the Spicer "Red" brand is not up to general Spicer quality. I hope that this answers your question sufficiently, and you have some use for that information.

Thank you for shopping at RockAuto.

(I removed the name of the service rep)
RockAuto Customer Service"
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So... I guess the answer is.... Red - Service Grade is total crud and is not recommended for use... simply to glue a rig together so you can dump it on somebody else. Now... I guess the question is... why in the world would anybody sell this kind of (self admitted) junk? Oh well.....

Hope this helps,
Craig
'79 Bronco
(Just can't seem to part with it!)

 

Hello,

I am the customer service representative from RockAuto who provided the above response.

Recently, it was brought to my attention that I provided a customer, CraigTee, in this case, with some misleading information about Spicer "Red Service Grade" products.

The comments I made were not based on personal experience with Spicer "Red Service Grade" parts, and in retrospect, several of my statements were not accurate. While it is true that "Red Service Grade" parts are the economy line of Spicer parts, they are by no means only "serviceable for a short period of time." These parts in fact carry a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty, and can certainly be used for long term sustained use. Also the statement that Spicer "Red Service Grade" is not up to general Spicer quality is inaccurate. Spicer offers different product lines, and "Red Service Grade" is the economy line, but all of these parts carry the Spicer name and are manufactured to their high standards.

I apologize for providing CraigTee, and anyone who might have read this thread with incorrect information and bad advice in suggesting that you never order these parts. RockAuto would not offer Spicer parts if they were inferior, and we honor the manufacturers warranty on all the parts that we sell. I hope this correction will provide a better understanding of Spicer's product line.

Thanks,

Eugene
RockAuto, LLC

 

thats some good info. ive had good luck with rock auto.

 

Eugene, thanks for the clarification.

So with that in mind, what are the practical differences in the red parts versus the standard parts?

-Joe

 

Hello All,

I myself do not know the specific differences between Red Grade and standard parts for F-150s. Therefore, I have provided this link for our customers benefit. We sell a lot of both Red Grade and standard parts, and we let our customers choose the brands that they prefer. Therefore this link to our recently updated FAQ page will be helpful. It contains some examples of differences between brands at different price levels.

http://www.rockauto.com/answers.htm#pricerange


Regards,

Eugene
RockAuto, LLC