As many of you know, if you follow along with us here at Louisville Switching, we've been partners with Weller Reman for several years and have used their remanufactured products on our Ottawa trucks during that time. We've always been pleased with our relationship and we knew their quality was unmatched. However, a recent tour of their factory in Grand Rapids Michigan made us realize how much more we'd like to grow that partnership, beyond just remanufactured parts for Ottawa yard trucks. We showcased it all in a video this winter if you'd like a sneak peek. 

The tour opened our eyes to the markets that we weren't currently reaching in our region and even across the country/world. So we've decided to put some focus on casting a little wider net to service additional types of trucks and heavy equipment, beyond our core Ottawa trucks. Last week we highlighted a new hire Shannon Fisher, who will help get the message out in the marketplace about our new offerings. So between our website and Shannon hopefully we'll cross paths. Our goal as always is to meet the needs of our industry with great service and fair prices. 

Comparing Rebuilt vs Remanufactured Transmissions and Other Parts

If you're looking for replacement parts, you might consider three different types: recycled, rebuilt, or remanufactured. Recycled parts as essentially that - they're parts that were salvaged from another vehicle. In this case scenario, you're simply switching out the faulty part in the vehicle for one purchased from a junkyard or that's already been used and is still in working order from another vehicle. A recycled part may be an option but they often have no warranty and there may be no way to know where in their life cycle they are. So that choice becomes a bit of a crap shoot. You might get lucky and wind up with a part that lasts the duration of the vehicle. You might also have to replace that part multiple times, seriously eroding the cost savings in using recycled, to begin with.

The other two options are rebuilt and remanufactured. These terms are occasionally misunderstood or used interchangeably, but there are distinct differences in these choices.

Choosing a Rebuilt Part

A rebuilt part is a part that is salvaged from another vehicle. But this part has been rebuilt to replace anything that was malfunctioning on the part itself. This is slightly different than recycled, where the part is in working order and just moved from one vehicle to another without any repair. In the case of a rebuilt part, the product is looked over and any faulty pieces have been replaced. You're not getting a new part, but you are getting a part that's in working order and has been recently evaluated so there's a lower risk that it will only last a short time.

Choosing a Remanufactured Part

A remanufactured part is not simply rebuilt. In the case of remanufacturing, the part is actually stripped down entirely. Every inch of the part is cleaned and evaluated and then the part is manufactured from start to finish. What you're actually getting with a remanufactured part is of the highest quality next to newly produced. In some cases, the quality may actually be superior because great care is taken in the evaluation process prior to remanufacturing the piece.

Choosing which type of part will best work for your project may depend on a few variables. Cost savings on the part itself should be weighed against the projected lifespan of the vehicle. Choosing a remanufactured part would be an excellent option for a vehicle projected to last for a long time. For vehicles toward the end of their lifecycle, it might be a better fiscal choice to opt for a different type of replacement.

Weller Reman together with Louisville Switching Provide Remanufactured Parts

When you reach out to our parts staff about replacing your Allison transmission, you need to know you're not getting a recycled or rebuilt transmission, instead, you're getting a remanufactured transmission from the best in the industry. 

If you'd like more information on replacing your transmissions, transfer cases, automatic transmissions, power steering, or differential, then our parts team would love to help. Click here to make a request. 

If you're still kicking tires so to speak, then read more about our Weller Reman partnership.