Tuff Stuff Performance

If yall saw the thread on how pissed I was about my water pump being a chinese POS and refurbished, well I decided that i'm going to be getting another one after doing some extensive research on the GMB water pump. Turns out all the reviews I looked at for the GMB waterpump were not too good. Now I want something genuinely made in the USA, which isn't crap and trying to see if anybody has had any experience with Tuff Stuff Performance. On the site, it does say everything is quality made and proudly made in the USA, sounds good but I want to hear if anybody has bought something from them and was satisfied (or heard anything)  

Didn't see your thread dude, but what was wrong with the refurbished water pump from China? They are such simple technology I'm curious what happened. Did it start leaking or didn't fit properly or bind up? What engine are we talking about?
Brazil  

I read your post "A bit skeptical about my water pump" today.

I understand your concern over "Chinese Junk" Although there are probably some quality exceptions imported from China; most of it is scat and low price is not the smartest reason to buy. The old adage that "you get what you pay for" is often true.

In your original post you mentioned an Edelbrock pump and that would be one, good, option. Classic Industries has "Original GM Replacement Pumps" -  National Parts Depot (NPD) and Year One are two more sources. I'm afraid I have no experience with "Tuff Stuff Performance"

On the practical side if the pump is working why not keep it? Your dollars are already across the ocean and can't be brought back. Just keep an eye on the pump and if you starts to have a problem, get your made in the USA replacement.

Tomorrow I am putting 4 Goodyear tires on my Bonneville.  They will cost me twice as much as some of the imports; but I know I am getting quality and I am supporting our economy.  I try to stay away from places like Walmart and Harbor Freight Tools because so much of there inventories are from China and of inferior quality.  I am not fanatical about buying stuff that is made in the USA; but I do make it a priority when I can.  

I have seen a great deal of problems from Tuff Stuff products. On that note, I am in Canada and 90% of every item that I have bought made in the USA has been beyond crap and cost me a fortune to exchange 3 or 4 times shipping in and out of the country, or to machine to correct specs. For myself and customers cars I spend a good $250k a year on aftermarket products. Chinese have the cheep labour it takes to do good quality control if they choose to make high end products. It seems Americans do not seem to give a *** about what they make, or they send all the rejects or returns to Canada knowing there is not much we can do about any of it.

Edlebrock, Indy, March, Tuff Stuff, Stainless Steel Brake, Willwood, MSD, Maziere water poumps, All Pontiac, etc... When I build a car it costs an extra $10k to fix this crap as the manufacturers always so "No one has ever had this complaint before".  

I have seen a great deal of problems from Tuff Stuff products. On that note, I am in Canada and 90% of every item that I have bought made in the USA has been beyond crap and cost me a fortune to exchange 3 or 4 times shipping in and out of the country, or to machine to correct specs. For myself and customers cars I spend a good $250k a year on aftermarket products. Chinese have the cheep labour it takes to do good quality control if they choose to make high end products. It seems Americans do not seem to give a *** about what they make, or they send all the rejects or returns to Canada knowing there is not much we can do about any of it.

Edlebrock, Indy, March, Tuff Stuff, Stainless Steel Brake, Willwood, MSD, Maziere water poumps, All Pontiac, etc... When I build a car it costs an extra $10k to fix this crap as the manufacturers always so "No one has ever had this complaint before".  

I am sorry you have had a some bad experiences with parts made in the USA and I'm saddened to hear it.  Perhaps you see it more because you buy more. My car restoration budget is normally less then $1,000 per year; but the parts I buy fit and work right.

China, India, and some other overseas manufactures do have cheap labor, and I am sure they could do good quality control; but I haven't seen it.  

I don't think any country intentionally makes a defective automotive part. I run a recording studio in Houston Texas and deal with defective mass produced equipment from everywhere in the world. There's always going to be someone along the process that doesn't know or care what he or she is doing.  

Brazil,
That might be very true but i'm just really picky when it comes to cooling. I'm just trying to find a good product that people can trust and the GMB just doesn't cut it from the reviews i've seen on it. I just don't want to buy another water pump that only becomes defective.

I've been looking at Flow Kooler along with Tuff Stuff, just can't make a decision yet. Can't find anything on Flow Kooler but I need to choose something, what is everybody on this forum running on their car?  

Mr.Milt mentioned buying a set of Goodyears because he wanted to buy American made tires. That's all great and wonderful but, the only way to know if your tires were made in America is to look at the sidewall where it is stamped with the country of manufacture. Every tire company has plants all over the world and your tires could be made anywhere. Bridgestone is a Japanese brand but build their tires in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and here in the good old U.S. of A. among other places. Toyo's are Japanese and they just opened a factory in GA. If you want made in the U.S.A tires, you'll have look at the actual tires your going to buy to know for sure. Sorry if this post is a little off the thread but, just because it's an American owned company doesn't mean it's an American made product, sad to say. Just like GM cars made in Canada and Chrysler's made in Mexico.  

Ignorance is bliss as the saying goes and I wish I hadn’t read your post.   I ask, and was told that the Goodyear tires I was buying were made is the USA.  The tires on the show room floor in fact had made in the USA on them.  I just crawled around in the snow and retrieved the DOT code from my tires and they are, in fact, made in China and the sound I’m sure your hearing is my teeth grinding.  

As I’ve said, I’m not stupid about buying only stuff made in the USA.  Quality is more important to me and I am willing to pay for that quality.  These tires ride good, are quiet, and are exceptional in the snow and ice.  They are also rated very well by Consumers Reports (if you can believe them).   However, with that said I’m pretty unhappy about being misled and since your post I have found that Goodyear is negligent in reporting the country of origin correctly and there are formal complaints about it; and I will be adding my name to the list.  

you didn't mention what engine your looking for a water pump for?I have had good luck with CSR pumps if you are talking late model LS1,???I am not sure they make a unit for a true Pontiac though.  

I've never had any problems with CSR pumps either on a Chevy engine - they have been reliable so far. On the tire issue, I'm not really understanding what the difference is in the way a certain tire brand is manufactured in different countries.  

Ya that happen to me I bought a tire and the one on display said made in U.S.A but when I got mine it said made in china.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

David46,
 I have a Flow Cooler water pump on my Pontiac 455 in my Trans Am, putting out 550+ hp, and never had a cooling issue, been on the car now for 5 years. I purchased it from Kauffman Racing Equipment. Hope that helps, good luck.  

Sorry Joe - the "tire thing" came about from a response I made in the late summer or early fall, in this thread and is not really related to the water pump issue in the original thread.