Does same part number mean same manufacturer?

[fisher83]

Just curious on this one. Picked up a MasterPro serpentine belt for my Caravan and installed it yesterday. Guy at the parts counter tried to sell me the Gates belt which was $10 more. I asked him to bring out both the MasterPro and Gates belts for me to look at. I pointed out that they had the exact same part number and looked pretty identical to me. I couldn't really find anything concrete that says MasterPro is made by Gates and I'm not worried about running the cheaper part since it appears well constructed. Just thought I'd run this by you guys... DOES the same part number mean it is the same manufacturer?

 

[NHGUY]

No,a lot of times the "Leader" of a parts line will be used as the benchmark,and everyone else will copy their numbers.Moog chassis numbers are a big one for copying.Gates is popular for competition for belts and hose,Fram a lot of times for filters.

 

[Chris142]

no. is supertech 5w30 the same as Redline 5w30?

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: fisher83
DOES the same part number mean it is the same manufacturer?


A good example of many companies using the same part number is in the oil filter business. Quite a few smaller filter companies use the same application number as Fram.

 

[oggb]

Nope.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
no. is supertech 5w30 the same as Redline 5w30?

Uh, not the same thing...

 

[Jarlaxle]

The Duralast belt on my Jeep looks to be a dead ringer for a Gates.

 

[eljefino]

No and serpentine belts have a decoder ring to their part number. A couple digits are the length, then the number of ribs.

 

[fisher83]

Thanks for all the replies. The concensus seems to be that the same part number does not mean the same manufacturer. The el cheapo belt looks pretty well constructed and I'm sure it will last me long enough. Thanks again!

 

[tinmanSC]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
no. is supertech 5w30 the same as Redline 5w30?

huh? 5w30 is not a part number.

 

[Thax]

No many parts from different brands will have the same or very similar part numbers. Examples include belts , brake pads , brake shoes and rotors. Many times this is a industry standard related to part size. In the case of the belts you were choosing between , although the parts master and gates belt look very similar and have the same or similar numbers they are different. In the case of the belts , the Gates is a superior belt with better EPDM construction.