Stuff I bought from prothe

[410]

I thought I would post some info of things I purchased from prothe, before I really had an idea of what kind of business he is running.

Here's a list of stuff I've purchased and used and my opinion on these idividual products.

-Glowplug set for TDI.  Do not buy these!  They are not worth the cheap price he is asking for the set of four.  The taper just above the thread used for sealing is not machined well enough to seal.  Out of the four in the set, one might have been considered sufficient.  Plus, they don't last very long.  Every single one has burnt out in less than a year, and there's nothing wrong with my glow plug systems since they were tested on two separate vehicles.  I just consider myself lucky that one did not break apart in the cylinder!  I give these a 0 out of ten.

-Set of standard pistons for a TDI.  I've been fairly happy with these pistons.  My issue with these is the oil ring is not completely supported on each side of the piston right next to the wrist pin.  There are notch's cast into the piston that goes right into the oil ring groove.  Doesn't seem right.  I am burning a little oil but I really can't blame the pistons or rings since I put these into used aaz block with a quick hone.  For the cost I rate these a solid 7 out of ten.

-Door handle for mk3.  You get what you pay for.  Cheap price,cheap product.  Definitely won't last long in a cold climate. 2 out of ten.

-Injection pump parts, 11mm head, aaz camplate, tdi camplate, seal kits.  I've had good luck so far with the tdi camplate and 11mm head.  I have about 5000 km on these parts now with many cold starts and so far so good.  I really don't understand why he has such a bad rap with his pumps because his pump parts seem to be fair quality.  I wasn't too impressed with the seals though.  The top pump cover seal did not fit at all but the rest of the seals weren't bad.  I won't rate the pump parts until I pull the pump apart and inspect everthing.

TDI injctor nozzles .205.  They work but that's about it.  I'm planning on picking up some bosio nozzles so I will be able to compare then.











 

[8v-of-fury]

Prothe has a bad rep on selling full supposedly rebuilt pumps. you only bought pieces. I would buy the small stuff from him in a heart beat, he ruins his name by trying to sell big things cheap.. and having them crap out due to quality.

I have no complaints though, my service was quick and painless with Peter.

[maxfax]

Indeed it's his complete "rebuilt" pumps are what scars his rep..   Everything else is just plain and simple "you get what you pay for"  His service once upon a time was slow, and he was rather slow to respond to questions, if at all.. Shipping has always been pretty quick though. The rest seems to improved vastly..

If it weren't for all the screw jobs he's been giving on his "rebuilt" pumps I'd be more than willing to purchase a few odds and ends from him.. In a pinch I may still, but I would prefer not to as long as he's still selling crap pumps..

Thing's I've bought from Prothe..

MK1 shifter rebuild kit - It fit and worked good..  THe parts are starting to wear out now..  Of course I have 170K miles on them now too..

Coolant Hoses - They looks like hoses, they smell like hoses, the taste like hoses..  They seem alright for lower cost hoses..

Water Pump -  Well machined, cast impeller..  Personally I though it looked better than the new one I got from Napa..

IP Seals & Bushings - So far so good

Injector heat shields - They looked a little sketchy..  Poorly machined..  They did seem to seal but next time I woudl buy better ones I think

Lower end gasket set - Seems okay..  Haven't put these to use yet..  The injector heat shields included are much better than the ones he sells separately...

Rubber V/C gasket - THe lack of studs is kind of a pain but I managed to find some that would work.  The rubber seems different than on the other's I've had.  It's doing alright though..

1.6 Pistons - Haven;t put these to work yet, but they appear to be of good quality..  They measure quite good..

[Rabbit on Roids]

do they have the spot by the wrist pin where the oil ring isnt supported?

(your 1.6 pistons)

[410]

I had a look at the 1.6 pistons and they don't have that notch cast into the piston on each side of the wrist pin like the tdi pistons.  So not an issue with his idi pistons.

[8v-of-fury]

Oh, i forgot to add what i bought. I bought Prothe's $72 timing kit, all in all very good quality. The cam lock and tensioner tightening tool were both wonderfully polished aluminum, and the pump lock had a well machined cross hatch for grip. The dial gauge was also pretty good quality for the price, it looked expensive lol.

I read of people buying $190 dial gauges :O are you frigging kidding me? that's intense.. It's stuff like this that keeps this guy in business.. the cheap everyday stuff, that anyone can manufacture. I think he should remove his name from pumps completely.. and we may have a good reputable vendor to deal with.

[vanbcguy]

I've bought injectors, heat shields and motor mounts.

Heat shields were fine, and since any time you buy 4 of something you get free shipping you should ALWAYS put a bunch in your order!

Motor mount looked fine but I haven't actually installed it yet.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with it I can see but who knows...

Injectors were questionable.  3 of them were perfectly fine, one seemed a little off.  I ran them for a while but ended up swapping back to my old bodies with new nozzles.  I will say the car idled smooth with the Prothe injectors, a lot smoother than it did with the worn out OEM ones.  Once I found that I could get new Bosch nozzles for reasonably cheap I figured I wouldn't bother with the Prothe injectors and rebuilt my originals.