Stosh21

Just a heads up to anyone who has to replace their IWEs. I bought an OEM one from the dealer but looked at the Dorman ones as well. From what I can tell, they are one in the same. The OEM one I bought has "Warn Industries" cast on the side as well as "FoMoCo". The Dorman one has identical marks. You can check out the pictures on RockAuto for yourself to confirm or just go to your local parts store chain and see one in person. At any rate, the Dorman one can be had for $80 on RockAuto as opposed to paying whatever the dealer charges (they list for $160ish).

Hope this helps someone save a few bucks.

GMC to Ford

Are your referencing a stock photo off the RockAuto website, OR did you actually order and receive the Dorman part?
I have seen many pictures online of OEM parts, but the fine print or actual part was something else. Amazon sellers are notorious for hiding the facts.

Stosh21

I went to the auto parts store and held the Dorman part in my hand after seeing the stock photos of it online and recognizing the marks. I can confirm it was identical to the OEM one I installed. If you don't want to take my word for it, most Autozones and Oreilly's have the Dorman in stock so you can check it out yourself in person.

David Hineline

Companies like D
orman buy failed parts and refurb the original castings.

Stosh21

They are being sold as new, not as remanufactured and there is no core charge on them so I don't think that is the case in this situation.

Stadt

I can promise you Fomoco and Dorman parts are not the same. They may be cast the same, but they are not the same. The dorman IWEs seem to fail at about the rate of 1 per 10K miles, if not much sooner. The Fomoco IWEs last tens of thousands, if not hundreds, of miles before failing.

Stosh21

Okay but where did you get those statistics from? Your own personal experience? Forum posts? Anywhere except Dorman or Ford?

I can't understand why Dorman would go through all the extra expense (molds are expensive to manufacture) and trouble to put Ford's marks in their castings and simultaneously expose themselves to potential copyright infringement suits for no apparent reason, unless they had just sourced the part directly from Ford.

18LeadLariat

But seriously, i dont know if i dont, or simply dont want to.
Can you post p/n of IWE youre looking at?

Stosh21

Dorman 600105. Here's pictures from Rockauto. Again, if you don't believe me, I invite you to check one out in person. Most parts chains carry it in stock. I did, and they are the same. Here are screenshots from RockAuto showing the Ford P/N etched in, the cast-in "FoMoCo", and cast-in "www.warnauto.com/patent".

I don't have any stock in Dorman, just wanted to help someone save a bit of cash.

SpencerPJ

I've never had issues with Dorman parts. I'd rather change 2X than let Ford have another dollar for their ridiculous design on them.