If you guys need seals I found the cheapest high quality seals and o-rings at O-Rings and Things in Fontana, CA. There listed. Don’t know if you ever found power steering boots, found a slightly pricy alternative from Auto Zone FA8028 ALT: FB8028 approx $20 ea. If you found a better one let me know. Also since the price of brake shoes cost so much for my 2001 828 I decided to buy the brake material from McMaster-Carr 6175K814 I bought 4’ and epoxied them to the original shoe mounts and clamped them to the drum for a perfect fit, which cost me about $25 total
Does anyone know where to get a headlight bucket for a 08 gem with the square-ish headlight and round signals( not the round headlight with square signal)? Both of my headlight buckets are rusted out.
Thanks Derrick
Has anyone here tried to use an Albright style main contactor as a replacement part?
I was given a 72V Albright style 200A main contactor by a family member that works on production line equipment. Here are the specs that were in the box…
Rated Current - 200 Amps
Voltage Coil - 72V
Single Pole, Single Throw, Normally Open
Magnetic Blowouts
Coil Power – 11 to 14W
Rated Voltage of Contact Circuit - 6 to 80 Volts DC
Dielectric Voltage Strength - 50Hz 1000V AC 1min
Current Volt Drop of Main Contact at 100A - Not above 80mV
Operating time, Contact Makes & Contact Brakes - >30ms
Lug connector size: 5/16ths
I replaced my brake-light bulbs with these LEDs. Drop in replacement, took maybe 2 mts and brighter than stock. Size 1157.
@GEMmechanic this list is gold, thank you. I recently picked up an '02 e825 long bed w/ high mileage (6400-ish) just for the heck of it, I foresee that this list will be tremendously useful.
/tangent
Ironic how 6400 miles is considered high. On any other vehicle, that would be considered not even broken in yet and almost due for it’s first oil change. lol.
Do love this list! It is helping many save thousands!
The size is correct, the part number is not. That size o-ring is a trade number (aka dash)133, part number 9452K138. the part number above is for a -142 which is way too large.
I would like to revive this.
Has anyone found a source for calipers for 05-10?
I’d bet on a set off of a 98 Arctic Cat 300 ATV 4x4 would work. They take the same wheel bearings and appear to also have the same steering knuckles. The gem and Arctic Cat calipers look a little different but I’d put money on them working. Note that the ATV ones are side specific unlike on the gem. If you try them out, let us know how they work out.
Interesting observation. I will see if I can find a service manual that might show some tech drawings to compare.
Hey all. The rear brake system on an E6 or ELXD was from a 2004- 2010 PT cruiser, I was in need of rear brake wheel cylinders, they did in fact work and were an exact match.
Dorman w610130 is the part number.
Box also shows a cross for Wagner wc141638.
hope this helps others out there.
1 Like
Larry, is that Delco master (brake) cylinder a substitute for a 2005 GEMcar? Mine is leaking & needs to be replaced. I have a notice on this forum looking for one. But if another car’s part will do, I will use that suggestion.
Yes. I put it on a 2002 which should be the same as 2005. I suspect it would work on most GEMs.
Actually, Mark, a certified GEMcar mechanic, says that 2005-2014 GEMs have the same Master brake cylinder, and he says that it’s nonsense (averred by both NEV Accessories and Power Sports in Hollister, CA) to say that the part is no longer being produced. At any rate, he said he will find the part or the kit to repair the cylinder for me. What a great guy! My problems are solved for now, and Mark says that the new GEMcar company owner is planning to have a supply of parts for the cars. Thanks for your reply. Carol
Has anyone tried the 55 Watt fog bulbs instead of the stock 35 Watt Bulb in the GEM headlight housing?
Hey Carol (@2006hazelmurray). Any update on your Master Cylinder repair? If it all worked out, it would be great to know what parts your GEM mechanic (Mark) used. Did he have to replace the entire thing or was he able to find seals for a rebuild?
Sean
@Thunderbox – Did you ever find a source for calipers for your 2005-2010? If so, would you mind sharing what you found?
I have a 2008 e4 Special Edition and my front brakes are constantly dragging. The squeaking is so bad we don’t even drive it anymore which is a shame because this thing is in mint condition. I’ve narrowed the issue to the pistons not retracting into the caliper bores enough. I split open the calipers, removed the pistons, and found a little brown residue in the bores, but not much. I cleaned everything off with compresed air and steel wool. Fortunately there was no rust or pitting. Unfortunately I had to reuse the seals because I haven’t been able to find caliper rebuild kits anywhere. I am going to order the 4061T168 caliper piston seals and the 9452K18 small internal o-rings from Mcmaster-Carr as suggested in Daniel’s original post (THANKS DANIEL!). If that works, I’ll have plenty left over because they apparently come in packs of 100.
If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what else to do but order brand new brake caliper assemblies from Polaris at $270 each (yikes!). I hate to do that when all I need are a few pennies worth of square-cut piston o-rings and tiny caliper housing seals.
Sean
Regarding the brake caliper O-rings from Mcmaster-Carr mentioned in the above post. I just found out these WILL NOT work in brake fluid applications as they are made of a material call Buna-N. Apparently Buna-N swells up when in contact with brake fluid. This might not be a big deal for the small internal o-rings that seal the two halves of the calipers, but the square-cut piston rings have extremely tight tolerances so any kind of swelling will most likely affect the caliper operation.
I called Mcmaster and asked if they had o-rings in other materials and they said they didn’t carry anything that was compatible with brake fluid. Apparently what we need are O-rings made of Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPR).
I am working to find a source of EPR rings, but so far I am striking out with all the seal manufacturers I’ve called.
Sean
If you’re willing to do a guess and check, I believe a caliper rebuild kit for say 2002 Suzuki or arctic cat 400 atv will work. Everything on the front end of them is a direct replacement or very close substitute. If you try it out let us know.
Haven’t been on here in a few years, but wanted to respond to this post. Wish there was a way for me to edit the list as much of it is no longer up to date. I looked up the o-ring dimensions and found Wilwood Brakes # 210-5439, which has a matching ID and thickness, although there is no bore size (1 5/16") listed. This product is compatible with DOT 3, 4, and 5 fluids. Wilwood is an OEM brake supplier for other brands of UTV and industrial vehicles.
Daniel