Crown vs Omix-Ada: The Jeep Parts Showdown Nobody Explains

Crown Automotive vs Omix-Ada is the choice behind most Jeep repairs that never see a dealer. Between them the two brands supply the bushings, seals, arms, lenses, handles and hardware kits that keep a 1946 Willys, a 1984 Cherokee or a 2015 Wrangler on the road, and between them they have 4,111 parts on this site: 2,451 Crown and 1,660 Omix-Ada. Owners treat them as interchangeable and forum threads treat them as rivals. Here is how they actually differ: who they are, how their part numbers work and which Jeeps each one covers best.

Key takeaways

• Two separate companies: Crown, a Massachusetts dealer-network brand that dates its start to a 1963 Boston storefront, and Omix-Ada, founded in 1992 in Suwanee, Georgia, and now a RealTruck division.
• Different number systems: Omix uses a five-digit group and a two-digit variant (18006.05); Crown’s numbers follow the factory Jeep and Mopar formats (J5460087, 52038337, 68004081AA, with K for a kit).
• Heavy overlap: the two brands share 426 part categories here, and 306 part names appear under both.
• Coverage splits by era: Omix has more parts for the 1941 to 1958 Willys vehicles; Crown has more for everything from the 1959 CJ5 to the JK, plus Dodge and Ram.
• Warranty: Omix gives a limited five-year warranty; Crown gives 12 months. Neither covers wear or installation damage.

Who makes what: the two companies

Both brands sell the same kind of product: new parts built to the original Jeep specifications for vehicles the factory stopped supporting. Neither is a Jeep or Stellantis company. Where they differ is age, ownership and the way they reach you.

Crown Automotive

Crown Automotive was launched as a small storefront in Boston in 1963 and grew into a distributor of replacement parts for Jeep vehicles, later adding OE-style parts for Chrysler and Dodge. Crown has facilities in Massachusetts, Georgia, Nevada, Spain and the Czech Republic, and it sells through authorized dealers rather than direct. Its line covers Jeeps from 1942 on, Crown tests its parts on Jeeps before releasing them, and the whole line carries a 12-month warranty.

Crown is also the larger of the two here by every measure: 2,451 published products across 721 categories, 1,873 of them with a vehicle fitment list, and a Dodge and Ram side that Omix does not have (77 products fit the Durango, 68 the Ram 1500, 67 the Nitro, 62 the Dakota). Its deepest categories are engine parts (45, mostly for the 1972 to 1986 six-cylinder engines),CJ clutch parts (39), wiper and washer parts (31), side marker lights (29), brake hoses (29) and replacement axle shafts (28).

Omix-Ada

Omix-Ada is the younger company. It started in 1992 with little more than a closet full of parts and driving ambition, founded by Al Azadi, and it is based in Suwanee, Georgia, where it keeps a collection of historic Jeeps it uses for product development. It offers almost 20,000 Jeep parts for Jeeps “from 1941 through current model years,” sold in close to 100 countries. Truck Hero announced its acquisition of Omix-Ada in 2017; Omix is now a division of RealTruck Inc. Omix is also the parent of Rugged Ridge, Alloy USA, Precision Gear and Outland.

Here Omix has 1,660 published products across 653 categories, 1,339 with a vehicle list. Its deepest categories are the same CJ clutch parts (40, one more than Crown), wiper and washer parts (39), replacement body parts (35, against Crown’s 28), the 1972 to 1986 six-cylinder engine parts (25), side marker lights (24) and fender flares (22). Where Crown leans toward drivetrain and brake hardware, Omix leans toward body, trim and gauges: 17 gauges, 16 interior door handles and 11 bezel sets.

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How to read the part numbers

The numbers are the fastest way to tell the brands apart, and each system tells you something about the part before you open the product page.

Omix-Ada: group, point, variant

Almost every Omix number is five digits, a point, then two digits: 18006.05, 16523.55, 12201.01. The five digits are the product group, the two after the point the variant inside it. The groups follow the vehicle’s systems, so the first two digits place the part:

• 11xxx: mirrors, hood catches, door handles and liftgate hardware (11812.09 is a half-door paddle handle).
• 12xxx: body: panels, bumpers-bumpers-tire-carriers-winch-mounts-2, body mount kits (12201.01), seals and weatherstrips (123xx), lighting and bezels (124xx, the 12419.01 bezel).
• 13xxx: interior and soft-top hardware: seat belts, dash parts, bow brackets and hardtop clamps.
• 16xxx: the driveline: axle parts (165xx), brakes (167xx) and clutch (169xx). The JK axle shaft 16523.55 and the Dana 44 pinion nut 16584.10 both live here.
• 17xxx: under the hood: cooling (171xx), ignition, gauges and senders (172xx, the 17209.01 gauge set), engine internals (174xx), fuel (177xx) and heater (179xx).
• 18xxx: steering (180xx), suspension (182xx), transfer case (186xx) and manual transmission (188xx).
• 19xxx: automatic transmission (190xx), wiper motors and switches (191xx), wiper arms and blades (197xx).

The variant digits separate applications and finishes. In the 18006 pitman arm group, 18006.05 is the power steering arm for the 1997 to 2006 Wrangler TJ and LJ, 18006.06 a manual steering arm and 18006.08 another power steering arm for a different application. A few Omix parts carry a DMC or S prefix on a Chrysler-format number instead (DMC-5451627, a Jeep emblem).

Crown: the factory formats

Crown has no house code. Its numbers take the same shapes as the factory Jeep and Mopar numbers, in four patterns:

• J plus seven digits (776 parts here): the older Jeep format, on parts such as the J5460087 headlight bezel, the J0801367 Dana 300 yoke nut and the J0636035 lug nut. Most fit CJ, Willys and full-size Jeeps.
• Seven or eight plain digits (740 parts): 52038337 (pitman arm), 4060790 (serpentine belt), 52000232 (XJ U-bolt). These cover the XJ, YJ, ZJ and TJ years.
• Eight digits plus two letters (384 parts): 68004081AA, 52088208AB, 5191197AA. The letters read like a revision suffix, and these sit on the WJ, KJ, WK and JK-era parts.
• A K, KM, KHD or HK ending (188 parts): Crown’s own mark for a kit built around a factory number: 5462446K is the CJ body mounting kit, 5453958KM the CJ wiper linkage kit, 5352476HK a drum brake hardware kit.

The format tells you the era before you read the part name. A factory number from a parts diagram finds the Crown part when one exists, with the Omix part for the same position beside it.

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Where the two catalogs overlap

Crown parts sit in 721 product categories here and Omix parts in 653; 426 categories hold both brands, and the biggest shared ones are the ones every CJ, YJ and XJ owner ends up in: replacement parts (252 Crown, 147 Omix), engine parts (45 and 26), CJ clutch parts (39 and 40), wiper and washer parts (31 and 39), side marker lights (29 and 24), tie rod ends (27 and 17), parking brake cables (25 and 18), leaf springs (15 and 13) and control arm bushings (14 and 11).

306 part names appear under both brands: the same “Power Steering Pitman Arm,” the same “Body Mounting Kit (Black).” Here are twelve of those pairs. Note how often the two versions of one part name are for different Jeeps: a shared name is not a shared application.

Part	Crown Automotive	Omix-Ada	Fit and details
Dana 30 JK front driver side axle shaft	68004081AA	16523.55	Both 27 splines. Crown: 2007 to 2015 JK. Omix: 2007 to 2018 JK, made by Dana Spicer.
Power steering pitman arm	52038337	18006.05	Both stock height. Omix: 1997 to 2006 TJ and LJ.
Front upper control arm bushing	52060138AA	18282.01	Crown: axle end, 2007 to 2018 JK. Omix: forward position, 1993 to 1998 ZJ. Same name, different Jeeps.
Heater blower motor	56001449	17904.10	Crown: 1977 to 1990 CJ, Scrambler and YJ, motor only, 3 in diameter. Omix: 1993 to 1998 ZJ, cage included.
Body mounting kit (black)	5462446K	12201.01	Crown: 1979 to 1986 CJ5, CJ7, Scrambler, no bolts. Omix: 1941 Willys MB to 1975 CJ5 and CJ6, bolts and plates included.
Chrome headlight bezel	J5460087	12419.01	Both chrome steel, sold singly. Omix: 1946 to 1953 Willys CJ-2 and CJ-3.
Dana 44 rear pinion nut	5191197AA	16584.10	Crown: 2007 to 2018 JK, 2006 to 2008 WK. Omix: 2001 to 2003 WJ.
Serpentine belt	4060790	17111.02	Crown: 2.5L or 4.0L without A/C, 1997 to 2000 XJ, 1997 to 2002 TJ. Omix: 4.0L with A/C, 1999 to 2001 WJ.
Clutch release bearing	53008342	16906.02	Crown: 1994 YJ through 2018 JK, plus Dakota and Nitro. Omix: 1980 to 1986 CJ5, CJ7, Scrambler.
Windshield wiper arm	55155649	19710.02	Crown: black, 1997 to 2001 XJ. Omix: black, pin-style blade mount, spring included.
Dana 30 front axle shaft seal	5066066AA	16534.13	Crown: steel, press-in. Omix: 2007 to 2010 JK.
Axle U-bolt	52000232	18204.01	Crown: 12 mm x 1.75 thread, 3.08 in wide, 1984 to 1989 XJ. Omix: direct OE replacement.

Two patterns stand out. Crown parts carry more measurements (thread pitch, width, diameter, A/C or not) and more often name the body style; Omix parts are built to original specifications and backed by the warranty. And on both sides the same part name often fits different Jeeps, which is why the vehicle pages and the fitment filter matter more than the brand name.

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Vehicle coverage: which Jeeps each brand covers most

Counted by platform, the two brands split the Jeep family by era, not down the middle. Crown has more parts for every platform from the 1959 CJ5 forward, and the gap widens on the unibody and coil-sprung Jeeps. Omix has more for the Willys years, 1941 to 1958, and for the odd models of the 1960s such as the Commando and the DJ5.

Platform (years listed)	Crown products	Omix products
Willys MB (1941 to 1943)	72	99
Willys CJ-2 (1943 to 1949)	115	136
Willys CJ-3 (1949 to 1958)	151	171
Willys CJ-5 (1955 to 1958)	137	153
Jeep CJ5 (1959 to 1983)	638	554
Jeep CJ6 (1959 to 1975)	307	317
Jeep CJ7 (1976 to 1986)	512	425
Scrambler (1981 to 1985)	394	305
Wrangler YJ (1987 to 1995)	460	338
Cherokee XJ (1984 to 2001)	522	256
Grand Cherokee ZJ (1993 to 1998)	252	116
Wrangler TJ (1997 to 2006)	392	225
Grand Cherokee WJ (1999 to 2005)	205	78
Wrangler JK (2007 to 2018)	237	143
Wrangler JL (2018 on)	13	4

• The CJ is the center of both catalogs. The CJ5 is the best-covered vehicle for both brands, and the CJ7 is second for Omix and third for Crown.
• The XJ is Crown’s territory. 522 Crown products fit the Cherokee XJ against 256 from Omix, the widest gap on any platform, and the same two-to-one ratio holds for the ZJ and WJ. Crown also lists 135 products for the Liberty KJ and 108 for the WK.
• Omix owns the flat-fender years. On the Willys MB, the CJ-2 and the CJ-3 Omix has more, and it alone has real coverage of the Willys Panel (62 products to Crown’s 5), the Jeepster (61 to 15) and the M38 and M38A1.
• Neither covers the JL or Gladiator JT yet. Thirteen Crown parts and four Omix parts fit the JL here; those Jeeps are still inside the factory’s own parts support.
• Crown is the only one with a truck side. Its Dodge and Ram parts share drivelines with the Jeeps of the same years, which is how one clutch release bearing fits seven Jeeps, the Dakota and the Nitro at once.

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Warranty, finish and material

These are the points owners argue about most, and how the two brands compare on each.

• Omix-Ada warranty: Omix products are warranted free of defects in material and workmanship for five (5) years from the first retail purchase, for products first sold in the United States, to the original purchaser only, with the same terms for Rugged Ridge, Alloy USA, Havoc, Precision Gear and Outland. It excludes inadequate installation, water, alteration, misuse, normal wear, finish defects, impact damage, theft and vandalism.
• Crown warranty: Crown backs its entire line with a 12-month warranty. A claim needs the purchase date, the vehicle, and whether a dealer or certified mechanic installed the part; improper installation and abuse are excluded, and an inspected part goes back through the dealer in its Crown packaging.
• Finish: both brands sell the same parts in the same finishes, for example chrome or black on bezels and handles, black on pitman arms and bushings, primer on steel panels, paintable on flares. Where a matched pair differs, the part name carries the finish in parentheses, so compare “(Black)” against “(Chrome)” before you assume a difference between the brands.
• Material: both use steel on bezels and seals, rubber or rubber and steel on bushings and body mounts, and both build to the original specifications. The Omix JK axle shaft is made by Dana Spicer. Neither brand has a thicker gauge, a different alloy or a better coating than the other.

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The parts owners replace most, and who lists them

Five systems account for most of the repairs that bring people to these two brands. For each, here is which brand to check first.

Steering

Tie rod ends, drag links, pitman arms and steering shafts wear on every Jeep, and a loose one shows up as wander before it clunks. Crown has 27 tie rod ends and 14 tie rod assemblies against Omix’s 17 and 6, but Omix’s 180xx steering group runs deep on the CJ: its 18050.11 drag link kit, the 18028.02 steering box worm shaft and the heavy-duty manual and power steering shafts have no Crown twin here. On the XJ side, Crown’s 4713943 lower power steering shaft for the 1984 to 1994 Cherokee is the kind of part only Crown offers. Both sell a stock-height pitman arm; neither sells a drop arm.

Suspension bushings and arms

Control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, leaf spring bushings, shackles and bump stops are the parts a 20-year-old Jeep needs by the dozen. Crown has 19 control arms, 20 bump stops, 18 sway bar bushing sets and 20 body mount kits to Omix’s 9, 7, 4 and 4, but on control arm bushings (14 to 11), leaf springs (15 to 13) and shackle kits (12 to 9) the two are close, so a YJ or CJ leaf-spring rebuild can go either way. Omix’s 18036.02 Dana 30 ball joint kit covers the other wear point on a coil-sprung front end. If you are deciding between the axles those parts hang on, read Dana 30 vs Dana 44 vs Dana 60.

Body hardware and trim

This is Omix’s strongest ground. Its 35 replacement body parts, 22 CJ body parts, 10 parts for the CJ2A, 3A and 3B, 16 interior door handles, 11 bezel sets and the 12xxx and 13xxx groups of seals, hood catches and soft-top brackets give a restoration one source for most of the tub’s small parts. Crown answers with fender flare hardware (21 kits and 28 flares), hood latch assemblies (16) and more weather seals for the XJ and TJ. On a matched part such as the Crown 5462446K and Omix 12201.01 body mounting kits, the application decides: Crown’s is for the 1979 to 1986 CJ, Omix’s for the Willys and the 1959 to 1975 CJ.

Electrical and gauges

Switches, senders, lamps, lenses and gauges fail from age rather than miles. Crown has 17 electrical parts, 29 side marker assemblies and 18 tail and brake lights; Omix has 7, 24 and 17, but adds 17 gauges, 11 fuel tank sending units, 10 headlight housings and a dozen ignition parts in its 172xx numbers. A CJ dash rebuild, gauges and the 12-volt senders behind them, is an Omix job; a switch, relay or lamp socket on an XJ or TJ is more often a Crown number.

Cooling and heating

Radiator hoses, fan shrouds, thermostats and heater box parts are shared ground: Crown has 16 cooling parts and 15 radiator hoses, Omix 5 and 12, and both offer the CJ fan shrouds, caps and thermostat housings. The blower motor pair shows the usual pattern, the same part for different Jeeps: Crown’s 56001449 for the 1977 to 1990 CJ, Scrambler and YJ, Omix’s 17904.10 for the 1993 to 1998 ZJ. One detail matters before you order: the Crown motor is larger than the original, so check the clearance around it.

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How to choose: restoration, daily driver or trail rig

Since both brands build to the original specification and neither publishes a material test, the decision comes down to what you are building.

• Restoring a 1941 to 1958 Willys: start with Omix. It has more parts for every flat-fender and early CJ platform, it alone covers the Panel, Jeepster, M38 and M38A1, and its body, trim and gauge groups exist for exactly this. Check Crown for the mechanical parts, where its J-prefix numbers reach back to the same years.
• Restoring a 1959 to 1986 CJ: either. This is the one era where the two catalogs are nearly the same size, so pick the part that names your year, engine and side, its finish and what is in the box. On kits, check what is included; the body mount pair above shows one brand including bolts and the other not.
• Daily-driven XJ, ZJ, WJ, TJ or KJ: start with Crown. Its coverage of these platforms is roughly twice Omix’s, it publishes more dimensions, and its Chrysler-era numbers cross-check against a factory diagram. Omix fills gaps, especially control arm bushings and TJ steering parts.
• Trail rig on a YJ, TJ or JK: both brands sell stock geometry: stock-height pitman arms, stock-length links, non-adjustable arms, right for a rebuild at stock height. Once a lift changes the geometry, the adjustable suspension parts come from the lift-kit makers, and Crown or Omix supplies only what the lift does not replace: seals, bump stops, hardware.
• When to buy OE instead: when the factory still sells the part and it is a calibrated or safety item, when neither aftermarket part names your exact application, or when you need the factory number on the box for a judge or an insurer. For a 1980s bushing, lens or bracket, OE is usually gone, and these two brands are the reason the part exists at all.
• When either is fine: seals, gaskets, caps, boots, clips, pedal pads, lug nuts and the other small hardware both brands list in the same material and finish. Buy whichever one names your Jeep.

Whatever you pick, confirm it against the vehicle, not the brand. Select your Jeep on any category page and the list is filtered to the parts fitted to it, your exact year first. On axle parts, the Dana 44 vent guide covers the one part both brands sell that most owners never replace.

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Frequently asked questions

Are Crown Automotive and Omix-Ada the same company?

No. Crown Automotive is a Massachusetts company that started as a Boston storefront in 1963 and sells through authorized dealers. Omix-Ada was founded in 1992 by Al Azadi in Suwanee, Georgia, and is now a division of RealTruck. They compete for the same Jeep owners, and they share 426 part categories on this site, but they are separate companies with separate part numbers.

Which brand covers older Willys and CJ Jeeps better?

Omix-Ada has more parts for the 1941 to 1958 Willys vehicles: 99 products fit the Willys MB against Crown’s 72, and 171 fit the Willys CJ-3 against Crown’s 151. From the 1959 CJ5 onward the order flips, and Crown has more parts for every later platform, including the CJ5, CJ7, YJ, XJ, TJ and JK.

Which brand has the longer warranty?

Omix-Ada gives a limited five-year warranty to the original purchaser. Crown backs its line with a 12-month warranty. Both exclude wear items, improper installation and damage from use, so read the terms before you count on either.

How do I read an Omix-Ada part number like 18006.05?

The five digits before the point are the product group, and the two digits after it pick the variant. In the 18006 group, 18006.05 is the power steering pitman arm for the 1997 to 2006 Wrangler TJ and LJ, 18006.06 is a manual steering pitman arm, and 18006.08 is another power steering arm for a different application. Groups starting with 16 are axle, brake and clutch parts, 17 is engine, fuel, cooling and electrical, and 18 is steering, suspension and transmission.

Do Crown part numbers match the factory Jeep numbers?

Crown’s numbers follow the factory number formats: a J followed by seven digits on older Jeep parts (J5460087), seven or eight plain digits (52038337), and eight digits with a two-letter suffix on later Chrysler-era parts (68004081AA), with a K or KM added when Crown sells a kit. Search the factory number from a parts diagram to find the matching Crown part and its application.

Should I just buy the OE Mopar part instead?

Buy OE when the part is still in production, is a safety or emissions item with a specific calibration, or is an assembly where the factory tolerances matter, such as an electronic module. For bushings, seals, brackets, lenses, hardware kits and anything the factory discontinued decades ago, the two aftermarket brands are usually the only new parts left, and both build to the original specifications.

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Both brands have their own pages here, Crown Automotive with 2,451 parts and Omix-Ada with 1,660, and the Slickrock catalog lets you select your Jeep once and compare the two brands’ answers for the same position side by side. Start from the replacement parts department for the hard parts, brakes and steering for the wear items, and the YJ, TJ and ZJ vehicle pages for everything listed for one Jeep.

Sources

• Omix-Ada: About us (founding, Suwanee headquarters, RealTruck, inventory, Jeep collection)
• Omix-Ada: Warranty information (five-year limited warranty and exclusions)
• Crown Automotive: About Crown (history, 12-month warranty)
• Crown Automotive: Support and FAQ (warranty claims, dealers)