duralast ball joints vs moog

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moparmat2000

moparmat2000

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Hi y'all

I am going to start collecting up the parts to do my front end. Got a few questions regarding ball joints and tie rod ends. I can get these parts local from autozone. Their duralast brand. Lower ball joints $25 each, upper ball joints $11 each, tie rod ends $10 each. Pst sells em for $50 each for lowers, i think $26 each for uppers, and im unsure of the tierod ends.

Not looking for a biased opinion, just a factual observation. Are the pst ones any better than the auto zone parts store brand? Reason being, is if theres no difference in quality, im gonna get the cheaper ones, and spend my extra money on other stuff i need.

I have several pieces for my front end including some parts from firm feel, so a complete front end kit from pst would be a waste, as i would have parts left over i wouldent be using.

I plan on using heavy duty sway bars, springs, shocks, and polygraphite bushings, not sure if this makes these parts the weak link.

Any good advice would help a lot.

Thanks
Matt
 
In most cases you get what you pay for. I personally don't trust Autozones brands at all. An $11 ball joint seems like a nice savings until you have to do it again in a couple years. At that point you'll be kicking yourself for not spending the extra money in the first place.

Now remember with PST you aren't necessarily getting Moog. Their kits seem to be pieced together using various brands, moog included.

I don't like doing suspension work so I like to do it once and then forget about it. That's why I go with Moog.
 
My research was a few years ago. I found Moog to be #1, followed by TRW, then everything else.
A car like mine that is rarely driven could probably get a very long life from the lesser quality brands. The factor that forced me to purchase the highest quality parts is the labor involved in replacing them.
 
I wouldn't put duralast balls joints on a ford. Moog has a lifetime warranty for a reason they hardly ever go bad and I've been in the business of repairing cars for almost 20 years never had an issue that was manufacture defect just lack of care after install. Grease a moog ball joint every 10-15k and she will never let you down.
 
I just replaced a lower control arm, steering knuckle, dust shield, tie rod end and sway bar link on a 1997 Chevrolet pick up because of a Autozone balljoint wallowing out the hole on the knuckle. Ball joint caused the truck to crash as good factory parts were being destroyed. The owner didn't care for another taste of the cheap parts and what it cost to put it back together. $500 repair not counting alignment. I can't say if this is the normal or the exception.

Did another 1999 Grand Am with a off brand broken ball joint but it came from Oreillys. It took a new lower control arm, axle, fender, tire and brake hose to fix that one because the 6 month old ball joint popped apart. Lol, They were willing to replace the defective ball joint. $1700 repair not count alignment.

Cheap parts that you have to replace plus the cost of additional alignments.... Not worth it to this old guy.
 
Todays Moog parts aren't yesterdays Moog parts.
They are now built over seas. Sooo.......
 
Put Auitozone ball joints in a friends Nova a few years back......3k miles later I was swapping them out....
 
thinking about getting the qa1 rebuildable balljoints they have them at jegs 39.95 for the uppers
 
be careful of the newer moog stuff. have read that they are made over seas and not as good of quality..

look into spicer pro. thats still made here.
 
Thanks abodyjoe! I knew a lot of the Moog went overseas (aka "China"), so good to know that I can still try to keep the Valiant (which I am keeping) as North American as possible
 
Ok thanks for the consensus. Didnt want it to cone off sounding like a dumb question. I got the answer i was looking for. Gonna buy the better brand, stay away from auto parts store brands, just wanted to ask the question before i bought anything. Thanks everybody for your answers on this. If i bought the pst kit, will they let me buy the kit minus some of the parts i dont need for a credit?
 
Somebody had a post here, think it was a 440 in an A, that kept failing idler arms. He sawed one open, (Moog) and it had PLASTIC "bearings."

Joe, what,/ where are "Spicer Pro?" I've never heard of 'em
 
x20... I put el cheapo tie rod ends on my Duster, figured that they didn't see as much stress as the upper and lower ball joints ( moog parts ) and I had to replace them in less than 2 yrs. They were on my daily driver, but I only live 5 miles from work so do the math...
Moog tie rod ends have been on there 4 yrs now without issue.
 
How do i know what im getting from pst or others, is there something to look for? Dont want to get parts that are substandard, now you all got me a bit worried about substandard crap on my car. I always thought moog was good stuff, now its chinese made crap ?!? Wtf !?!
 
moparmat2000 said:
How do i know what im getting from pst or others, is there something to look for? Dont want to get parts that are substandard, now you all got me a bit worried about substandard crap on my car. I always thought moog was good stuff, now its chinese made crap ?!? Wtf !?!
Click to expand...

Lots and lots, indeed most, "stuff" is made all over "ell." The question, which part of 'ell is better than the other parts? Some time ago there was a discussion of India made vs Mexico made. The opinion seemed to be that Mexico was better. Now in the 70's--80's, if you told me that something was made in Mexico, it was instantly crap, from experience. (Piddle and Diddle/ Bendix Ignition, back then, 'xample)
 
Found acdelco ball joints for a bodys on ebay. Kinda wierd. GM replacement parts for old mopars. Is this stuff any good?
 
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