Cheap or not so cheap Suspension parts

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moparhunter

moparhunter

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As I reassemble my car ( 69 Dart ) I’m at the stage where I am going through the front suspension. It has a 74 duster big bolt pattern disc set up on it. My question is I’m ordering through Rock auto,I can get a Mevotech ball joint for $8.00 ( upper ) or a Moog unit for $30. i’ve always been a Moog fan but have heard some not great things about them in recent years . My question is is it worth the money to “ upgrade “ to Moog ?
 
I would go with the mevotech before moog they're junk now. I got all my stuff from rock auto i got the skp ball joints mevotech tierids and centric brakes. I got moog offset upa bushings and moog strut bushings because they came with the hardware. I have not had the best luck with moog so I refuse to pay more for their name and get the generic quality. I havent installed my stuff yet so I cannot speak of how skp or mevotech stuff will last but it appears to be good quality. However I have used mevotech on my truck and SUV and its held up fine. I just redid my whole trucks front end with Detroit axle stuff its seems to be really good time will tell
 
Moog bought Mevotech. Moog still claims made in USA... Centric brake pads at least are pure garbage. You are better off having your pads relined at Porterfield.
 
GMachineDartGT said:
Moog bought Mevotech. Moog still claims made in USA... Centric brake pads at least are pure garbage. You are better off having your pads relined at Porterfield.
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Iv had goodluck with centric brake pads they stop all my vehicles. I just put a new set on my mountaineer yesterday. And they are like 8 bucks I put them on all fours a little over 3 years ago and just replaced them yesterday. 3 years for 16 bucks ain't bad if you ask me.
 
Have you looked into Proforged suspension parts? I've done some research on them & yes they are made in Taiwan but they seem to stand behind their product. I'm about due to refurb the suspension on my bracket car & am leaning towards them.
 
moparhunter said:
As I reassemble my car ( 69 Dart ) I’m at the stage where I am going through the front suspension. It has a 74 duster big bolt pattern disc set up on it. My question is I’m ordering through Rock auto,I can get a Mevotech ball joint for $8.00 ( upper ) or a Moog unit for $30. i’ve always been a Moog fan but have heard some not great things about them in recent years . My question is is it worth the money to “ upgrade “ to Moog ?
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Moog sucks anymore. For what you're doing, I'd go with someone different anyway. PST, Firm Feel, Hotchiss etc. why risk a classic to a cheap asian made part?
 
I've used all of them and never had an issue. The recent Pro Forged parts I bought (tie rods) were great. The Moog idler arm I bought was made in Japan, it too was decent. I see issues arise when are when a castle nut is replaced with a lock nut. Both work but the book you have says torque to "XX" for a castle nut and that doesn't not work with a lock nut. So you need to pay attention to what you get and how it is going together.

Firm Feel is a good suggestion as they use the parts they sell and are great guys. I've been to their shop and its clean, orderly and they talk to you like you matter. They like to hear about your car and what your doing, not just push parts on you and that's it.

Dr Diff is also another great choice and sell suspension. Cass will help you with any questions.
 
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I've kinda learned no to buy cheap front end parts. Bought the cheaper ball joints at ORiley's for my Durango. Didn't last 6 months. Wasn't expecting to get years out of it, but 6 months? Heard similar about Moog these days too. Kept an eye out on Ebay for ball joints and got a pair of old stock TRWs for the Dart for similar price to new.
 
With Rock Auto the parts can range from x to 5x in price?
I have bought lower priced items and had good luck.
I think my whole electronic ignition...distributor, coil, ecu, voltage regulator and wires and cap
totalled less than $100. Maybe i've been lucky. I've also been disappointed with name brand
high priced stuff!
 
I've used both cheap and expensive parts due mainly to which would ship faster depending on how fast I needed stuff. I find both to be pretty much the same quality. I do know from personal experience that both grades of parts will fail if not assembled properly though. For example a not properly installed Spicer Ujoint will fail just as quickly as a cheap Precision Ujoint. Take your time and do the install right and you should for the most part have good luck.
 
Some time ago when getting a muffler replaced i was asked if i wanted the standard muffler at $39 with 1 year guarantee or the muffler with a lifetime guarantee for $129.Expecting the quality to be vastly different i asked how the mufflers differed. He thumbed through his parts book and fingered the $39 muffler and holding his finger on the number he found the lifetime warranty muffler and said with a big smile...what do you see? I looked at him, smiled back and said they are the same part number!
 
Here is my brand new Moog lower ball joint I got last week.

20200503_160301.jpg
 
Ed Kelly said:
Here is my brand new Moog lower ball joint I got last week.

View attachment 1715522225
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hey! I’ve got a castle nut for that! No threads at all. Now it makes sense! Just slide it on and the cotter pin holds it together!


:rofl::rofl::rofl:


But seriously, Moog sucks. I’ve been happy with the Proforged parts I’ve purchased.
 
Sorry BUT there's a place to skimp on money BRAKES AND SUSPENSION PARTS ARE NOT ONE OF THEM!!!! Unless you are flat broke and it's all you can afford buy the best quality you can find. I ALWAYS buy the good stuff and have never regretted it.
 
RON REAGLE said:
Sorry BUT there's a place to skimp on money BRAKES AND SUSPENSION PARTS ARE NOT ONE OF THEM!!!! Unless you are flat broke and it's all you can afford buy the best quality you can find. I ALWAYS buy the good stuff and have never regretted it.
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Right, except Moog is the most expensive and currently also the worst quality. Meaning, the “cheap” parts are better quality than what Moog has been selling.
 
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