Getting ready to do a suspension overhaul and I've been going back and forth regarding Moog or Raybestos for balljoints, tie-rods, strut mounts, etc.

I used to be a solid Moog fan, but lately have been reading more folks who are less and less impressed with their quality as of late.

Any input?

quote Originally posted by Rainman: Getting ready to do a suspension overhaul and I've been going back and forth regarding Moog or Raybestos for balljoints, tie-rods, strut mounts, etc. I used to be a solid Moog fan, but lately have been reading more folks who are less and less impressed with their quality as of late. Any input?

moog all the way... just made sure its the yellow/blue box's with their logo. theres alot of "moog" parts in white boxes etc going around, just because its the same number doesnt make it a real moog part...

Moog

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Ron

^ Moog

I've been hearing that Moog has outsourced a lot of their parts to China. Watch for "Made in China" on the labels in the boxes, even if the boxes say Made in USA.

China =/= Quality

They've been overseas for years.

working at a parts store, we sell moog, and we sell a generic white box...grab the same # of each, both say made in china, VERY obvious difference in quality..
and the "white box"'s are kinda tricky, they have in really little "interchange part number" then under it in alot bigger type "MOOG K7622"

just make sure its the actual yellow and blow moog boxes and youll be fine.

Moog

Ok, I'll go with Moog. If they turn out to be crappy parts, I'm blaming pff.

quote Originally posted by Rainman: Ok, I'll go with Moog. If they turn out to be crappy parts, I'm blaming pff.

NAPA had a chart on the counter with a cutout of ball joints, MOOG and their premium unit. It was impressive so much so that I spent the $40 bucks more for my 2 idler arms for my Astro van. They fail often and MOOG only lasted one year. And I'm a die hard MOOG fan, they and Felpro gave me $500 each for a scholarship.

Order placed. (2)ball joints, (2)inner tire rods, (2) outer tie rods, (2)strut mounts, (2)shocks and (2)struts. All Moog suspension parts and Monroe (OE) dampers. This all for our Honda Pilot. The only real issue with the Pilot is a rattly tie-rod which I think is failing prematurely due to an accident the other year, but the dampers are due for replacement anyway and I don't like digging into stuff more than once, I don't have the time for that, or for doing a job twice because I cheaped out the first time.

[This message has been edited by Rainman (edited 06-21-2011).]

Wanted to give an update on this. I bought all Moog, which was a premium price over some of the other brands. I bought all Moog: (2)ball joints, (2)inner tie-rods, (2)outer tie-rods, (2)strut mounts, (2)sway bar links. I also bought two Monroe sensa-trac struts and two sensa-trac shocks.
Our Pilot is our workhorse family vehicle and now has just under 170K miles. It was involved in a fairly minor front-corner accident about 18 months ago and the inner tie-rod of that corner had just begun to knock, so I decided to do an overhaul on most of the suspension with the above parts figuring it was time. This vehicle has crossed the country 4 times, done several deserts trips on and offroad, lots of trips in great lakes lake-effect snow, camper towing, etc. Its seen a lot of use and minor (ab)use.

First, I'll say all of the factory stuff appeared much higher quality than any of the MOOG stuff. None of the MOOG machining, welds, or general look/feel had any of the quality look/feel of the factory stuff. If there is a next time for this job, I'm getting everything from the dealer. at 170K miles, all of the ball/socket joints (except for the damaged inner tie-rod) were solid and "stiff." The balljoints were still new feeling, along with everything else. Honestly, I feel like I wasted some time and money doing this job, but we'll see. The factory strut mounts looked great and heavier duty than the MOOG stuff, and the rear shocks still felt new, they had plenty of pressure and damping left in them, I couldn't feel a difference compare to the new ones. The front struts were toast, but I wasn't surprised.

Regarding MOOG, I bought everything in pairs. I was surprised to find almost none of the pairs matched identically. The strut mounts looked [b]completely[b] different from each other, and none of the ball/socket grease boots very good, flimsy, cheap rubber that didn't completely seal on anything. Cheap. If it's for the Pilot, I'm definitely going back to the dealer for parts, not MOOG.

We've loved our Pilot and I'm not surprised to find that quality suspension parts were used, its been a great riding vehicle and I'm hoping I didn't change any of the driving dynamics with this change. Its getting aligned today, so I'll see what happens, but I'm not impressed with what I've seen from this order of MOOG parts.

I also got a bad out-of-the-box MOOG ball joint that I need to return.

[This message has been edited by Rainman (edited 07-05-2011).]

Just had a long discussion with the manager at the local auto parts store - I didn't realize it, but Raybestos has been an OEM supplier on these parts for years and makes more of these parts than the competition combined............

I have been a MOOG user for years, but have been seeing the quality drop, I'll use the Raybestos from now on.

Sorry I did not see this post until now, might have changed your mind.

Joe

^^^I still vote MOOG!.

Back from having it aligned, took the tech all of 15 minutes. It handles bumps nicer than before and no more knocking tie-rod. I would be willing to place a monstrous wager on those Moogs not lasting even close to 170K miles, let alone still feeling like new at 170K, but we will see. At the pace we drive, it won't be all that long. I'm also keeping all of the factory stuff I took off. If the Moog's fail, I'm just putting the old factory stuff back in its place.

I got a printout from the tech of the before and after readings for the alignment. I was surprised to see, considering all that I replaced, that only the front toe was out of spec when I took it in. I could have done that in my driveway and saved the $95.

[This message has been edited by Rainman (edited 07-05-2011).]

carnut, vote MOOG if you want - I have observed a lessening of quality in the last 5 years, even on the top-of-the-line items.

I put top-quality MOOG ball joints and toe link ends on my 86 SE - less than 25,000 miles later the ball joints are worn out and one of the toe links is iffy. This was part of a $4000 suspension and brake upgrade in preparation for the N* install.

Right now the car is parked waiting for time to do the 88 cradle swap.

For my own cars and my customers' cars, unless another brand is requested, I will use Raybestos.

Joe Welch
2 Seater Garage

I agree with going Raybestos. Moog is a decent part (I say decent because, yes, their quality has degraded a lot over the last few years), but I'd rather go with Raybestos because they last longer, and have been around much longer than Moog.. Not to mention they are usually slightly cheaper and more readily available than the Moog stuff (at least around here anyhow)....The Raybestos Service Grade stuff that I have used is higher quality than the more recent Moog stuff in my experience, and it usually runs 1/4 to 1/3 the price of Moog. My suggestion (albeit a bit late)? Dont buy for brand name, buy for quality. Unfortunately Moog used to be quality with a very well known brand name, but not anymore...

One brand I have found though that mirrors (if not being identical to) Moog is Mevotech. I will never buy their ball joints again.. Put em on the Grand Am GT I had and one of them was toast right out of the box. I could not get a good alignment on that side, and when I did it knocked right back out on the first bump I hit. This with new struts on the front at the same time

[This message has been edited by Xerces_Blackthorne (edited 07-05-2011).]