McQuay-Norris Balljoints

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I didn't notice that top fold on my LCA Moog's. I agree, I think the boots are the weak links, and who knows which brand has the best boots?

 

[alaskan155]

interesting on the quality of moog, where is the origin from? i have heard differences on where there parts originate from is a big factory lately, the ones i have didnt have the seal like the one pictured above., maybe i got a old batch..


but if there quality is down definitely look at XRF, alot of the dodge cummins guys run them as the later ones eat ball joints due to design on the AAM front axle.

 

[410Fortune]

"The whole arm is under $10 more than the BJ, so how tough is it to R&R an upper BJ?"

I always replace the UCA on these trucks I do not think you can press the ball joints out of the arm unless you get an aftermarket arm designed to have the BJ removed.
When I replace BJ on a gen II I buy two lowers and two upper UCA. I prefer the two piece pass side because it makes life so much easier but I am not afraid to convert to the one piece on the pass side either, just have to install shims.

Not sure XRF is available for our trucks? The XRF joint appears to have the stud completely encapsulated in the plastic "bearing" no metal..... I have not had good luck with BJ of this design in my experience

 

[CDW6212R]

"The whole arm is under $10 more than the BJ, so how tough is it to R&R an upper BJ?"

I always replace the UCA on these trucks I do not think you can press the ball joints out of the arm unless you get an aftermarket arm designed to have the BJ removed.
When I replace BJ on a gen II I buy two lowers and two upper UCA. I prefer the two piece pass side because it makes life so much easier but I am not afraid to convert to the one piece on the pass side either, just have to install shims.

Not sure XRF is available for our trucks? The XRF joint appears to have the stud completely encapsulated in the plastic "bearing" no metal..... I have not had good luck with BJ of this design in my experience

All good thinking, and I've done that four times on my trucks, four new CA's in one step. My question was how hard is it to replace the upper BJ, on my Moog UCA? The boots are all toast, the lowers might be Ford arms, that was ten years ago I'm sure, but given the care and low usage, I think those are Moog also.

I do the arms to replace the bushings, which are very dangerous to do yourself with a typical press.

Do you think the two piece arm is needed to get more camber? I've only done the one piece arms, since my first was my lowered Mountaineer with wider tires. I needed the clearance there where the two piece assembly connects. My last three have not allowed the height to be lowered any good amount, the camber they said were two much negative, though I prefer more negative than most people. My tires wear best at the limit alignment spec, not zero or positive camber. My Mountaineer was zero trouble, it could go much lower than stock, I think I've had it in the 3" lower than stock range since 2007 or so. I've used the same camber bolts on all of them.

I think my last three trucks have been barely under stock height, maybe 9.5" to the LCA bolt centers. This last white Limited was 10.25" on the right side, and 10.625" on the left side, as I got it, before the work. I replaced the arms Monday, and cranked the bolts out a lot, more on the left. The alignment shop worked on it, and then asked me if where he had it would work. He had adjusted the right side as low as it would take the alignment, and the left side was a little lower. I went with that, I think I measured 9.5" or just under when I got home, my driveway is not really level left to right at the spot I parked on, it could be off left to right 1/4" I think.

What shim is that you mentioned, is it a gasket that goes in with the hub, with the lower half cut out? I saw a reference to a shim on Amazon that seemed to match shape, but had no application or instructions. If that's how that works, what is the gasket made of, and how much camber is it worth?

 

[boominXplorer]

Replacement moog uppers with the replaceable upper joint are nice but a **** to press out. There is nothing to press against making it a cutting wheel job.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks boomin, for the $12 more to buy a whole arm, it's not worth the PITA effort to R&R the old BJ.

 

[RickOTR]

Just got done installing the two McQuay-Norris Extreme ball joints today so we'll see how long they last on the wash board roads around my property. These ball joints are much stiffer than the Moogs were when I installed them new, so hopefully they'll last a while. Now I gotta replace the inner tie-rods because they're flopping around but I can't get them lose from the steering rack. Even took a long pipe wrench to them but they won't budge. Next step is some heat hoping it's just Loctite from the factory.

 

[J_C]

Hmm, my moog ps were really stiff when new. Gotta love consistency. I looked around for the box to see if I could find country of origin but I must've tossed it back then.

 

[CDW6212R]

Hmm, my moog ps were really stiff when new. Gotta love consistency. I looked around for the box to see if I could find country of origin but I must've tossed it back then.

Funny, the two boxes(new LCA's) I still have say two different things. One says "MADE IN Made in USA", and the other says "Made in USA", does that sound suspicious? When I see odd wording, I suspect the people that wrote it don't know English very well.

BTW, the French and Spanish wording is the same way on both boxes. There is nothing on the parts themselves about origins.

 

[CDW6212R]

Just got done installing the two McQuay-Norris Extreme ball joints today so we'll see how long they last on the wash board roads around my property. These ball joints are much stiffer than the Moogs were when I installed them new, so hopefully they'll last a while. Now I gotta replace the inner tie-rods because they're flopping around but I can't get them lose from the steering rack. Even took a long pipe wrench to them but they won't budge. Next step is some heat hoping it's just Loctite from the factory.

I hope those BJ's last a long time, watch the boots. I installed some McQuay-Norris about 25 years ago, it was a good company back then too.

 

[RickOTR]

I hope those BJ's last a long time, watch the boots. I installed some McQuay-Norris about 25 years ago, it was a good company back then too.

Yeah, the boots had me worried but they look real thick. They give you a tool to install the boot over the ball joint along with two ring clips once the BJ is installed. Definitely looks top quality.

 

[monty98]

I have question about those with Moog issues. Were they the RK less expensive line or the CK & problem solvers? I will be needing some front end work on my 97 5.0 and also have a full size pu needing upper & lower bj & bushings & tie rods. Mechanic (also race car driver) recommends 100% Moog but the CK line & problem solver only. He had one client chose the RK series & 2-3 weeks after install have the ball joint bust. Fortunately, it happened right near the shop. Mechanic will install whatever bring him so don't want throw my $ away something not last & most important safety issues of busted ball joints.

Moog doesn't even make CK series lower arms for my pu. So must either press in new bj & bushings (shot) or switch another brand for lower. Someone mentioned safety issues pressing in bushings. Could you clarify. Is that just in the Monty or ?.

I get most parts internet as only the three AA, AZ & the O or dealership within 45 minutes. It seems in general it is necessary to stick to higher grade/cost lines within a brand. Need to do our own research. Had to get emergency replacement brake flex hose at AA. Carquest/Wearever. Asked who manufacturer was & counter guy adamant it was Wearever. HaHa. Knew better. Sunsong printed on it!

 

[RickOTR]

If you decided to use the Moog ball joints, ditch the Moog boots and install the energy suspension boots. That's what I did when the Moog boots burst on my outer tie rods. Never had a problem after that. Much better product.

Edit... There's some good deals on ebay right now for Ford Motorcraft BJ with the grease fittings.

 

[swshawaii]

^ Moog "upgraded" their boot design for their premium "Problem Solver" line years ago. Always liked the idea of replacing the notoriously failing boots on my older K8695T's, but read several posts about the ES poly boots being just "covers" or "caps" that don't seal like the original Moog external boots. Can't complain about the ball joints themselves after 50,000 miles on some pretty rough roads. Still very tight and my old Moog yellow and blue boxes clearly say "Made In USA".

Has anyone had problems with the newer Moog lower BJ design with the integrated, recessed grease boot? I think they came out with that in 2015.

Moog's Integral Dust Boot - Moog Suspension Parts

That's what I have on mine, though the way it is designed you probably wouldn't notice if the boot gets a tear till you pull the knuckle off.

 

[CDW6212R]

The Moog arms I have bought have all been the top product line, CK as you referred to them.

The CA bushings are dangerous to install, in all arms of all cars. The odd shape of the arm at the bushing, makes getting a solid foundation to press the bushings out hard. In a real service shop with huge press, the danger of having the bushing pop/jump out is equally possible. But most shops have a shield or container where the bushing will eject into. I had an employee coworker where I was in 1987 R&R bushings from my old 73 Ranchero UCA's. The press had a large pipe with a hole cut in it to remove the ejected part(bushing). I was nearby but not really close to the pres, and one of the old bushings came out of the pipe/hole, with good speed, and just miss me about ten feet away.

So it's possible for anyone doing the R&R of bushings to get hurt, with no good safety procedure other than a fully covered under press container. No shop has such a thing, they all have an opening or nothing at all to catch the old part.

That being said, it is not expensive to pay the labor cost to have someone else R&R CA bushings. Given the safety issue, it's very smart to pay to have that done. I paid about $30 or so to have four bushings and two BJ's installed in my past 91 Lincoln. That was money well spent.

 

[J_C]

I have question about those with Moog issues. Were they the RK less expensive line or the CK & problem solvers? I will be needing some front end work on my 97 5.0 and also have a full size pu needing upper & lower bj & bushings & tie rods. Mechanic (also race car driver) recommends 100% Moog but the CK line & problem solver only. He had one client chose the RK series & 2-3 weeks after install have the ball joint bust. Fortunately, it happened right near the shop. Mechanic will install whatever bring him so don't want throw my $ away something not last & most important safety issues of busted ball joints.

Moog doesn't even make CK series lower arms for my pu. So must either press in new bj & bushings (shot) or switch another brand for lower. Someone mentioned safety issues pressing in bushings. Could you clarify. Is that just in the Monty or ?.

Had to get emergency replacement brake flex hose at AA. Carquest/Wearever. Asked who manufacturer was & counter guy adamant it was Wearever. HaHa. Knew better. Sunsong printed on it!

The RK product line is a lower tier, lower quality and price point to compete with the generics. It is more of a way to fix a vehicle cheaply to get rid of it and let the new owner deal with any future issues.

If there is no Moog CK (or PS/Problem Solver) for your application, you'd be better off with any other major brand's upper tier part. What do you see available? I would take a chance on ACDelco Pro, or OEM, or a few other brands depending on what is available.

I encountered a similar thing with a brake hose. Rock Auto had a Sunsong hose but I opted to pay a little more to get a Raybestos from them instead. What showed up in a Raybestos box was a Sunsong hose, except if I'd bought the Sunsong brand it would have come with new crush washers while the Raybestos did not.