Moog Quality

[swshawaii]

Just a shout out to @Josh P

Finally. Thanks so much for your heads up on the ES 9.13130 lower ball joint boots. I've tried MANY other replacements resulting in poor fit and spent too much buying Moog ball joints for just the boots. These ES replacements seem almost custom fit for the older design Moog K8695T that are notorious for fubared boots. Fit around the base and stud is tight and I would be surprised if they leak grease when the front suspension is loaded with the tires on the ground. Not optimistic these will seal for upper ball joint boots though. Appears these boots need to be slightly taller for the Moog K80012 used in the K8708T/80068 one piece and K8710T two piece UCA's. Uppers articulate much more than lowers so they might not seal at the base when the stud is at extreme angles. Still, one win is better than none. I'll keep posted with my results after they're installed and greased. Thanks again.

 

[Josh P]

Beautiful pictures. ES does make taller boots that would work better for the upper joints.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very nice, I'll try those and save my LCA's that have maybe 25k on them, but the boots are toast.

 

[swshawaii]

Don, I don't know the importance or function of those clear plastic collars or sleeves at the base of the stud. If you know, does it matter which way the flange is positioned?

 

[CDW6212R]

I vaguely remember something like that on the old type of Moog BJ's. That's what I put in my Mercury in 2006, and the boots began to crack etc, about 10 years ago. I've barely driven it since then, and the boots fell apart when I last worked on it to remove the front diff.

 

[swshawaii]

 

[CDW6212R]

I looked for those ES boots and found that I have them in a box already. I got them from Amazon in 2018, I just haven't gotten back to my Mountaineer yet. I look forward to using those, that saves me from buying new arms again. I bought something for the upper too, but I don't have the part number handy to compare with.

 

[swshawaii]

Driver side done. May slightly leak at the upper flange after initial filling. Most important thing is no visible leaking around the stud next to the rotor. Any suggestions to make separating the tapered stud from the spindle (knuckle) easier if there is a next time? I know anti seize in the tapered hole is a no-no but I was tempted. Tried several methods including a torch for over two hours and as a last resort broke out the pickle fork that is almost guaranteed to destroy the existing boot. It finally popped loose after about five big swings with a heavy sledge. I'm pleased with the ES 9.13130 universal boot fit for Moog lower ball joints.

NOTE- Air chisel damage around the ball joint flange and abusive hammer marks on the spindle above the castle nut compliments of Midas Muffler. Years ago took it there and unfortunately had a HACK "removing" the ball joint from the LCA. Had I known what he was doing I would have had him stop the destruction immediately and left. NEVER again.

 

[C420sailor]

Update. Tried ordering a pair from RockAuto again.

One joint arrived in great condition.
The other arrived with the plastic hardware bag torn open, and a destroyed boot in the box. Clearly some a*****e bought a BJ, swapped the boot, and returned it.

This s**t is getting old. Whoever supplies these joints does an absolutely horrible job at inspecting returns, only to leave honest people stuck dealing with f****d up parts and returns.

 

[CDW6212R]

Update. Tried ordering a pair from RockAuto again.

One joint arrived in great condition.
The other arrived with the plastic hardware bag torn open, and a destroyed boot in the box. Clearly some a*****e bought a BJ, swapped the boot, and returned it.

This s**t is getting old. Whoever supplies these joints does an absolutely horrible job at inspecting returns, only to leave honest people stuck dealing with f****d up parts and returns.

I'm sorry to hear that, I went through that with Amazon and two hubs. I bought two for my 95 CV, and one failed in about three weeks. Everything was great to get that replaced, but then the other one died at about seven weeks from new. I was happy they would take that one back, but guess what they sent me. They shipped me the exact hub that I had returned before, I had packed it back up well with the original instructions and the bag(I had stored everything back into the boxes when I took the hubs out). I recognized the hub, it was the one that failed first. They had just looked at it and decided the buyer didn't want it and sent it back for the refund. They have idiots working in the returns department.

 

[C420sailor]

Well, the plot thickens...

Sent back yet another ball joint. They always appear to be in old, taped, beat up boxes. RockAuto refused to send another, and offered to issue a refund.

I went to the local auto parts stores. None of them can get the Moog K80012. Discontinued. Went to Moog’s site. No longer listed.

I think I can reuse a boot from one of my existing joints...but it looks like replacement BJs for Moog upper control arms are now a thing of the past.

 

[CDW6212R]

Thanks, I have two trucks with those on them. I haven't needed to replace any of the BJ's yet, and the last two pairs I bought were the Mevotech severe duty UCA's. Hopefully those will be equal or better, and have better customer service(Moog has no customer service, literally).

 

[C420sailor]

Anyone have any updates on a boot that will fit the uppers?

Both of my existing boots are torn. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I replaced one side with the good moog joint I had

 

[donalds]

Anyone have any updates on a boot that will fit the uppers?

Both of my existing boots are torn. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. I replaced one side with the good moog joint I had

I couldn't find em
I ended up with mocotech uppers and lowers
The blue boot is awesome

 

[C420sailor]

Okay. I’ll have to switch to mevotech UCAs when these BJs go. I had to install the left one with the old boot, which was torn. We’ll see how long it lasts...I’ll keep fresh grease in it

 

[CDW6212R]

Okay. I’ll have to switch to mevotech UCAs when these BJs go. I had to install the left one with the old boot, which was torn. We’ll see how long it lasts...I’ll keep fresh grease in it

The upper BJ's are not stressed big like the bottom BJ's, if you keep the joint clean and greased, they can last a lot longer than the bottom joints. The lower BJ's will go bad fast if the boots get torn and dirt gets in. I think you'll be fine for a long while.