TRW or MOOG? Which would you choose?

[gijoecam]

I'm rebuilding the front suspension and steering on my Ex this weekend. I've narrowed it down to two choices for the parts: TRW or Moog. I've never had much better luck with one or the other in the past, but are there any significant quality differences between them?

FWIW, my ex is my daily driver. The Moog ball joints I installed last time went 5 years and nearly 93,000 miles and are still going (albeit with a bit of slop in 'em). Can I expect the same from the TRWs?

-Joe

 

[BryanB]

Go Moog all the way. My TRW ball joints let go with less than 20K miles. I paid a bit more for the Moogs, but now I have the option of replacing only the joint and not the entire upper control arm next time. AND they can be greased where as my last TRWs could not.

 

[gijoecam]

I just added up the price difference: Upper control arms, lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends:
Moog: $409.00
TRW: $265.92

It's hard to swallow that difference in price... are the Moogs really that much superior to the TRWs? They both have a lifetime warranty, and they're going on a vehicle with 142,000 miles... In my opinion, either one will probably outlast the vehicle at this point....

-Joe

 

[carlover]

Another option to look into is mcquay-norris components. There is an ebay ad that a few of us on here have used. you get everything you need all at once and its really cheap.

 

[gijoecam]

What kind of quality are their parts? I've never heard of them before...

 

[carlover]

They are the brand that checker-shucks-kragen stores mainly carry. They are greaseable and made here in the USA. So far i have no complaints and they offer and lifetime warranty.

 

[aeaglenfitch]

use google product search to find the very best prices on everything. it's saved me hundreads on quality parts.

 

[gijoecam]

The only problem is I've got to have 'em tomorrow to start the job... It's the only time I could get it into my buddy's garage with a hoist and air tools.

I'm kind of leaning towards the TRW just because it's such a significant cost savings. I hate the thought of spending almost twice as much as I need to, and the CarQuest that sells the Moog parts is the only one of the bunch that won't price-match, but I don't relish the thought of doing the job over again either.

I've got to make a decision fast... I'm too indecisive for my own good!

 

[gijoecam]

Update: I went to pick the TRW parts up after being reassured that the TRW parts were greaseable.... With the exception of the lower ball joint, they're not. So, it was off to CarQuest for the Moog parts. Of course, they didn't carry the 1-piece passenger side upper control arm. It's available, but it's $114!!! He discounted both uppers to $80 each for me, so I guess it wasn't too bad of a deal. The next time around, all I'll need are the ball joints, and all the joints and tie rods are greaseable. As far as I know, the bushings on the passenger side UCA are the originals, and I'd like to replace them, but I don't have any way to do that once I've got it out, so buying them would be a waste of time anyways.

I guess it'll be easier to align it this way anyhow...

-Joe

 

[TheJackal]

I think Advance Auto Parts has Moog and TRW, I was looking them up on the internet to see. I was leaning toward the TRW, mostly because they're cheaper, but as I know "you get what you pay for" and I don't want to lose a wheel on the Interstate.

As far as having a grease fitting on them I'd rather not, the car is still technically my dad's and I can imagine getting *****ed out for that, he's all gung-ho about the sealed balljoints... (he doesn't have to get the grease gun out )

 

[Exploderpilot]

for steering, heim it all.....

 

[gijoecam]

for steering, heim it all.....

Not on a bone-stock Explorer that's my daily driver up here in the salt belt... Heims exposed to the elements up here wouldn't last 6 months. There's a reason the OEMs don't use 'em, and it's not cost.

The Advance by me only carried the TRW parts and their house brand (someone I've never heard of in nearly 20 years of wrenching on my cars). TRW is generally a good brand with a decent reputation, but I wanted greasable components. This 'lubed for life' garbage is for the birds!

-Joe

 

[Exploderpilot]

I'm sorry, i guess us west coasters do get spoiled by the lack of salt and humidity.....

 

[TheJackal]

I see, on the online store Advance has TRW, Moog, Tread Saver, and McQuay-Norris products. The stores probably carry a different selection but I think you can order online and pick up in store, I don't know I've never tried it.
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?parttype=66&ptset=A&searchfor=Lower+Ball+Joint

 

[TheJackal]

Oh, and there's always Motorcraft...

 

[gijoecam]

Another update: It's in, it's rolling, and it's aligned. It was a looong night last night.

Got it up on the hoist, and started wrenching by about 6PM. By the time I finished the front end, it was 1:45, so I called it a night. The toughest part was getting the driver's side UCA bolts worked around the fuel lines brake lines up there (I remember it was a PITA last time too). Aside from that, it went pretty well.

The only other snag was that when I was removing the driver's side pinch bolt from the knuckle, it snapped. The new upper control arms came with new pinch bolts and nuts, so I wasn't too concerned... until the new driver's side pinch-bolt galled the threads while I was installing it, resulting in the threads locking up hard about 2/3 of the way down. The bolt wasn't tight, and I could neither loosen nor tighten it. I beat the snot out of it with an impact and it finally came apart, but at the expense of the threads on both the nut and the bolt. Luckily I was able to *temporarily* re-use the old pinch bolt from the passenger side. I'll be tracking one down before the next tire rotation (about a week).

I also caught heck trying to find replacement spindle nuts too. I found one Murrays that said they could get 'em, and one dealer in the area that had one on the shelf (and they were 3/4 of the way home from where I was working on it) so I re-used the old ones again. This is their second re-use, so I'll probably get them this week and replace them too.

Oh, and I didn't bother doing the inner tie rod ends. They were still quite tight with absolutely no play in them, and it doesn't appear that's a simple job either.

I was also quite proud of myself at the alignment shop. The right side was spot-on, the left side was toed-out by .03 degrees. I didn't notice a pull on the way there, but the steering wheel was about 5 degrees left of center.

All's well. I'm chillin' on the couch now.

Thanks, guys!

almost forgot: I did the rear shocks this morning, and while I had it on the hoist, I added the Warrior shackles and added another two turns to the torsion bars. It's sitting level, and about an inch higher.

I didn't, however, get the front driveshaft out. Maybe next week....

-Joe