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preferred brands for suspension parts? #3176718
09/20/23 03:43 PM
09/20/23 03:43 PM
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Grand Haven, MI
patrick Offline OP
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Grand Haven, MI
jacked up the Duster and did some probing, the UCA bushing rubber is cracked, and the UBJ's have a little play in them so yup, I'll be rebuilding the front suspension over the winter.

already picked up some .920 MP bars to replace the stock slant 6 bars, and I think I'll go for a hellwig sway bar since my car never came with a factory one. I'm planning on ordering parts from rockauto. KYB's have a rebate so I'm going to use those, and I plan on using the moog problem solver UCA bushings for more caster.

I've heard others say the Moog is junk now, so for ball joints, LCA bushings, tie rods, etc, does anyone have any feedback on different brands? should I still stick with Moog? is Mevotech any good?
Mevotech supreme line is $40 cheaper each than moog for LBJ's ($25ea vs 65ea). Delphi is about the same, and AC delco about double the Mevotech.
UBJ's and LCA bushing, TRW, Delphi, Delco, Mevotech, and Moog are within $5 of each other

I think I'm going to go for a disc brake conversion to replace my 10" front drums while I'm at it, and right now am looking at using an 8 1/4" rear out of an XJ cherokee to handle the rear end bolt pattern conversion.

any feedback is appreciated


1976 Spinnaker White Plymouth Duster, /6 A833OD
1986 Silver/Twilight Blue Chrysler 5th Ave HotRod **SOLD!***
2011 Toxic Orange Dodge Charger R/T
2017 Grand Cherokee Overland
2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude (holy crap, my daughter is driving)
Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: patrick] #3176967
09/21/23 02:58 PM
09/21/23 02:58 PM
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Fresno, CA
Jim_Lusk Offline
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Moog quality it terrible now. Can't comment on the other brands, but the biggest problem over the last 10+ years is poor quality rubber AND LCA bushings with a too large inside diameter. The only brand that I have not heard of this problem with is Pro Forged. A problem with LCA bushings is why I will never order from Rock Auto again.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: Jim_Lusk] #3177212
09/22/23 01:32 PM
09/22/23 01:32 PM
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 7,367
Iowa
burdar Online work
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Iowa
I bought a Moog idler arm for my Dart from RockAuto. The first one showed up assembled wrong. If I would have used it, the center link would have been placed at a weird angle. The replacement had a seized bearing and would barely move once installed on the K-member. After all that, I ordered the Mevotech one. It was built correctly and fit great.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: burdar] #3177628
09/23/23 11:13 PM
09/23/23 11:13 PM
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Fresno, CA
Jim_Lusk Offline
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Originally Posted by burdar
I bought a Moog idler arm for my Dart from RockAuto. The first one showed up assembled wrong. If I would have used it, the center link would have been placed at a weird angle. The replacement had a seized bearing and would barely move once installed on the K-member. After all that, I ordered the Mevotech one. It was built correctly and fit great.


Actually Moog idler arms have been terrible for 40 years. I put on in the GTS about 40 years ago. It was sloppy within a year or two. I did replace it with another Moog a few years later and that one was better.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: Jim_Lusk] #3177870
09/24/23 06:25 PM
09/24/23 06:25 PM
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ILLINOIS
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volaredon Offline
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Moog was always better than mcquay Norris. If you had a nit picky customer that insisted on measuring the play vs factory specs, mcquay would be at spec for max allowed play, brand new out of the box
I'll still take my chances on Moog. I've only ever had to re replaced a Moog part once over many years of being an alignment guy

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: volaredon] #3177882
09/24/23 07:01 PM
09/24/23 07:01 PM
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Central Florida
larrymopar360 Offline
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If I were searching for front end parts I'd go with Mivotech or Proforged. I'm tired of Moogs junk and it's hit and miss. I did email them about five years ago when I was rebuilding a front end and they replied that if I provided the part numbers I'm looking to buy, they could tell me country of manufacture. At that time I was buying 11/16th tie rods and ball joints for my '89 Diplomat AHB. They were all American made and they have lasted except for the crappy rubber grease boots. I had to replace them within a year.


Facts are stubborn things.
Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: larrymopar360] #3178076
09/25/23 01:10 PM
09/25/23 01:10 PM
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north of coder
moparx Offline
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just last year, a local fellow needed upper control arm bushings for a 1973 dart. had to have moog.
first set, the bushings just fell through the control arm holes.
second set, there were only two pieces in the box of four.
third set, the outer sleeves were .050 larger than the control arm hole ! i just turned those down in the lathe to the correct press fit.

MOOG IS JUNK, AND HAS BEEN FOR MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS !!!!! mad down
beer

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: moparx] #3178937
09/28/23 10:27 AM
09/28/23 10:27 AM
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North Dakota
6PakBee Offline
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I've had good luck with the NAPA chassis parts line they handle. This is the NCD line, not the PCC line.


"We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".
Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: 6PakBee] #3204307
01/13/24 12:46 PM
01/13/24 12:46 PM
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Bradenton, Fl 34203
Kilroy was here Offline
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All I have to do a complete rebuild in my 70 b-body. So, I am paying the mechanic to do it he still likes Moog parts. However what if I just get the entire kit from Performance Suspension technology? Opinions on that? I might go with proforge cuz it seems to have good feedback.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: Kilroy was here] #3204403
01/13/24 05:19 PM
01/13/24 05:19 PM
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ILLINOIS
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volaredon Offline
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Ive been a front end guy for many years. I've used several brands, I'll continue to take my chances with "junk" Moog. Ive gotten some no name white box crap that has only given me "experience" in replacing them. Each time I went back to MOOG. For our cars theres still plenty of MOOG parts out there with mucho dust on the boxes built back when they were the best..... and on much of current day MOOG theres a "cheap" line and then there's also the same old MOOG youve used for years.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: patrick] #3205158
01/16/24 09:28 AM
01/16/24 09:28 AM
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Berlin, N.J.
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abodyjoe Offline
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call pete at https://bergmanautocraft.com/about-us/ he will set you up with everything ya need.. kyb shocks suck as does moog quality.


It's better to keep your mouth shut and give the impression that you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.

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Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: abodyjoe] #3205726
01/17/24 06:41 PM
01/17/24 06:41 PM
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ILLINOIS
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volaredon Offline
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I completely agree with you on the kyb shock comment.
But as far as moog, as bad as they may be there is definitely worse.
The only all out failure I've ever had was on my 01 Durango.
When I bought that one 3 of the 4 ball joints were toast.
I was all ready to go get everything in moog to redo the front end, and on the recommendation of a dealer mechanic buddy I went with the dealer "recall package" uppers. He had said he'd bought those several times back then for his side jobs (they fit more years than were covered by that recall) I still went at the time and bought the moog lowers as I had originally planned to do.
The recommended parts from the dealer were half the price of moog at the time.
This was about 10 years ago
7000 miles after I put them in, we were in Houston for a college visit at a school my son was considering going to.
We were driving past a factory, crossed a set of RR tracks and all of a sudden my steering wheel was sharply "off" and I heard a grinding noise. One of those highly recommended ball joints busted at the base of the threads.
I pulled into the factory lot and my son found the closest O'Reilly's, on his phone, which was 2 miles away. We left my wife and my sons girlfriend (now wife) behind and made the 4 mile round trip walk to that O'Reilly's and bought (I insisted) moog uppers despite the counterman's best efforts to talk me into the store brand ones at half the price.
And I refused, asked if he had the moog. He did, and brought me out 2 very dusty boxes of moog upper ball joints for my Durango.
I replaced the one that broke right there on the spot, to get us mobile again.
The next morning I left my wife and son to check out of our motel room, while I replaced the other one before we set off on our way back 19 hours north to the Chicago area.
100k miles later those moog ball joints are still tight and still in my Durango. In between them and now I had the control arms off for bushing replacement, and the ball joints were fine. The last oil change I jacked it up in such a way that I could properly check them for wear and they are still solid.
I will take my chances with moog until they cause me problems.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: volaredon] #3205897
01/18/24 02:31 PM
01/18/24 02:31 PM
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north of coder
moparx Offline
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north of coder
the "old, dusty box", moog parts seem to still of the "moog quality of old", while the new, off-shore parts seem to be where the problems arise, especially the rubber parts.
when dust boots and bushings crack and fall apart 6 months or less after installation, then wear in movable joints follow soon after, those moog parts are junk in my opinion.
and has been said, there is definitely worse parts out there.
i have seen better quality "store brand" parts, and WAY WORSE garbage !
some applications and uses seem better than others, and it's to the point i can't honestly recommend any part these days unless i personally have experience with it.
that's just me.........
your mileage will vary.
beer

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: moparx] #3221473
03/19/24 04:13 PM
03/19/24 04:13 PM
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Seattle, WA
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375inStroke Offline
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The .92" torsion is rather soft, but will feel like [censored] with the KYB shock. It's like they feel stiff and harsh while not giving any handling improvement. How much are they each these days?

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: patrick] #3224589
04/02/24 07:49 PM
04/02/24 07:49 PM
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Lethbridge, AB, Canada
dangina Offline
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not sure what you got - but some suggestions for your front end

the hellwig sway bar was the biggest cheapest hollow sway bar I could find at the time and held up nicely

the firm feel stuff was good - fast ratio arms, the idler bearing kit upgrade were good as well as their torsion bars
the firm feel sector support bracket was not even close and definitely needed to be rebent and massaged for my kmember, but the nut was machined perfect
the firm feel lca weld on kit was good.
the firm feel lca greasable pins are excellent as well as the nylon bushings they sell which I think their the only ones that sell those
the Qa1 double adjustable shocks were great, but so were the fox ones from hotchkis
the hotchkis adjustable strut rods are decent as well as their upper control arms (old style)

the magnumforce front end nothing fit. nothing. I had to modify absolutely everything including their adjustable control arms down to the steering pump bracket. Also they sent the kit to me in pieces over the coarse of two years frown

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: 375inStroke] #3225229
04/05/24 01:24 PM
04/05/24 01:24 PM
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Michigan
MarkZ Offline
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Originally Posted by 375inStroke
The .92" torsion is rather soft, but will feel like [censored] with the KYB shock. It's like they feel stiff and harsh while not giving any handling improvement. How much are they each these days?


I can't agree with enough. Guy is totally right! I've driven KYB shocks with both soft and stiff springs. They're [censored]. I've found you can run a stiff spring and large sway bars if you spend coin on good shocks. The 5A has 300# torsion bars in the front, five leaf springs in the rear, a 1.25" bar in the front, and a .75" bar in the rear. Also 18" rims with very little sidewall. A very stout setup and it rode so bad I was about to toss 15" tires back on. Instead I pulled the Bilstein shocks off and used Viking 19-way adjustables. The car is as comfortable to drive as my Equinox with the knobs set one click above the recommended comfort settings. I cannot recommend these shocks enough. Expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY.

PXL_20230722_205621097.jpgPXL_20240224_193940997.jpg

1987 Fifth Avenue - 512/518/D60
Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: MarkZ] #3225262
04/05/24 04:49 PM
04/05/24 04:49 PM
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NW Chicago suburban area
Mopar Mitch Offline
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Regarding the double-adjustable shocks (Vikings, QA1, others), I completely agree.. expensive but worth every penny! Takes some time to learn to play with them... but you can better tune your ride with them. Forget about single adjustable shocks... or non-adjustables... go with double-adj see what you've been missing.

Also, Viking has them in three different models... I've recently purchased their Biserkers... in-between race and street for overall stiffnesses. And... Vikings will get you shorter shocks for those cars having been lowered... just discuss and they'll get the right ones for you... that's what I did.

Always remember... you can adjust ride harshness with tire psi.... play and learn.


Mopar Mitch "Road racers and autocrossers go in deeper and come out harder!"... and rain never stops us from having fun with our cars... in fact, it makes us better drivers! Check out MOPAR ACTION MAGAZINE, August 2006 issue for feature article and specs on my autocross T/A!
Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: Mopar Mitch] #3225266
04/05/24 05:22 PM
04/05/24 05:22 PM
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541 slobovia
A990 Offline
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Originally Posted by Mopar Mitch
Regarding the double-adjustable shocks (Vikings, QA1, others), I completely agree.. expensive but worth every penny! Takes some time to learn to play with them... but you can better tune your ride with them. Forget about single adjustable shocks... or non-adjustables... go with double-adj see what you've been missing.

Also, Viking has them in three different models... I've recently purchased their Biserkers... in-between race and street for overall stiffnesses. And... Vikings will get you shorter shocks for those cars having been lowered... just discuss and they'll get the right ones for you... that's what I did.

Always remember... you can adjust ride harshness with tire psi.... play and learn.



Me x3! Worth every penny.
Monte Smith (RIP), constantly harped about buying the best shock you afford, and I see what he meant.
I put some Crusaders on my Dakota and the handling and ride was vastly improved...once I figured out what I was doing, lol.
My truck is lowered, and they had a set on the shelf.
For grins I unhooked the rear swaybar for a week, and I could hardly tell the difference. Makes me wonder if the SBs are oversized to cover for the cheapwad OEM shocks.

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: A990] #3225300
04/05/24 08:50 PM
04/05/24 08:50 PM
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ILLINOIS
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volaredon Offline
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I've used many types of shocks over the years turning wrenches for a living.
For my own personal vehicles I seem to always migrate back to the better grade of Gabriel shocks
(For trucks that's their ultra's)

Re: preferred brands for suspension parts? [Re: volaredon] #3225375
04/06/24 10:14 AM
04/06/24 10:14 AM
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rust belt
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Moparite Offline
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Quote
on much of current day MOOG theres a "cheap" line and then there's also the same old MOOG youve used for years.

back in the day Moog only had one boot option, Now they offer the standard and the "upgraded" one. If you decide to go with Moog look up the parts on their site to see what options are available.







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