Thoughts on Moog lower control arm

[gmcman]

I'm going to replace my tires soon and I'm going to replace as much as I can to capitalize on my alignment. Looking at these LCA's, the ball joint doesn't look like their replacement ball joint, but same as factory with the tabs.

Not sure if I want to shell out almost $200 each for a name only.

What are your thoughts/ experiences?

 

[Mooseman]

Stay away from Mevotech. Have no idea about Dorman. Did you shop around? RA? Amazon?

 

[gmcman]

I did shop around, prices are all over the place. Just wondering if the components are any better or the same with the MOOG to justify the price....mainly the rubber pieces, bushings etc.

 

[Bill Reid]

If I buy complete LCA's it will most likely be Beck/Arnley. They have a serviceable ball joint. From my reading the Moog LCA's do not contain their serviceable ball joint. Not to say they aren't a quality piece just that if I'm going to the effort I'd like to make the ball joints serviceable. Other than the ball joint do pavement dweller's really show fairly consistant bushing wear on the LCA's to the extent they need replaced? That's what I'd like to know. Its pretty clear to me that the UCA bushings and upper balljoints are more of a problem. I'm getting ready to rebuild the whole front end on my 03 2WD (w/ 158k miles)... so I'm doing a little research myself.

 

[gmcman]

Even though the Moog LCA has the tabs on the ball joints, they can still be pressed out like the OEM arms.

I agree, if it's a quality LBJ then I'm fine with it....they all just look the same so it's hard to tell.

 

[6716]

I may just do the LCA brackets, since that's where the bushings are. And since I haven't been able to get the links off, so I figure the bit that holds the ball joint is stuck on the vehicle until I figure that out.

I was happy with the driveability upgrade when I did UCAs to get new bushings there. The UCA itself was perfectly good, I just wasn't going to press in/out the bushings, though I found a machine shop recently that would do it I bet. I went with Dorman , but they don't make a much simpler part than a UCA, so it would be tough to screw it up. And they were cheap.

Mevotech UBJs ... I tought the rubber boots failed pretty fast. I have replaced one of those with a Napa. Maybe I'll just replace the boot on the other one, if it seems like the joint is still working properly. When I first put the Moevotechs on I replaced a ball joint that didn't have any play in it just to do both at the same time, and now I think that was a mistake, especially to replace a functional part with a cheap replacement.

The middle part of the LCA ought to be pretty solid, too. Rusty, but perfectly good.

 

[smt 59]

I used Dorman with no issues and still happy with them, all other parts are Moog though.

 

[gmcman]

So the lower brackets only aren't too bad, except for the 3 big bolts?

 

[Jrgunn5150]

FYI, I emailed them about this because I heard it on another forum and they confirmed. Dorman's use a different ball joint, but are under a lifetime warranty, so it's a give and take there lol.

 

[gmcman]

FYI, I emailed them about this because I heard it on another forum and they confirmed. Dorman's use a different ball joint, but are under a lifetime warranty, so it's a give and take there lol.

Copy that.

I think I'm just going to set myself up for a weekend project and replace all 4 control arms up front. They are all the original and are nearing 14 years old. Followed my some new tires so I only need to pay for 1 alignment. I figure at this age of the vehicle I"m not just throwing parts blindly at the situation and more preventative maintenance. All 4 MOOG pieces are about $350 so it's not too bad.

 

[gmcman]

Change of plans, I don't feel good about the MOOG for some reason, mainly for the cost involved if they go bad. I went with the OE AC upper control arms, and the lower brackets from 1aauto. My crappy duralast tie rod end on the drivers side shows wear and has slight movement in the steering knuckle, not the end itself and the bolt is definitely tight, so a new AC tie rod end is ordered as well...has a grease zerk also.

These apparently are OE spec and not a rubber bushing like the Dorman.
http://www.1aauto.com/control-arm-m..._content=SFK&gclid=CO7p7omV0soCFcGRHwodk3wFew

The upper arms come tomorrow, will report back after the parts go in.

 

[Mooseman]

Hope the hole in the knuckle for the tie rod is not egged out.

Those brackets at 1AAuto, doesn't say who makes them. Where does it say the bushings are not rubber?

 

[gmcman]

Hope the hole in the knuckle for the tie rod is not egged out.

Those brackets at 1AAuto, doesn't say who makes them. Where does it say the bushings are not rubber?

I want to think the knuckle is ok, it has only slight movement and it's fore and aft only but very slight.....sure hope so.

I called about the brackets and they told me they are built to OE spec specifically.. so whatever material they used it was replicated. The white material inside where the bushing goes leads me to believe it's something other than rubber. I will find out in a few days and report back.

The dealer sells the brackets separate from the arm now but they're pricey...easily about $400 per side for both pieces so I was going to try elsewhere for that price.

 

[gmcman]

Update on this, I settled on the MOOG lower brackets instead of the whole arm....my LBJ's aren't that old and they are MOOG already. I called MOOG and the tech stated that they were built to OE specs and aren't rubber but a synthetic rubber, silent-bushing and more like a neoprene.

I've seen reviews where people stated they squeaked after awhile, maybe they sprayed them with something..dunno, but I will give them a try.

 

[jes1888]

any updates on this? I'm looking for the lower brackets of good quality, I'm sick of the lower Quality ones. Also, I lost while driving one of the 3 screws that hold one of the brackets to the chassis. Can anybody tell me where / how to buy that big screw? Thanks in Advance!

 

[gmcman]

I had another thread on this, but I should have updated this thread also. I did install the Moog brackets a few weeks ago just before an alignment and new tires....night and day difference.

Front end is solid and free of noises, I also changed the upper control arms a month or so ago as well and highly recommend replacing them with the lower brackets.

As far as the big bolt, I would go to the dealer. That bolt takes alot of torque so make sure you have the correct one....for this application I would go with the dealer for sure.