Im getting ready to replace the upper and lower ball joints on my 00 F250 7.3L. Oreillys has moog and master pro ball joints. The master pro are $17.00 for the uppers and $30.00 for the lowers. The moog are $47.00 for the uppers and 72.00 for the lowers. I asked if there were any differance in the two parts. they said supposably the moog are a little better quality, but the warranty is the same for both. I thought about going with the moog to be sure, especially with all the weight of the 7.3, but that is a huge difference in price. I looked at both parts and couldnt tell any difference. I know people have used the moog. I was just wondering if anyone has used the master pro brand. I dont want to replace these again in 6 months. Thanks

 

Research where each are made. Not a guarantee, but can be an indicator.
Cheap parts are made with cheap steel - that's why they're cheap! And cheap Chinese steel is notriously "unpure". High quality alloy steels are not cheap to make, so it costs more.
If they're both made in China, then it would be hard to swallow the $$$ difference. Moog has a long standing reputation and are an American company so they can be held liable for making crap. Both of those factors add cost. And prevent cutting corners.

And warranties on stuff like this is not an indicator of quality. Make 'em cruddy, let people return and replace them. How many are likely to return them more than once??? The vast majority of people will have learned their lesson by that time.

 

The cheap ones sound like a house brand. Odds are they are made by TRW (who make moog), but probably from lesser components. Of the two, I would stick with moog.

 

Master Pro is the inhouse Oreillys brand. Oreillys bought out CSK. If you have a CSK they may still have McQuay Norris is stock or may be able to order them. I work part time at a CSK and thought the McQuay Norris looked like a better part than either the Master Pro or Moog.

 

Thanks for the replies!
I also talked to a buddy who used to turn wrenches for ford. He said as long as they are both greasable then both would work fine. he said the main reason ball joints fail is the joint runs out of grease. Both are greasable, so I will probably research master pro some more.

 

Let us know what you find out, my ball joints are shot, too.

 

Their have been a fair amount of people on here that have had problems with Moog's. Problems like, premature wearing and binding, after installation.They may have a liftime warrenty, but with how much work it is to change these, it doesn't mean much. napa, which are Spicer, or McQuay Norris, would be better choices.

 

I was a manger of an o'reilly store for 8 years. MOOG MOOG MOOG. Moog uses better steel in their product. The ball part of the joint and the socket both have reliefs in them to allow for better lubrication. In almost all of their aftermarket parts, especially ones where the stock part has problems, like the super duty ball joints, Moog redesigns the part and fixes the stock problems instead of just producing a part that will give you the same result as the stock part. These are called Problem Solver parts. In my experience this is a case that you get what you pay for. The Moog is a far superior part. I am going to have to replace the joints in my truck soon. When i do, MOOG, no question about it.

 

lfdf100 did you see a lot of the master pro brand fail or come back?

I did also just check with napa and they have the mrc brand which are made by dana. $25 for the uppers and $32 for the lowers.

 

What i saw in the master pro brand was just not a very beefy product. It seemed like what i did have come back was the fault of a weak built part with pot metal instead of good quality steel. Also there were some noticeable design differences between the moog and the master pro. Alot of times the Moog would be a greaseable joint where the master pro, and the stock, weren't. Moog does a very good job strengthening and improving after market parts over stock. I don't know about you, but i don't want to do this a second time. I will get the Moog.

 

No , I deffinately don't want to do this twice. I'm really not looking forward to doing it once!! I decided to wait a week or two so that I will have power in my garage and use some air tools.

 

i saw that dynatrac has there own ball joints . not sure if they are on the market yet. i bet they will cost some $$$$$.

 

Imo. Moog is the way to go. I have had their parts suggested many times, by full time front-end service techs, and have done the replacements myself. They've got a good rep here.

 

I've had Moogs suggested many times before too...my latest exerience was not so good with them. 99 Exploder needed new upper and lower ball joints at 100k a couple years back. I figured, what the heck, I'll do the tie rod outers at the same time since they had to come off too to do the ball joints, and they were probably worn. I knowingly requested Moogs for everything at the CSK shop nearby and paid dearly for them. Within 2-3 years both tie rod end boots had torn due to the combination of cheap crap rubber they used and poor boot design that made them interfere with the brake splahs shield and so were internally trashed. I repalced them with McQuay Norris, which to me seemed a lot better quality. The Moog ball joints appear to still be holding up after 50k, but I was very disappointed with the tie rod ends. And the McQuay warranty was lifetime (I believe) while the "superior" Moog was only 1 yr. All greasable, and I grease regularly - used to be every other oil change until I found the first ripped boot, then I went to adding a little grease at each oil change to look everything over.

Not impressed with Moog, personally.

-Dave

 

I recently foolishly chose a Master Pro Upper Control Arm over Moog because of the price. Two months later I was replacing it with a Moog because the ball joint boot was already tearing. I am with the ones that pick Moog over Master Pro, but I guess any brand can have some lemons.