Lol, where did we start talking about labor, customers, using crap parts as long as you are selling it (horrible integrity by the way)?

You have just wandered off into your own little rant, ain't ya?

 

All I can say is I wish you luck!
Moog only for me and you get what you pay for.
Never did replace the upper and lower control arms.
On that truck it's just swap out the ball joints

 

I will post up a 3 month, 6 month, 1 year update. I dont keep too many vehicles for 30,000 miles, but if I do I will.

 

The control arm bushings are rubber so should be replaced at some point.

I am trying to imagine how only replacing the ball joints would bring the suspension back into specs if the control arm bushings are worn and deteriorating.

 

Last year my '98 Ranger lower control arm bushings finally had enough and started squeaking like crazy - on both sides. It wasn't long before I couldn't take it anymore, and so I gathered the parts for a new front suspension (upper/lower arms, tie rod ends, links, hardware, etc.). I decided to go with Moog parts from Rockauto, because the price was reasonable, and it's a decent name brand. While it would have been great to know that all the parts were made here in the USA, I can't say for certain that it would have been a deal-breaker had I found out otherwise.

A quick FYI: Replacing the lower control arms on a 4WD Ranger is a little bit more involved than on a 2WD. That's because the 4WD models use torsion bars, as opposed to springs. The bars run through the arms, necessitating that the bars be removed as part of the job.

 

I've been burned way way too many times on cheap suspension parts.

Buddy of mine needed a control arm for his Altima, Mevotec was the only choice locally, blown out in a year.

My daily driver Cadillac has a Moog R series LCA on one side a Problem Solver on the other, Guess which one needs to be at regular ride height in order to take grease, its about 3 years old and still not loose, but I don't have high hope for it.

I'm not even all that happy about Problem Solver, I think they've taken a huge downgrade in quality compared to Spicer or TRW of old. But they at least seem the best you can buy at the moment. I want to put it on once and be done.

 

I guess I don't know what you mean by this statement, because when you grease suspension parts, the car should be jacked up, with the weight of the car off the parts.
Do you mean you are making it take grease with the weight of the car on the suspension? Or will the part only take grease with the weight on it?

 

The latter.

I need to jack the car up, remove the wheel, then put a jackstand under the suspension and lower the jack to compress the suspension, then it will take grease.

I should put a 90* zerk on and see if i can get to it when the car is on the ground, it might save me some time.

 

Problem with the discount steering/suspension parts is that by the time the wear is noticed, it's probably stripped the tires of some life. The other nuance is, the labor replace a worn part with a discount one or a quality one is all the same; the difference is, how often it has to be done. And finally, another alignment needs to be bought, plus the time dealing with it. This is why discount parts are great for a car that's being sold, since buyers seldom think they should have to pay more for better quality anything and you don't have to try to justify and recoup your money.

I'm not really sure why you're having problems greasing one of your fitting; I assume you're referring to a LBJ and I've never heard any need to jack a vehicle up to grease suspension parts. This because, if one looks at the construction of the part, it's seen that there are cavities that will allow grease to flow between the two moving components, from the end with the zerk and up to the boot. It is worth noting that ideally, the part won't be greased to the point that it's spewing grease out. This because, not only is it messy but until the excess is expelled, there is the possibility of drawing grease into the part, and then comes the shortened life concern.

 

 

Be careful if you go with moog on a torsion bar suspension, I just tried one of their arms and the hex for the bar is not in spec. It is sloppy. I had to remove one, get a Motorcraft and do it again to level my truck back left to right without having to max out adjustment on the moog arm.