Mevotech Suspension Parts, Any Good?

[Delta]

Evening folks!

Now that winter is coming up rapidly it's time to do some work on the beater '95 Eagle Talon (Mitsu Eclipse). On that list is a suspension redo as all the ball joints, control arms, tie rods, etc. are either wasted or the bushing have failed or are worn out in some way. As to be expected with a 26 year old car. The most prominent and available parts for this car appear to be from Rock Auto and are the Mevotech brand. I won't be going with the economy line, but the "daily driver" line of parts which appear to have greaseable joints. Doing a search on here yields mixed results. The car won't see any winters or harsh driving and may get 7000 miles a year on it once I get it fixed up. Ultra Power or Moog seem to be the other options. There is some Delphi options, but are too expensive for this car. It has a couple years left in it, possibly.

 

[The Critic]

I think the Mevotech Supreme and Moog R-line stuff are fairly similar these days. Mevotech Supreme has the better warranty. Plan on getting a few years out of them if the part works properly.

 

[Nick1994]

Mevotech has been trash in my experience.

Had a drag link in my Jeep pop really bad after like 1,000 miles and went through 2 sets of sway bar links in 100 miles. Some off-road in there.

Edit: Here was my post. Some pics didn’t survive though. Moog end links are still fine 8k miles later.

Mevotech Supreme Suspension Parts - Junk!

I'm speechless. My Jeep had a clunk up front in April, turns out the original sway bar links at 22 years and 145,700 miles were wearing out. The bottom bolt hole was wallowing out. A buddy of mine is a mechanic and I can order wholesale parts through him at his cost. They didn't have any...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[2EHA]

hit or miss

in a rarer or older car the number of factories actually making suspension parts are reduced

 

[WobblyElvis]

I recently installed Mevotech supreme ball joints after someone on a chrysler forum claimed his had lasted years. The local parts store had them for $12 each. How on earth can they be any good at that price? Agree with 2EHA, hit and miss. The expensive part does not guarantee quality. I have ball installer regret.

 

[Delta]

So it's looking like a hit or miss situation. With the car this age, rarity, and current "situation" it seems like I might just have to settle for what I can get the easiest. Which seems to be the Mevotech... Found a couple tuner kits, but they're well within the $500-$800+ range. Not feasible for this car...

 

[doublebase]

So it's looking like a hit or miss situation. With the car this age, rarity, and current "situation" it seems like I might just have to settle for what I can get the easiest. Which seems to be the Mevotech... Found a couple tuner kits, but they're well within the $500-$800+ range. Not feasible for this car...

Good choice, I find that most of these aftermarket suspension brands are hit or miss/cyclical, whatever. Had some half decent luck with Mevotech once, and then not so much again. Same thing with MOOG, Beck Arnley, whatever.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I've used all three Mevotech "tiers' on various vehicles.

The budget line is just that, but no worse in my opinion than the cheap R-line from Moog. Might last a year or two, but you're rolling the dice. I learned my lesson on budget suspension parts with these and then I made the mistake of going by brand, but Moog R-line is just as poor.

The Supreme have been perfectly serviceable for me. I've used them several times and can't remember any early failures. I have Mevotech supreme control arms and sway bar end links on my Maxima that have been just fine for a couple years now.

Their TTX line "terrain tough" is solid choice and not obscenely expensive, but only available for some applications. I bought these outer tie rod ends and sway bar links for my Pacifica and they're built like a brick craphouse-- probably twice the metal thickness on the end links and tie rod ends are significantly larger. My only gripe is the silicone boots on the tie rod ends are fragile compared to rubber-- I split one lowering the vehicle after installation, but Mevotech sent me a new boot. They've been fine since.

 

[CleverUserName]

I exclusively used the Mevotech “Supreme” line in my Cruze diesel. It was the only option I had as they made everything I needed instead of mix-n-match with different manufacturers.

After a couple years everything is holding up fine. Much better than the OE stuff and handling is improved.

 

[pbm]

I used Mevotech Supreme sway links in a Hyundai and they didn't last very long. The MOOGS I replaced them with are better. The Mevotech's were made in China while the MOOGS were made in Mexico. I avoid everything Mevotech makes now.

 

[GoldDot40]

Something I've noticed. Some of the Mevotech and Moog parts share the same part#'s. Wonder which one is rebranded?

 

[Timmastertech]

Something I've noticed. Some of the Mevotech and Moog parts share the same part#'s. Wonder which one is rebranded?

Mevotech uses Moog's numbering system as do some other chassis parts manufacturers. Cuts down on the amount of research they have to do

 

[92saturnsl2]

Something I've noticed. Some of the Mevotech and Moog parts share the same part#'s. Wonder which one is rebranded?

Same goes with brakes-- often the part numbers are the same. Sometimes the prefix or suffix changes by brand, but not always. But most often the parts are unique by brand. But I don't doubt for a second that some ARE rebrands and/or come from the same overseas manufacturer. But in the case of Mevotech, I haven't seen any other brands whose parts look identical.

 

[gonefishin]

I've given up on Mevotech products. Goodyear refused to do an alignment on my vehicle as there was too much play in the ball joints. They were Mevotechs with 50k on them. I took the car home and jacked it up to verify. Sure enough, there was all kind of play in these worn out Mevotechs

 

[Dave9]

I'd sooner get the Moog if it's the CK line. RK, meh I guess it depends on your choices but I'd equate those closer to the Mevotech Supremes and their TTX to me just looks like the Supremes wearing fancier colors.

At the same time over the years I've seen countless gripes about Moog grease boots having too short a lifespan. I suspect it depends on the application, but if they are greaseable I don't see how you can't get them to last at least the couple years you projected so that would be my choice. I mean even if the boot falls apart in a year, an infusion of more grease should keep it going another year for this application and projected mileage.

 

[ctechbob]

My experiance is Honda-centric, but I've found that their bushings are far too soft.

I don't want to duplicate the post here, so here is a link to the mess that is the Mevotech LCA's on Honda/Acura

Compliance bushing vs LCA replacement - AcuraZine - Acura Enthusiast Community

3G TL Tires, Wheels & Suspension - Compliance bushing vs LCA replacement - OK, so I have reviewed several options here. The complete OEM control arm is way too expensive. I can get the bushings and get it professionally removed and installed as DIYing them would be a PIA..... Or I can buy...

acurazine.com

I'm still using the arms, but with OEM Honda compliance bushings. The smaller bushings seem to be fine, but they missed the mark on the larger ones.

 

[Trav]

Given the apparent parts shortage at the moment many well known and quality parts are absent, go with OE, TRW, ProForge, Delphi or Raybestos Gold (I think that is what they are calling their better quality ones now) if available before Mevotech or Moog, both of these have very serious QC issues.

 

[Delta]

Given the apparent parts shortage at the moment many well known and quality parts are absent, go with OE, TRW, ProForge, Delphi or Raybestos Gold (I think that is what they are calling their better quality ones now) if available before Mevotech or Moog, both of these have very serious QC issues.

It looks like Delphi is an option for this car. A couple are within dollars of the Mevotech, but the rear bottom arms are a good bit more expensive. What I'll have to do is asses the rust situation when I start cutting out panels to see how far I want to go. I truly want to keep the car on the road for a little while longer, sounds dumb I know.

 

[Trav]

Stay clear of cheap control arms, they can be the most expensive thing you ever bought. You buy them for short money, go for an alignment and if it is out of spec (very common) the circus begins. You get a warranty exchange and another alignment. By the time your done you still have crap parts and done a lot of labor and wasted a lot of time and money.

 

[Delta]

Stay clear of cheap control arms, they can be the most expensive thing you ever bought. You buy them for short money, go for an alignment and if it is out of spec (very common) the circus begins. You get a warranty exchange and another alignment. By the time your done you still have crap parts and done a lot of labor and wasted a lot of time and money.

Hmm, so it might be worth the hassle of just replacing the joints and bushings on the old stuff. Was trying to go the easy route and just replace the whole lot. I think a cheap Harbor Freight press and new joints and bushings might still be cheaper. Thanks for the heads up!