Moog's Problem Solver line with the sintered metal bearings should in theory be tougher than the OE sealed style which uses a smooth ball in a teflon retainer. However, that's ONLY if they get greased regularly which the majority of owners likely don't do. Also, if the vehicle is serviced by a mechanic, very good chance that gets forgotten as well.
Moog isnt as good as they used to be
- Thread starter The motor guy
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I'll be sure to keep my outer TRE's greased!
Moog, a reputable company in the past, unfortunately faced bankruptcy several years ago. During this period, Moog's assets were sold off, including the brand name itself. Interestingly, a Chinese company acquired the Moog name. To the best of my knowledge, the only similarity between the Moog of yesteryear and the present day Moog is merely the name.
To put it into perspective, it would be akin to Mobil 1 experiencing bankruptcy and Walmart subsequently purchasing the brand name to market their own line of Supertech oils.
To put it into perspective, it would be akin to Mobil 1 experiencing bankruptcy and Walmart subsequently purchasing the brand name to market their own line of Supertech oils.
Today I just replaced again sway bar bushings on the Elantra. I replaced them in April with Moog bushings and Hyundai OEM endlinks.
Not even 5 months later the sway bar is thumping. Endlinks are fine.
Replaced the moog bushings with Hyundai OEM bushings.
I'd say Moog is not at all what they used to be.
Look how wallowed out they are at 5 months, maybe 5k miles.
Note, the Moog bushings are split on the bottom, the OEM are split on the side.
Not even 5 months later the sway bar is thumping. Endlinks are fine.
Replaced the moog bushings with Hyundai OEM bushings.
I'd say Moog is not at all what they used to be.
Look how wallowed out they are at 5 months, maybe 5k miles.
Note, the Moog bushings are split on the bottom, the OEM are split on the side.
In my link below, I do not see any reference to a Chinese company buying the MOOG trade name. It has had a plethora of ownership/division changes over the past decade or two: Cooper, Federal Mogul, Tenneco, and in 2022 Apollo Global Management.
https://ricksfreeautorepairadvice.com/moog-chassis-parts-what-the-hell-happened-to-moog/
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Yea, Moog is under Driv now - who is of course Carl Icahn. Same deal with Pep Boys(and why they push Driv parts now).
I was debating throwing Moog Problem Solvers on the Ranger - but decided to go with Delphi control arms/ball joints in the hopes they were Turkish made. Nope, made in China but still looked and felt nice.
I put Moogs on my Ranger and after 8 years it's holding up just fine since I grease them 2x per year (at every tire change). If I had to do it again I would probably go with a sealed design. Unless it's a severe duty application, the old school greaseable design really is un-necessary.
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Bell and Howell...Singer...Craftsman...Diehard and many more...
and what is interesting.. some of Toyota's stuff is not that much more expensive than the brand-name aftermarket! amazing..
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I have Moog Problem solver Outer TRE's on mines! So far, they are holding up good!
I keep them greased though, and really don't drive her a whole lot!
I keep them greased though, and really don't drive her a whole lot!
I have a 2010 for f150 crew. I replaced the contol arms at 75,000 miles. I like Moog parts for the most part. I purchesed 1 RK upper control arm and 1 CK control are for a test example as the passangers side Balls were sloppy and the drivers side was questionable as the struts I was doing as well because of a broken spring (another story). So the rk has no grease fitting but the ck did as the time. My understanding is the Ck has a "gusher" bearing is advertised as better than OEM. The OEM had no GF.
Now a few weeks ago at 137,000 miles the drivers side was loose and this was the rk with no G fitting. The passenger side with the GF is still taught. I just replaced it with another RK Moog arm. It came with a GF.
My point? The RK lasted as long as OEM the CK is lasting longer than OEM. Just what I expected, Just what was advertised. Perfect! I cannot as for anything more than that, No False advertizing. No feeling that I was taken for a fool, furthur, no feeling that I was "lyed" to with no recouse. Some items may be differant but its my experience with this one.
Now a few weeks ago at 137,000 miles the drivers side was loose and this was the rk with no G fitting. The passenger side with the GF is still taught. I just replaced it with another RK Moog arm. It came with a GF.
My point? The RK lasted as long as OEM the CK is lasting longer than OEM. Just what I expected, Just what was advertised. Perfect! I cannot as for anything more than that, No False advertizing. No feeling that I was taken for a fool, furthur, no feeling that I was "lyed" to with no recouse. Some items may be differant but its my experience with this one.
To a point. YES! MOST times OEM is only a small percentage higher in cost. Our time is valuable. Right? Although sometimes its not an option as its unavailable or untouchable in cost. If this ontrol arm wasnt as expected I would have had something to say. Most times it doesent help but most times if no information is passed on nothing gets changed. Be sure you have a good relationship with yor supplier. I call them by name and make sure they know mine. if I purchase local. It has helped me many of times. chck out the GENUINE parts line. the few times I ordered these parts on-lne they were a OEM repackage. Again most times they are the same price. BLA bla bla. Ok ill shut up now. Ok ok.
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Well, my experience, even more recently, while not as good as it has been IN THE PAST with these companies, hasn't been as bad as yours, however, to provide you with some context you need to understand that you are not far from the truth since Monroe, Rancho, Clevite, Moog, Wagner, Fel-Pro, National, Sealed power, Walker, Champion and Beck Arney are ALL "DRiV" brands. All of them are divisions of the same company. And ALL of them are lacking in the quality and craftsmanship that made those names popular in the first place. However, they are STILL better than the majority of what is out there, since the majority of what is out there comes off many of the same Chinese assembly lines as those products do, but with less stringent tolerances and quality expectations from the companies that have contracted with those Chinese manufacturers, which makes it the companies fault for poor spec.
But, point being, mostly the parts from any of those brands are still better than the vast majority of what you'll find on Amazon OR the house brands you'll find at places like O'reilly, Autozone or Advanced. But honestly, aside from a bad part here and there, even Master Pro and Duralast tend to on average be better products than 90% of your Amazon and Fleabay chinese off brand products.
Others are just as bad. Dorman is generally reliable and that's about it. It is not a superior product line like it used to be. It's only saving grace is that it sells products in the aftermarket that either nobody else does or nobody else is as readily available. Cardone is still barely decent but heading directly for the "nothing but trash" category. Especially for things like rack and pinion units and power steering pumps. Put a new one in, louder than the faulty one you took out about 50% of the time.
"OEM"? I hear this on these forums all the time and you know what "OEM" is? OEM is whatever brand the manufacturer felt they might be able to trust with a substantial production run that is a company with a halfway decent reputation. And almost any of the aftermarket companies that are a known quantity might very well be the OEM for any given part on any given vehicle at any given time. I heard recently on a Ford forum, from a supposedly knowledgeable technician of 35 years that you can't beat the OEM quality of Motorcraft parts because they are made in the USA.
I laughed until I cried since a hell of a lot of Motorcraft and AC Delco "OEM" parts, and also their aftermarket parts, are made in Mexico and India, and, China. It's no different than PC power supplies. I've heard people on tech forums that I frequent and moderate on that you should look for "Made in the USA" power supplies. Really? That's great, because there ARE NONE. ALL, ALL PC ATX power supplies, ALL of them, are made in China. There are ZERO ATX power supplies being manufactured anywhere else regardless of where the parent company might be whether it's the US, Germany or Timbuktoo.
What matters is whether the company/brand has specced the part in such a way that the result is a quality component, or whether they've opted to go cheap since the majority of consumers want cheap crap. Period.
No idea, I got a whopping 3000 miles from my most recent bearing on the 2010 Cobalt.
Should be criminal to sell bearings that are about as wear resistant as a block of oak.
My 1982 2wd Diesel suburban had an all original suspension, bushings, bearings, tie rods , ball joints and all at 438,000 miles. That’s an acceptable lifespan
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When you install these bushings, are you using a high quality synthetic or high temp grease on the contact surface? Or even at least something like some white lithium grease? Because if you are not, you can 100% expect to see early failures in that type of bushing 100% of the time regardless of the quality of the part. They NEED to be greased, and looking at your pics I'd have a very hard time believing they ever were.
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I certainly don't disagree that the quality and durability of ALL parts these days, is moderately diminished from what you used to be able to expect. It's just that it's not just certain brands. Hell, MANY of the "OEM" brands that come ON your brand new car have to be recalled, replaced or redesigned within months of those vehicles being in the wild.
I replaced a set of control arms with ball joints, Moog, in 2018, on a Mazda 626. The car has maybe 5000 miles on it since then. They are already shot, and they WERE the premium Moog line. But I have another set on a different Mazda that were purchased from Napa, from their premium lineup, and they aren't in much if any better shape. So, it's half one dozen of the other. Find a halfway decent brand at a halfway decent price and hope they last a halfway decent amount of time. Because paying more, don't mean squat these days, but paying less, for an unknown brand (Unless you've verified that they are just unknown to you but are considered high quality in other circles), is a sure way to make a v line towards that fail.