Moog vs Mevotech?
- Thread starter buck91
- Start date
Considering the amount of counterfeit stuff on Amazon it makes me wonder if they got real Moog in the first place. Any parts I ever bought off Amazon got returned because what showed up was never the genuine brand it was supposed to be. Amazon refuses to get serious about fixing it.
I wonder if this guy ordered the police package by mistake, or perhaps the TTX was for a police package. Here is an example. Notice also that GM has four different versions, FE1 through FE4. Sounds like the guy didn’t do his homework when ordering. And so now Mevotech is junk?
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I think they were Mevotech "Supremes".....They were installed in a 2008 Elantra and needed replacement 2 years (approx. 15K miles) later.
I know that NY roads are terribly maintained which probably shortened the life of the parts (it's hard to avoid potholes which are everywhere).
I'll throw in my .02 here, while broadening the discussion beyond just the brands being discussed.
I work for a high volume indy shop, one that prides itself on accepting jobs many other (and larger) operations would turn down immediately. For example: before Disney bought up 99% of the remaining Amphicar's in NA, the largest owner's club happened to call Minnesota home. For years, my shop was the sole option for owners needing their cars serviced. We still have binders full of hand written service information and wiring diagrams for the things.
As I write this, I've got a '66 Fairlane GT390 convertible in the lot. The other day I replaced the starter on a JDM import Land Cruiser, LHD and all. I installed a lift kit on the same vehicle last year at the request of the customer.
Anyway: on any given week I may order 6-10 different brands of parts from as many different vendors. Graded on a curve, 95% of the aftermarket is as good if not slightly better than OEM. That's my personal opinion.
Pure observation on my part: in regard to OEM suspension parts it's become readily apparent that many OEM's are specifying just north of the cheapest acceptable option to clear the warranty period. One perfect example: Mazda CX-5's, most years. The lower ball joints are grossly undersized and separate with just the least bit of corrosion, at least in our MN climate. I've seen countless examples brought in on the hook, front wheels askew, instantly knowing that one or both lower ball joints let go.
Majority of the time, I replace with OR "Import Direct" brand. These are most often Mevotech Supreme's, which come with much better frame bushings and a larger, greaseable ball joint. I've also received off-brand arms that are so bad they throw off the camber half a degree or more...
Aftermarket pricing is more about volume than value. If a 3rd tier part sells half the volume of a 2nd tier part, eventually the better part will cost less. The low-mid price point is possibly the most contested of all. End of the day, choose your poison wisely and keep expectations in check.
I work for a high volume indy shop, one that prides itself on accepting jobs many other (and larger) operations would turn down immediately. For example: before Disney bought up 99% of the remaining Amphicar's in NA, the largest owner's club happened to call Minnesota home. For years, my shop was the sole option for owners needing their cars serviced. We still have binders full of hand written service information and wiring diagrams for the things.
As I write this, I've got a '66 Fairlane GT390 convertible in the lot. The other day I replaced the starter on a JDM import Land Cruiser, LHD and all. I installed a lift kit on the same vehicle last year at the request of the customer.
Anyway: on any given week I may order 6-10 different brands of parts from as many different vendors. Graded on a curve, 95% of the aftermarket is as good if not slightly better than OEM. That's my personal opinion.
Pure observation on my part: in regard to OEM suspension parts it's become readily apparent that many OEM's are specifying just north of the cheapest acceptable option to clear the warranty period. One perfect example: Mazda CX-5's, most years. The lower ball joints are grossly undersized and separate with just the least bit of corrosion, at least in our MN climate. I've seen countless examples brought in on the hook, front wheels askew, instantly knowing that one or both lower ball joints let go.
Majority of the time, I replace with OR "Import Direct" brand. These are most often Mevotech Supreme's, which come with much better frame bushings and a larger, greaseable ball joint. I've also received off-brand arms that are so bad they throw off the camber half a degree or more...
Aftermarket pricing is more about volume than value. If a 3rd tier part sells half the volume of a 2nd tier part, eventually the better part will cost less. The low-mid price point is possibly the most contested of all. End of the day, choose your poison wisely and keep expectations in check.
That doesn't exactly make sense when an OEM part lasts 100k miles and a replacement lasts 20k or less. You must have some good suppliers to see 95% as good or better than OEM. I see what seems like the opposite. Well documented in the Landcruiser community especially. I bet that guy would not want Import Direct parts on his ride. I have a Duralast fuel pump relay on a LC 80 series fail across the street. They are a known issue and get hot and fail but the OE part lasted 15 years. Replacement, 15min. I can give endless examples.
Even if he screwed up it was an entertaining video and a good summary of many peoples part experience lately. Odd how the cotter pin location seemed right but extra threads were there. If I was him I would cut the threads shorter or swap ball joints. That is a nice control arm.
I had a fuel pump relay fail on my 2004 Ford Crown Victoria. I swapped it around with another relay to get the engine to start. I drove it 10 miles round trip to get a safety inspection done. When I tried to start it a few weeks later, no start and further diagnosis revealed that the fuel pump wasn't working and pulling way too much current.
I don't doubt for a minute that the fuel pump killed the original relay, because it was on it's way out and likely pulling more current than it should.
Suggest that a current draw test be done if a replacement relay fails after 15 minutes.
I got an OEM and it lasted until I sold it.
Nice based on what? Looks do not mean it will fit properly and most of the time they don't. Sure they fit in there but the issue is usually in the alignment. I have done a few for people that the caster was way off and the car was wandering like hobo, other were twisted in the jig when welded and would not fit properly, all sorts of stuff. I don't install aftermarket control arms for anyone anymore, they have zero value.
Where do you see Mevotech for police or different FE package? It seems from that list the only one is OE. Moog offeres one without police package but is that FE1 or FE3? Failure to disclose what the part actually fits is telling of the company.
Good to know. I've installed some aftermarket control arms without issue but not those. MEYLE, Febi, Moog ( ball joint boots do not last) all fit fine. I expect lower teir to be garbage but didn't know it was that bad.
The ones in the video looked sturdy and some pride went into the finishing which is out of the ordinary.
Put lipstick on a pig and it is still a pig. These companies are making jigs from an original part that may or may not be the current version or the exact measurements of the original.
If only modern suspension lasted 100k here in MN. I see plenty of rusted, broken tie rod ends and ball joints on sub-100K vehicles and I can honestly say that the aftermarket solution for those cases is at LEAST as good if not better than what failed.
Take my CX-5 example: The following links have decent pictures for generic comparison, you can see that the Supreme part clearly uses a beefier ball joint and stronger rear bushing.
OEM Arm
Mevotech
To be clear, I'm referring to PN# CMS761184/5 vs. OEM. I know it's just photographs, however I've had plenty of first hand experience installing the Mevotech's and they are by far made to a better quality standard than the OEM. Keep in mind, I'm referring to the Supreme line ONLY. The economy line is no better, and probably worse than OE.
Different world up north it seems. We barely see rain, let alone snow, salt and corrosion. Mostly it's just time and wear that kills parts.
"Have you driven a Moog... lately?"
Moog on a Ford, double whammy. Got my warranty replacement. Not really excited, this should get me another 15k miles or so hopefully
I’m happy with the Moog Problem Solver ball joints on a friend’s Explorer. But many won’t grease them. Moog was reboxing 555 Sankei or Central for Japanese/Korean tie rods, ball joints or sway bar links. Dunno if they still are.
Also, I prefer to buy these local or at Rock. Amazon and eBay harbor fakes but the former is now being Driv’s (Carl Icahn) preferred distribution means now that Pep Boys doesn’t exist as a parts store outside of Philly(they still do service outside of there but many of them are located within an Advance) and the bigger chains want to push their reboxes of Mevotech(MasterPro Chassis, Duralast and WearEver).
