NAPA Chassis Line Upper control arms = Mevotech

S

Snagglefoot

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Dec 31, 2017
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Location
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Last November I bought a Chevy Silverado Upper Control arm to replace one with a ripped grease boot and some play. It was on short notice so I got it from the NAPA CANADA down the road. Based on the blue grease cap some folks said it was probably a Mevotech item. Fast forward to this March, I ordered up a Mevotech control arm from Rock Auto for the other side of the same truck ( passenger side). Sure enough, they are the same ( except for the left/ right configuration.) The boot is also blue and more importantly, the letters cast into the arm are the same. Here are a few photos. Enjoy.

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reviews for the aftermarket UCAs and LCAs are very hot or very cold its hard to figure out whether to spend the extra and get OEM stuff that usually will last over 100k miles plus(proven) or roll the dice with cheaper aftermarket which may need replacement sooner, any savings would be eliminated then
 
JMJNet said:
How is the quality?
Click to expand...
I installed a pair of Mevotech LCA for someone who insisted brand didn't make any difference, I did it with the understanding that if they are crap it was going to cost the same labor to swap them out.
The thing would not even go up the road straight, one was twisted and no way to align it. So the fun begins...

Buy the two LCA from Rock pay to install them, pay for an alignment, take it all apart warranty the crap for the same thing which wouldn't even bolt on without straining. Warranty again, no good, try to get a refund from Rock (no idea how that went), buy 2 OE days later, get it aligned (it was almost spot on without) and it was perfect.
Loss of time, 2X labor and another alignment, this guy lost over $200 more than if he used OE in the first place which he would have had the same day. Buying this (and similar) crap is begging for trouble.
 
Thanks for the input. I'm wondering what year these failures occurred.

Check out www.mevotech.com. Within the Mevotech lineup there are various grades. Its really not enough info to say a Mevotech component, "some time in the past" didn't do its job. It strikes me that this company is interested in continuous improvement. :)
 
The question is how much is factual and how much is advertising blather. HF compares the cheapest crap to Snap on, Dewalt and others and it all sounds great till you own it.
IMHO car parts are like tools, you get what you pay for, for some wreck with 3 wheels in the bone yard and the other one on a antifreeze puddle cheap stuff may be justifiable but not for a good DD.
 
Many of them are and look at the trouble we have with new part failure. Its not like years ago when you bought a new part it was almost a certainty it was going to work first time and keep working, some were even equal to or better than OE eg Standards Blue Streak line, AC Delco before they got into this multi line thing were for the most part actual OE.
 
im currently looking at at new LCAs and alignment cams for my 2013 Tacoma 4x4, most of the reviews and Toyota truck websites do not think highly about any aftermarket LCA or cam bolts, its a shame there isn't a OEM quality LCA setup for these trucks, the achilles heel are the ball joints and the bushings in the arms themselves have movement when brand new, the OEM lcas are $300+ per side. I was looking at the AC DELCO gold/professional series seems they are of Chinese/Taiwanese quality also I use the truck as a daily driver no hard offroading at all but I still wouldn't trust the aftermarket lcas if they fail even under warranty you either have to pay to R and R them or go R and R them yourself which is no way. $$$$$$$$ down the drain.😿
 
Trav said:
Many of them are and look at the trouble we have with new part failure. Its not like years ago when you bought a new part it was almost a certainty it was going to work first time and keep working, some were even equal to or better than OE eg Standards Blue Streak line, AC Delco before they got into this multi line thing were for the most part actual OE.
Click to expand...
any chance you might know the Japanese supplier of OEM Toyota UCAs and LCAs im curious to know what manufacture makes them, thru online searching ive found very little about where Toyota gets some of its parts from, only possibility is a company called NAKAMOTO in Japan possibly. I think SANKEI 555 are whats used for the ball joints
 
AFAIK the Nakamoto are from Taiwan (check on that I am not 100% sure) and I would guess no different. Put new bushings and ball joints in the old LCA or go OE, the aftermarket ones suck big time, you don't need to get on that merry go round, it can cost a small fortune to get off it.
While Moog is not my favorite brand for some stuff they do okay, they do have an interesting ball joint design for this truck, use OE bushings.

 
jrvn said:
im currently looking at at new LCAs and alignment cams for my 2013 Tacoma 4x4, most of the reviews and Toyota truck websites do not think highly about any aftermarket LCA or cam bolts, its a shame there isn't a OEM quality LCA setup for these trucks, the achilles heel are the ball joints and the bushings in the arms themselves have movement when brand new, the OEM lcas are $300+ per side. I was looking at the AC DELCO gold/professional series seems they are of Chinese/Taiwanese quality also I use the truck as a daily driver no hard offroading at all but I still wouldn't trust the aftermarket lcas if they fail even under warranty you either have to pay to R and R them or go R and R them yourself which is no way. $$$$$$$$ down the drain.😿
Click to expand...
It is normal for rubber bushings to have amount of play, even when new. Toyota sells the control arm bushings for this application. Find a way to replace the bushings without replacing the arm.
 
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