Originally Posted By: senquack
Always go with the higher grade part if it has the ball joint integrated into it. The cheaper part will use a less-resilient rubber boot and it will crack prematurely. It is in a place where it will be flexed constantly and likely will not last anywhere near as long as an OEM part if it is a cheaper rubber.
Furthermore, there is a lot of QC involved in manufacturing a safety-critical part like a ball joint and its socket. Even the assembly process of the joint is a tricky thing to perfect. I used to work right beside the machine that assembled Toyota's OEM balljoints and LCAs. It is a complex beast custom made and we would do things like destructive testing where the joints are regularly ripped apart and the force needed was measured. There is going to be corners cut on cheaper parts, that you can count on.
The LCA is the thing you do NOT want to fail on your car. I have had cheap Ebay LCAs fit fine, look great, but the boots tear after only a year or two. Raybestos offers two grades, I recommend the higher grade of any part you can get, stay away from cheaper parts on something this important.
while i completely agree on most parts. Its very hard to identify the higher grade part. Yea they can use words to list it but without seeing them in person no one can judge quality of the welds on the arms, or thickness of boots used. Raybesto's are the pro grade the one i listed for, last brakes i did using rays came from china. Deeza looks to be a turkish company. I never heard of them but they seem bigger in the euro crowd.
Weld issues are what i found to be problems with ebay arms via google searching.
