recommendation on ball joints for an old Mazda?

[Number_35]

Hello all - '97 Mazda MPV, 2WD (RWD), 335K km (> 200K miles) Broken & separated ball joint on passenger side! I'm looking for advice on what's a good replacement part (balancing availability, quality, and price). NAPA locally has only the part for the 4WD, which is quite a bit different. On-line choices (in every case, LCA w/ ball joint): Beck-Arnley 102-4528 $103.84 Dorman 520-830 $103.68 Mevotek GK9651 $61.53 Mevotek CMK9651 $129.46 All prices are in C$. Thoughts on any of the above? I do prefer to buy CAN/US/1st-world-manufactured parts when possible. Thanks in advance!

 

[Trav]

Look at Moog, they will probably be reboxed 555 which is Sankei.

 

[JC1]

Do you need to repair it right away? I would check rockauto if you can wait. We get ripped off with prices for those small parts.

 

[khittner]

It looks like a lower front control arm, with the ball joint included, is all that RockAuto can do for you, too. A Beck-Arnley control arm, in "daily driver" quality, is $58 (U.S.) RockAuto Mazda MPV Control Arm and it's another $15 (U.S.) to get to Winnepeg in a week or so, if you can make-do without the vehicle for that long.

 

[NormanBuntz]

Did you try www.oscaroparts.com? It has many ball joint replacements listed for your vehicle with decent photographs. I've always found its prices to be good.

 

[nthach]

Moog in Problem Solver series - you'll get a 555 Sankei as Trav mentioned. Otherwise, I'd look for OEM.

 

[Audios]

Those are all made in china/turkey/czech so unless you go OEM, which would probably be Japan, I don't know of any USA made ones. JTC1566 is the TRW replacement, that might have a better chance of higher quality manufacturing.

 

[PandaBear]

I'd stay away from Dorman and Mevotek if it is going into a car to be kept for long. B&A may be a hit or miss but I'd not want to ship something so heavy back. Moog problem solver would be your best bet other than OEM.