Suspension parts - what's the diff (Dorman, Raybestos, AC Delco, Mevotech, Moog)

I hope someone has the inside scoop on this. I've often wondered the same thing with the same thoughts about the parts with the "same" part numbers. For some parts I've looked up on the Rockauto site there will be a pretty clear delineation WITHIN a brand that one of their lines is a price leader and the other is the quality line. I've found that even on things as small and cheap as the pin switches for dome lights.

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I've heard tell that Moog quality isn't what it used to be... once upon a time I would have advised you to buy Moog and think no more of it. Now I am not sure if any aftermarket parts are anything other than "will work long enough to sell the car" parts. Sad...

nate

we sell both dorman and moog along with the economy china made parts.

moog has better looking bushings than the cheap china stuff.

dormans quality looks pretty good. Some things are made in china, mexico, etc. I've had dormans control arms on my breeze for a couple of years now. Still doing fine.

dorman seems to have the best price for the quality on a lot of parts.

I think they all carry a 90 day warranty.

chas

m6onz5a used improper usenet message-composition style by unnecessarily full-quoting:

Can you explain why the Moog parts seem to share practically identical part-numbers as Mevotech and a few other (presumably "economy china") parts?

"Better looking" is some-what subjective.

I'd be more concerned about the stuff you can't see - such as how they build the ball joints...

Side question:

When it comes to quick-struts, Monroe has an economy line and original-ride-quality line.

I was pricing them for my 300m. The economy struts were $65 each, the OEM struts were $125.

What the hell exactly is the difference between these?

These days I find a hunk of a part number appears to be industry standard. It does make cross referencing easier.

Moog is usually the best quality part of that list IME. What is different about lines of Moog parts would require consulting their website or some other reference.

I would expect the bushings and ball joint to vary between brand and line. The stamping might be the same part. Then again one of them might be the OEM part. If you stick with the better AC/Delco, better Raybestos, and Moog you should be fine. At least that's been my experience. There's some risk involved with the lesser parts. For a control arm I chose to simply avoid them. Too much work and risk for me. However there was a huge cost jump to moog for the car I last replaced a control arm on so I got the better raysbestos one. Has turned out well thus far.

Just noticed you listed a moog at the price of the cheapies... I would be wary of that one as well and stick with the better ones. They are doing something to make it cheaper. The description says 'budget minded' which is often a red flag.

The $45 area seems to be the sweet spot with the selection on Rockauto. The $20 stuff looks cheap. The decision from what I see there is the more OEM like Raysbestos AC/Delco or paying a couple bucks more for Moog's improved PM bushing.

Most manufacturers are using the same part #'s for the most part. They just put their own letters in front or back of the part # to make it their own. It certainly makes my job easier. You have to go by price and reputation of the company now.

The reason that I did not recommend Moog was that at least in the Jeep forums that I occasionally read I've heard it reported that the ball joints and TREs that Moog is selling today use plastic ball seats rather than the metal that they previously used, and that they don't hold up to extreme duty operation.

Unfortunately, I don't know who to recommend!

I do know that Timken seems to be the wheel bearing of choice at least for the same application, for the same reason (people who have tried to save money by using other brands have experienced premature failure.)

nate

of course you don't. but unfortunately, that doesn't stop you wasting electrons.

you know that timken makes most of its automotive bearings in china now don't you nate? oh, you didn't? and you have no experience of their durability??? well, what a surprise. see above.

[ps. don't answer rhetorical questions, idiot.]

Obviously. It's also obvious you lack the ability to recognize a reliable source of information.

On the bright side, you've finally managed to say "I don't know", albeit in far more words than necessary. -----

- gpsman

I have some good information on the rubber quality of these parts. I'm a m otorcycle tech by trade however I work on everything. Last year I did lowe r control arms (4) and (2) outer tie rod ends on an Eclipse. I had one OEM lower control arm with the ball joint (They are sold as a fixed unit) and I filled in the other three with the my economical "name brand" choice - D orman. The tie rod ends were cheap enough to go top of the line "Moog". So 1 control arm/ball joint is OEM and the other three are Dorman. Both ou ter tie rod ends are Moog. 4 months later after the winter I took a look u nderneath and could not believe what I saw. The OEM and Moog ball joints l ook great but the rubber quality on the Dorman products is AWFUL. The ball joint boots have more cracks in them than the 20 yr old original ones... Sure, keep talking about the metal quality... What keeps the grease in and the elements out. The cracks at that time were not all the way through bu t still completely unacceptable. So in my opinion, stay away from any Dorm an product that uses rubber of any kind.

A lot of the big companies are selling parts from similar factories so they will "re brand" the part and add letters or change the part # slightly or completely. Most of the new ball joints, tie rod ends, etc do NOT have gre ase fittings. The old timers call them "Lifers". Without these fittings th e parts won't last as long, however who has their vehicle for 10 years anym ore (besides my family).

I have not tested some of the other brands: Parts master, Mevotech, FEQ, et c.. Hope this helps out a people about to buy Dorman products.

No need to be a f#cking piece of sh!t "BUDDY". Like you're the end all be a ll expert of car parts, manufacturers change their product quality all the time and source their parts allover, so you can just excuse yourself from t he conversation considering us honest people just want to find out if any p art company is making quality product anymore. I'd recommend you follow you r own advice, if you don't know then shut your f#cking mouth, you're just a nother f#ckhole troll scouring the internet.

Federal-Mogul's e-cat site

shows an RK7211 and CK7211. Year s ago there was only one MOOG part number K7211, but today they offer a sta ndard grade RK7211 that is similar to the competitors you listed, ALL with plastic bearings. BUT the CK7211 is MOOG's problem solver with a ball joint that has a powdered metal "gusher" bearing that continually lubricates the stud and is much more durable than the others. It also includes a Bellevil le washer that acts like a spring, keeping the internal components tight ev en as the metal bearing experiences wear down the road. The CK7211 will sta y tighter much longer than the others including the RK7211. Good luck.

Oh look honey! An angry, know-it-all! And we thought they were becoming extinct...

In my experience, (20 years working on cars, ASE Certified in suspension an d brakes). If it's a car you're going to keep for a while, spend the money and put quality parts on your vehicle, moog for instance is about the best you can get. As far as the cheep Japan parts, STAY AWAY. I've had balljoint s snap going down the road and causing major damage. And it was from one of the chain stores and it was still under warranty. And if the sell you a li fetime warranty, they have a customer for life. Even though you get the par t free when you bring it back, you always buy other stuff as well. ALL moog parts ( except R-series) has a lifetime warranty. Most garages use cheap p arts unless requested by the customer. So make sure your garage is using OE quality or better parts. Do yourself a favor and stay away from cheap part s.