Premature Ball Joint Failure

It sounds like you figured it out. I like the kind with grease fittings.

well, there you go, question answered.

next time, separate "cheap to buy" from "cheap to own" and you'll never have this problem again.

"Chris F." wrote in news:4f6f6dc3$0$31082$ snipped-for-privacy@news.aliant.net:

You used an aftermarket part.

Now you know why OE is expensive: It lasts.

news.aliant.net:

Consider what your time and effort is worth. Nothing pisses me off more than having to do a job over because some shmuck just couldn't get it right the first time. I did ball joints on my car 6 years ago. I was going to get aftermarket because yes it was cheap. But when you think about it if you keep them properly greased this is a job you should only have to do once on a car. I settled for the Moog brand at almost 60.00 apiece. It hurt at the time but I've never regretted it. Most of the after market stuff is Chinese (or worse if that's even possible) crap. I might consider using some of that on a car I was planning to sell. But even that would probably be immoral. Lenny

Consider what your time and effort is worth. Nothing pisses me off more than having to do a job over because some shmuck just couldn't get it right the first time. I did ball joints on my car 6 years ago. I was going to get aftermarket because yes it was cheap. But when you think about it if you keep them properly greased this is a job you should only have to do once on a car. I settled for the Moog brand at almost 60.00 apiece. It hurt at the time but I've never regretted it. Most of the after market stuff is Chinese (or worse if that's even possible) crap. I might consider using some of that on a car I was planning to sell. But even that would probably be immoral. Lenny ################

Isn't Moog aftermarket?

Looking at some sales receipts, I realized that the upper control arms I installed were part of a kit, which also included the lower ball joints and inner + outer tie rod ends - for a total of $106+ shipping. I hate to say it but, I suppose I'm going to have to replace all of those now, right? I'm considering ordering Moog-branded parts from an online supplier, it's still cheaper than OEM and Moog has a good reputation. I also wonder if I should replace the shocks too, as I mentioned they are badly worn.

Yes, MOOG would be considered aftermarket, although they may manufacture OEM quality materials for manufacturers.

There are very good aftermarket parts, and there are crappy parts. The issue is to know the difference.

To say that aftermarket is never as good as OEM is just not correct.

When I said "aftermarket I was (incorrectly) using that term. Yes Moog is aftermarket but it is a "quality" aftermarket brand. Moog has been around as long as I can remember and I would have no problem trusting that brand.

yes.

moog are fine, but you don't need the adjustability. in fact, you'll probably spend more money monkeying about getting alignment sorted after fitting them than you would do just coughing up the dough for oem which are aligned right first time.

you're not driving this car, and you're not altering the camber, so stick with oem components. if you go to a junkyard, you might get lucky and find some that have been recently replaced and still in good condition.

the exception would be shocks. oem honda are nothing special in terms of ride, but they last quite well. practically identical in terms of function and quality are kyb gr2's, and they're a whole lot cheaper.

but don't replace them unless you have the tools. cheapo coil spring compressors are downright dangerous, if you can even get them to fit. [most don't since the honda coils are very tight.] and if you scratch the spring's surface by mishandling, it'll fatigue and break - with potentially very serious results for the car's occupants. you either need to take it to a shop with the right type of compressor, make your own which doesn't actually touch the spring at all,

or leave this stuff alone. i suggest the latter.

but if you really want to pay attention to this vehicle, you have the skill, and want keep it running well, replace the rear trailing arm bushings. part number 52385-S21-003. they're always either cracked, or broken, and they dramatically affect the vehicle's handling.

the tool you need is here:

I guess the questions would be, what brand were the parts you used, and did they have grease fittings? There's a vast range of quality of aftermarket parts, and some of the less expensive stuff is decent and some is not. Unfortunately without first hand knowledge it is hard to tell the difference, and even a known-good brand can change suppliers/ mfgrs. at any time. I would try to stick with an established brand like TRW or Moog and if the parts are purchased from a reputable parts store (in my mind, that's something like Carquest or NAPA - since my "good" local chain was assimilated by NAPA a few years ago - not pep boys or the like) will come with some kind of warranty, although likely not covering your time or alignments in any case (another good argument for sticking with known brands.)

nate

I see rockauto.com has Moog but also many other brands as well... are there any other brands that are just as good or better? In particular, how about Mevotech, Beck-Arnely, or Raybestos?

So what is the tool bearing on, if not the spring - the outside of the spring perchs?

Ed

Do some research on specific parts before you buy. Dont buy the cheapest part on the shelf, unless you KNOW it is superior.

For example, the Dorman replacement plenum for 90's era GM 3800 series engines was SUPERIOR to the GM crap. GM let its customers buy crap for about 10 years and did not address their quality problems.

Wagner, Fel-Pro and others are also quality manufacturers.

Some years ago, almost ALL master cylinders on Chrysler cars failed prematurely. The answer was to buy aftermarket (in this case EIS seemed to be the best and easiest fix, in cases where they would fit. In most cases, they fit perfectly, buy in myh 428 Cobra Mustang, they just would not clear the engine)

Don't buy cheap aftermarket stuff online.

And don't buy cheap aftermarket stuff from chain stores either.

--scott

beck-arnley maybe, but most of the aftermarkets for a vehicle this age are made in china. and the cost savings vs. oem are simply not there. the upper joints aren't available as a separate ball oem [and i think with good reason], but the oem lowers are considerably cheaper then the moog's you were looking at, and and oem lowers aren't much more expensive than the other after-markets if you buy online.

go to tegger.com and check his current list of online honda parts suppliers.

yes.

they're certainly better than the crap found on most domestics. but for honda, toyota, etc., it's usually worse. in the last two months, i've done four civic head gaskets, and i used the opportunity to look at other aftermarket gasket brand quality. fel-pro, while usable, were notably inferior and missing some of the detail around oil channels that the oem gaskets have. and paradoxically some of the cheap stuff from taiwan [not mainland china] was excellent. case by case.

for frod, g.m. and chrysler, i'd look at aftermarket before oem every time. case by case of course, but domestic oem quality is so low, the aftermarket stuff, even though it may be nothing special, is often superior.

"hls" wrote in news:B_ydnW- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Such a statement is correct when it comes to the OP's Honda.

There are a bare handful of aftermarket parts for Hondas that even come close to OE in quality, and balljoints are not among them.

Now if you're talking about GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc. (which the OP was not), then things may be different, and my statement does not cover those.

Maybe so, Tegger. I bow to your experience on these. In many cases, the American aftermarket producers are OEM suppliers to the Big 3. In some cases, the part numbers are even similar.