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My right front lower control arm was bent on my 03 gs300- keep in mind I ordered this exact part 3 years ago to replace factory unit and it was right and held up fine until I hit a curb calling for replacement again. But this time I ordered from Rockauto (best place to get parts that are not oem in my opinion) Moog Part # rk640409 . Part number on box was right and at first glance the arm looked to be correct. However when I went to install it nothing was lining up properly. Set it next to my old arm and the new Moog arm is not even the right length!!! Arm is shorter, and the bolt holes did not line up properly either. Car has been down since 10AM saturday for something that should have been a simple job. Got a new arm from O reilly auto and it fit perfect.
Just a heads up!!! Moog parts have always fit properly and worked great until this mishap though.
so i have couple questions
1- is moog parts are worth it or not? and where can i find the ones that they are made in japan?
2- in rockauto website the MOOG K500101 is around $33 while it is from advanced auto or even Moog website is around $60 ish so is the price difference here for something i should know about?
If the part number is the same its the same. As far as made in japan its like spinning a roulette wheel. You don't know what you're going to get. Last time I ordered tie rod ends one was made in taiwan and one in japan
so i have couple questions
1- is moog parts are worth it or not? and where can i find the ones that they are made in japan?
2- in rockauto website the MOOG K500101 is around $33 while it is from advanced auto or even Moog website is around $60 ish so is the price difference here for something i should know about?
in the pictures here you can see the difference
Just spend the extra $$ on stock OEM BJ's from ebay.. Its around $132 for the pair.. As far as ACDelco i bought tie rods and they rusted within a few months.
Sharing my recent experience with Moog LBJ's. My 99 GS300 only has 65k miles but decided to change my 19 year old OEM LBJ's. My mechanic said they're still ok but I had it changed as preventive maintenance. Ordered from amazon at around $35 a side. OEM was $70 a piece so it's a no brainer for me since the difference was huge. After installation, there was so much clunking and creaking underneath. Now, I have to buy OEM's and get them changed. My mechanic will do the swap for free. I'm hoping it's a defective Moog pair that I got. If they are, I'm not buying any Moog products anymore. I'll post and update soon.
What about Dorman?
I need to buy Front LH/RH Lower Suspension Control Arm and Ball Joint and originals are too expensive
Dorman is junk.
As for Moog,,,, federal mogul bought moog for the name, atleast 10 years ago. The deal is this, the actual Moog part, made by moog is at the OE, the rest is sourced at the cheapest bid and boxed in the moog box.
Depending on who gave the best price that year is whos being put in federal moguls moog box.
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Also beware of the copy cats of timken & ngk which are very hard to see the difference in, including the halo signatures on the boxes.
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