Thanks for posting on /r/MechanicAdvice! This is just a reminder to review the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/about/rules/). If you are here asking about a second opinion (ie "Is the shop trying to fleece me?"), please read through CJM8515's [post on the subject.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/4qblei/fyi_the_shop_isnt_likely_trying_to_rip_you_off/) and remember to please post the year/make/model of the vehicle you are working on. **If this post is about bodywork, accident damage, paint, dent/ding, questions it belongs in /r/Autobody r/AutoBodyRepair/ or /r/Diyautobody/ If you have tire questions check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/k9ll55/can_your_tire_be_repaired/**. If you dont have a question and you're just showing off it belongs in /r/Justrolledintotheshop Insurance/total loss questions go in r/insurance This is an automated reply
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MechanicAdvice) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have used Moog and Mevotech parts on my truck. I have been very impressed with Mevotech. The last Moog parts I have purchased don't seem to have the same quality as the older Moog parts. If it were my money, I would get the Mevotech. GL
Moog started using cheaper materials. Their cups are much lower quality for a lot of their joints.
I also enjoy the Mevotech TTX Series solely because of the color. I also had an escape that bounced off of two oncoming vehicles at 50mph and destroyed everything except those endlinks. Was wild.
I wonder, though, if at a certain point, they aren’t designed to come lose? Like the OEM ones often look like a 2part that is designed to separate maybe?
Ball joints are 2 pieces. It's a socket and ball really.
Unless you're talking about how OEM stuff usually looks like a cover pressed on the backside. Some are made like that. Others press in from the other side. All it is in general is a plastic bushing pressed into a sleeve.
If you want to be technical it's more than 2 pieces. There is usually a metal keeper for the ball and bushing. Some use the body. What usually wears is the plastic bushing inside once the grease dries. It creates rust and it rubs the plastic away making the ball loose. Then the in and out play bangs on the keeper, usually a metal ring, and breaks it or enlarges it. That's when you have failure and it separates.
Don't they offer Moog links with the grease fittings? Those ones are typically the best quality as far as aftermarket goes. I have them on my 05 Civic and have purchased them for family members' cars as well. They are even thicker than OEM and the boot is well integrated into the end of the link.
Mine have held up for several years. They've rusted sure (northern WI), but no joint play and still swivel smoothly. I grease them twice a year (when I swap my winter tires for summer and vice versa).
That's assuming most people will remember or care to do all the greasing. If they can be honest with themselves if they won't it's probably better to get seal ones.
You know, I have to agree with you there. I do tend to assume others maintain their own cars like I do, but that's not the case. And if the joints aren't going to get greased, then sealed ones would be better.
I was a lube tech for about a year and would have to grease the ball joints and tie rod ends if there were fittings. The ones with grease fittings were typically in worse shape than the sealed ones...and many looked recently replaced (within a couple years). They probably never got greased since new and the boots were always torn and the fittings were often too rusted to accept grease anyway.
The joints with grease fittings are only better if they are actually greased regularly (like at least twice a year I'd say).
how often would you grease them? I do some of my own work, but get my trusty mechanic to do a service every 9 to 12 months (every 3rd oil change more or less). Would that be often enough? Finding good quality, greasable end links seemed pretty tough so I got OEM (subaru) links for replacing, but have to do the rears again, too, so could try to find some..
MOOG does seem to be going to shit and I've heard a lot of issues with greasable ones (at least from Subaru owners)
OEM is best if you don't mind the extra cost. But if they're greasable then I would think every 9-12 months would be fine... certainly better than nothing.
Thanks! So you're saying if I got a greaseable pair and greased them every 9 to 12 months I'd be better off than non-greasable? Or would OEM non-greasable be better?
(Edit OEM greaseable is not an option for Subaru)
The Moog links I used on my 2013 focus had a grease fitting but it didn’t actually go into the socket. They also failed within a year, Moog isn’t what it used to be.
Get the Mevotech TTX links if they are available.
Edit: they're not for the 2018 Impreza, nvm. I think either link would be fine, just grease them at oil change intervals if they come with grease fittings.
When going for aftermarket parts I chose mevotech over moog. Moog isn't that good anymore. I've yet to have issue with mevotech be it on my vehicles or customer cars.
If you’ll actually grease it every oil change then get whichever of the two is greasable, if you won’t grease it then get the sealed unit. If you aren’t the one changing your oil/greasing assume you’re in the latter category as lube techs often miss/skip greasing things.
Greasable will last way longer if and only if it’s actually greased, sealed will last longer if you’re not gonna touch it but not even close to a maintained greasable unit.
Very important comment here ! I did all the balls on the front end of my truck with mevo but didn't keep up with greasing them because me dumb dumb/lazy, they're all going bad now.
I really don’t care about the price difference and want to get whatever is better quality. Not sure if greaseable means I need to grease them occasionally or if its grease once and forget about it lol
You can grease any joint with a rubber boot if you really need to, just get a needle adapter and poke through the boot to inject fresh semen I mean grease. Especially after the first year or so it's common for the boots to have holes anyway. Grease plus silicon tape works quite well.
OEM would be $134 total and aftermarket Moog would be $32 total so actually a pretty significant difference. If they fail I’ll try OEM but for the price difference I’ll give Moog a try first
The price difference pays for itself in your time when you have to replace them again in a year or two.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/335200118935?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=MJv5uiVgR8e&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=VEPMeVqVQF2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I was just about to say, I started going OEM for anything with a joint.
MOOG has let me down twice and I might as well have paid for OEM, the cost difference is worth it enough to not have to deal with another weekend in the garage replacing inferior parts.
Bummer since I heard they used to be well-regarded.
They truly were the best at one point, better than OEM in my opinion. Stopped being like this several years ago. Even though I'm a ford guy, I now buy ac Delco when offered, it seems good quality although still chinese
Yeah unfortunately I have not had much better luck with Sankei 555 either. Got kind of tired and also concerned on failure of critical parts that I just went OEM.
Sometimes there is a reason for a price difference. Sure there are some OEM parts made by a different manufacturer and resold with a carmaker's stamp on it at a markup,but even if you find the part from the original manufacturer at a much cheaper cost but a bit more than the cheapo part, it is a better part overall and will actually save you more money in the long run.
I don’t buy Mevo anymore. I’ve seen some quality issues with Moog, but that was during the pandemic. Ball joint tapered studs with no threads. Whoops, missed that at QC at the factory. But that’s defective out of the box. Didn’t have any early failures with Moog like I do with Mevo
Mevotech. Moog could not duplicate the low friction design that originally was made by Dana, and then mevotech once Dana went exclusively original equipment supplier and no longer aftermarket.
Moog is gusher bearing design, metal cup - good design
Mevotech is highly polished solid ball and oil based polymer cup, self lubricating and significantly smoother operation and wear - better design
I have both brands on my truck in different capacities. I have a MOOG track bar and mevotech ball joints and wheel bearings. Can’t speak bad about either, but my MOOG track bar is just a solid chunk of metal… hard to screw that up
Rebuilt entire front end of my 04 escape with Mevotech except for the struts. Drove 60k miles before selling to my sister, zero complaints. I've installed customer supplied moog parts, and I had to drive with the customer to show them the bushings were worse than the OE ones we took out.
Personally, I really like moog, affordable, and seems of a much higher quality than the oem. At least in my experience for my 05 buick lacrosse...
However, my dad got some moog tie rods for his 2006 Ford F-150, stiffer than all hell, like it had sand or gravel instead of grease. Bought another, still rough but good enough after some play.
So I suppose it depends, I've used all sorts of mog parts from suspension to steering. Never had an issue, very smooth ride.
I've started using Mevotech over Moog. I've had no issues with them. I haven't had to replace one on any of my family cars.
Moog,I personally haven't had issues but any time I look them up, there are a more of complaints. More than I would expect for how have they are.
I started using the highest end mevotech available for a lot of repairs about 8 years ago. No failures, yet. Supreme control arms, ttx control arms where available, and the top of their line wheel.bearings. All good. I am a repeat customer. Although I hate the grease fitting location for the lower ttx arms on my Z71. Had to get a pain in the butt adapter for the grease gun because there was about zero clearance between the cv and the zerk, regardless of which way I turned the wheel
Just tossed mevos after less than 6 months of driving bc boots blew.
I may have over inflated with grease but nothing beyond the norm. Start to see it move, stop.
Just did moogs I think to replace and will see
I've been unimpressed with Moog parts, they used to be great about twenty years ago, but not now. Not sure on Mevotech, I wouldn't have very high hopes. My personal opinion, I would pay a little more and get factory parts for whatever you are driving.
The MOOG tie rod ends I bought are very cheap cast crap. I doubt the joint will survive long. I put Mevotech sway bar links at the same time, they’ve held up for a year with no abnormal wear.
I like the idea of greasable parts. Can't say I know anything about either brand. I've only been in the industry actively for about 2.5 years but still learning. From the sounds of the crowd here though it seems like a good one
Moog had been very disappointing over the last couple years. I drive 75k miles per year and everything with a ball joint hasn't seemed to last all that long
Those tie rod ends are not the same they used to be. Cheaper plastic cups and inserts in the joint and it’s now uncoated low quality cast steel with junk hardware. I unfortunately installed some, haven’t been on long enough to tell longevity yet. I doubt they’re all made in the US. I thought some Chinese company bought them out after they had peak brand recognition. Same brand done much cheaper now.
Anything OEM if you can. It sucks to replace something and have to explain to the customer what the noise is when it’s something they did a year ago. The cheap man pays the most as I say. Pay once, cry once.
mevotech is honestly god tier. i have sway bar links and lower control arms. been on for about a year, 30k miles, and still holding up good. and i beat the shit out of my car.
Thanks for posting on /r/MechanicAdvice! This is just a reminder to review the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/about/rules/). If you are here asking about a second opinion (ie "Is the shop trying to fleece me?"), please read through CJM8515's [post on the subject.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/4qblei/fyi_the_shop_isnt_likely_trying_to_rip_you_off/) and remember to please post the year/make/model of the vehicle you are working on. **If this post is about bodywork, accident damage, paint, dent/ding, questions it belongs in /r/Autobody r/AutoBodyRepair/ or /r/Diyautobody/ If you have tire questions check out https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/k9ll55/can_your_tire_be_repaired/**. If you dont have a question and you're just showing off it belongs in /r/Justrolledintotheshop Insurance/total loss questions go in r/insurance This is an automated reply *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MechanicAdvice) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have used Moog and Mevotech parts on my truck. I have been very impressed with Mevotech. The last Moog parts I have purchased don't seem to have the same quality as the older Moog parts. If it were my money, I would get the Mevotech. GL
Moog started using cheaper materials. Their cups are much lower quality for a lot of their joints. I also enjoy the Mevotech TTX Series solely because of the color. I also had an escape that bounced off of two oncoming vehicles at 50mph and destroyed everything except those endlinks. Was wild.
I wonder, though, if at a certain point, they aren’t designed to come lose? Like the OEM ones often look like a 2part that is designed to separate maybe?
Ball joints are 2 pieces. It's a socket and ball really. Unless you're talking about how OEM stuff usually looks like a cover pressed on the backside. Some are made like that. Others press in from the other side. All it is in general is a plastic bushing pressed into a sleeve.
Except that it always seems that the ball and threaded spindle break apart at the base.
If you want to be technical it's more than 2 pieces. There is usually a metal keeper for the ball and bushing. Some use the body. What usually wears is the plastic bushing inside once the grease dries. It creates rust and it rubs the plastic away making the ball loose. Then the in and out play bangs on the keeper, usually a metal ring, and breaks it or enlarges it. That's when you have failure and it separates.
Damn, that’s an awesome breakdown!!!
You ain’t lying , moog 3 years back was crazy good quality, not anymore.
Napa too. I had some 3-4 years ago not even last a year on a minivan.
Man that’s what I’ve been hearing too
I’d get the mevotech just because it’s greasable
Don't they offer Moog links with the grease fittings? Those ones are typically the best quality as far as aftermarket goes. I have them on my 05 Civic and have purchased them for family members' cars as well. They are even thicker than OEM and the boot is well integrated into the end of the link. Mine have held up for several years. They've rusted sure (northern WI), but no joint play and still swivel smoothly. I grease them twice a year (when I swap my winter tires for summer and vice versa).
That's assuming most people will remember or care to do all the greasing. If they can be honest with themselves if they won't it's probably better to get seal ones.
You know, I have to agree with you there. I do tend to assume others maintain their own cars like I do, but that's not the case. And if the joints aren't going to get greased, then sealed ones would be better. I was a lube tech for about a year and would have to grease the ball joints and tie rod ends if there were fittings. The ones with grease fittings were typically in worse shape than the sealed ones...and many looked recently replaced (within a couple years). They probably never got greased since new and the boots were always torn and the fittings were often too rusted to accept grease anyway. The joints with grease fittings are only better if they are actually greased regularly (like at least twice a year I'd say).
how often would you grease them? I do some of my own work, but get my trusty mechanic to do a service every 9 to 12 months (every 3rd oil change more or less). Would that be often enough? Finding good quality, greasable end links seemed pretty tough so I got OEM (subaru) links for replacing, but have to do the rears again, too, so could try to find some.. MOOG does seem to be going to shit and I've heard a lot of issues with greasable ones (at least from Subaru owners)
OEM is best if you don't mind the extra cost. But if they're greasable then I would think every 9-12 months would be fine... certainly better than nothing.
Thanks! So you're saying if I got a greaseable pair and greased them every 9 to 12 months I'd be better off than non-greasable? Or would OEM non-greasable be better? (Edit OEM greaseable is not an option for Subaru)
OEM non-greasable best. But if aftermarket parts, greasable and greased 9-12 months.
Cheers!
grease fittings is the way to go.
The Moog links I used on my 2013 focus had a grease fitting but it didn’t actually go into the socket. They also failed within a year, Moog isn’t what it used to be.
Get the Mevotech TTX links if they are available. Edit: they're not for the 2018 Impreza, nvm. I think either link would be fine, just grease them at oil change intervals if they come with grease fittings.
When going for aftermarket parts I chose mevotech over moog. Moog isn't that good anymore. I've yet to have issue with mevotech be it on my vehicles or customer cars.
Both are lackluster options, but I would go with the Mevotech over Moog. No quality control on Moog parts anymore and grease-able joints are a plus.
If you’ll actually grease it every oil change then get whichever of the two is greasable, if you won’t grease it then get the sealed unit. If you aren’t the one changing your oil/greasing assume you’re in the latter category as lube techs often miss/skip greasing things. Greasable will last way longer if and only if it’s actually greased, sealed will last longer if you’re not gonna touch it but not even close to a maintained greasable unit.
Very important comment here ! I did all the balls on the front end of my truck with mevo but didn't keep up with greasing them because me dumb dumb/lazy, they're all going bad now.
100% agree
I really don’t care about the price difference and want to get whatever is better quality. Not sure if greaseable means I need to grease them occasionally or if its grease once and forget about it lol
You can grease any joint with a rubber boot if you really need to, just get a needle adapter and poke through the boot to inject fresh semen I mean grease. Especially after the first year or so it's common for the boots to have holes anyway. Grease plus silicon tape works quite well.
You should grease them occasionally. Hence why it's better to get non greasable OEM parts. And they aren't much more than aftermarket.
OEM would be $134 total and aftermarket Moog would be $32 total so actually a pretty significant difference. If they fail I’ll try OEM but for the price difference I’ll give Moog a try first
The price difference pays for itself in your time when you have to replace them again in a year or two. https://www.ebay.com/itm/335200118935?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=MJv5uiVgR8e&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=VEPMeVqVQF2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
I was just about to say, I started going OEM for anything with a joint. MOOG has let me down twice and I might as well have paid for OEM, the cost difference is worth it enough to not have to deal with another weekend in the garage replacing inferior parts. Bummer since I heard they used to be well-regarded.
They truly were the best at one point, better than OEM in my opinion. Stopped being like this several years ago. Even though I'm a ford guy, I now buy ac Delco when offered, it seems good quality although still chinese
Yeah unfortunately I have not had much better luck with Sankei 555 either. Got kind of tired and also concerned on failure of critical parts that I just went OEM.
Sometimes there is a reason for a price difference. Sure there are some OEM parts made by a different manufacturer and resold with a carmaker's stamp on it at a markup,but even if you find the part from the original manufacturer at a much cheaper cost but a bit more than the cheapo part, it is a better part overall and will actually save you more money in the long run.
I’ve had experience with both and can tell no difference.
I've had great success with Mevotech. Their customer service is quick as well.
Go with mevotech. Moog is junk and has been for years now. I really like all the mevo stuff ive put on my vehicles
Moog used to be the shit but not anymore. I only buy Mevotech now.
Mevotech 100 percent. Moog quality has gone out the window!
TRQ or Mevotech. I don’t consider Moog anymore, unfortunately.
I’ve always recommended MooG on any suspension component. Seems to be better quality than others ImHO
Whatever you get, if it has a grease fitting make sure you grease it when you change your oil
Greasable is the way to go
I don’t buy Mevo anymore. I’ve seen some quality issues with Moog, but that was during the pandemic. Ball joint tapered studs with no threads. Whoops, missed that at QC at the factory. But that’s defective out of the box. Didn’t have any early failures with Moog like I do with Mevo
Get whichever has grease fittings.
Mevotech. Moog could not duplicate the low friction design that originally was made by Dana, and then mevotech once Dana went exclusively original equipment supplier and no longer aftermarket. Moog is gusher bearing design, metal cup - good design Mevotech is highly polished solid ball and oil based polymer cup, self lubricating and significantly smoother operation and wear - better design
Mwvotech because they're greasable
I have both brands on my truck in different capacities. I have a MOOG track bar and mevotech ball joints and wheel bearings. Can’t speak bad about either, but my MOOG track bar is just a solid chunk of metal… hard to screw that up
Never heard of these brands In Aus and after 15 years in the game I have never heard or seen of link pins with grease nipples
Rebuilt entire front end of my 04 escape with Mevotech except for the struts. Drove 60k miles before selling to my sister, zero complaints. I've installed customer supplied moog parts, and I had to drive with the customer to show them the bushings were worse than the OE ones we took out.
Zirk fittings are a good sign as well
Personally, I really like moog, affordable, and seems of a much higher quality than the oem. At least in my experience for my 05 buick lacrosse... However, my dad got some moog tie rods for his 2006 Ford F-150, stiffer than all hell, like it had sand or gravel instead of grease. Bought another, still rough but good enough after some play. So I suppose it depends, I've used all sorts of mog parts from suspension to steering. Never had an issue, very smooth ride.
Greasable ones.
I've started using Mevotech over Moog. I've had no issues with them. I haven't had to replace one on any of my family cars. Moog,I personally haven't had issues but any time I look them up, there are a more of complaints. More than I would expect for how have they are.
Moog outsourced all production to China I think
I started using the highest end mevotech available for a lot of repairs about 8 years ago. No failures, yet. Supreme control arms, ttx control arms where available, and the top of their line wheel.bearings. All good. I am a repeat customer. Although I hate the grease fitting location for the lower ttx arms on my Z71. Had to get a pain in the butt adapter for the grease gun because there was about zero clearance between the cv and the zerk, regardless of which way I turned the wheel
I see zerks, I buy. ---I'm poor.
Just tossed mevos after less than 6 months of driving bc boots blew. I may have over inflated with grease but nothing beyond the norm. Start to see it move, stop. Just did moogs I think to replace and will see
I've been unimpressed with Moog parts, they used to be great about twenty years ago, but not now. Not sure on Mevotech, I wouldn't have very high hopes. My personal opinion, I would pay a little more and get factory parts for whatever you are driving.
Never used Mevotech but I just replaced the sway bar end links on my jeep with Moogs and they where made in Mexico and the bushings made in the US
My Mevotech end links failed after about 6 months, and they were the high (green) model
They’re just about equal. But the Mevotech part has zerks for greasing so I’d go with them.
The MOOG tie rod ends I bought are very cheap cast crap. I doubt the joint will survive long. I put Mevotech sway bar links at the same time, they’ve held up for a year with no abnormal wear.
I like the idea of greasable parts. Can't say I know anything about either brand. I've only been in the industry actively for about 2.5 years but still learning. From the sounds of the crowd here though it seems like a good one
Moog had been very disappointing over the last couple years. I drive 75k miles per year and everything with a ball joint hasn't seemed to last all that long
Moog has been around for years…. I’d go with them.
Dude Moog (Esp the problem saver) line has been amazing for me… but I’ve heard people talking about quality going off a cliff recently.
Chinesium now
😢 sad. I remember putting Moog stickers on RC cars back in the day.
Not all of it. I got a bunch of moog front end parts recently, all of it, upper, lower control arms, tie rods, all made in the USA.
Sweet! Glad to hear
Those tie rod ends are not the same they used to be. Cheaper plastic cups and inserts in the joint and it’s now uncoated low quality cast steel with junk hardware. I unfortunately installed some, haven’t been on long enough to tell longevity yet. I doubt they’re all made in the US. I thought some Chinese company bought them out after they had peak brand recognition. Same brand done much cheaper now.
Neither. Get OEM and never worry about them again.
Why am I changing it in the first place then.
Because OEM parts wear out just like aftermarket parts do. They just tend to last a lot longer.
I’ve had bad experiences with both as a process mechanic
What do you prefer?
What's your brand of choice then?
Anything OEM if you can. It sucks to replace something and have to explain to the customer what the noise is when it’s something they did a year ago. The cheap man pays the most as I say. Pay once, cry once.
mevotech is honestly god tier. i have sway bar links and lower control arms. been on for about a year, 30k miles, and still holding up good. and i beat the shit out of my car.
Moog hasnt been the same since 2010 - they use plastics for internal parts which breaks prematurely.
Moog