Moog, Raybestos or Driveworks Front End Parts

[qdeezie]

So, about 10 or so years ago, I began collecting parts to eventually rebuild the front end on my 1990 F150. Most of the parts are Driveworks parts from Advance Auto parts with the exception of the springs and the caster camber bushings. These are Moog parts. There might be one or two Duralast parts in the mix as well.

I didn't give it much thought until years later that buying the Driveworks parts might not have been the best thing to do.

I want to move forward and install the Driveworks parts, but I think I might sleep better with Moog or Raybestos.

As for what Driveworks parts, I bought pretty much everything. Ball joints, tie rod ends and other parts that don't come to mind at the moment.

So, I'm asking for opinions. Do you think I should hit the stop button and buy Raybestos and/or Moog and sell the Driveworks stuff or just install what I have?

 

[nwjones18]

I replaced everything in the front end of my 88 and I used lower grade parts for everything except the ball joints. All has been well for several years now.. Its a 1990 F-150. Use what you have and keep it greased.

 

[eljefino]

I don't think you'd sell the DW stuff for any sort of money on Craigslist or whatever.

"Several years"? They used to brand their stuff "OE" and probably something else before that.

I'd throw it on. I have a DW drag link on my 95 F150. If your parts are only a couple years old when they wear out they'll come apart easy.

 

[stephen9666]

If you can't return the parts you bought you may just want to use them.

On a side note, I wonder if the Raybestos and Moog parts will now be the same or similar? Federal-Mogul bought Affinia in 2014. Affinia produced the Raybestos brand chassis parts.

http://americanmachinist.com/news/federal-mogul-takes-over-affinia-chassis-components

 

[zzyzzx]

Really depends on the individual part. Without looking I'd say Moog, but maybe for your particular application the Raybestos Pro or Deeza part might be as good or better for less money. I would avoid Driveworks parts unless they are really rebadged something else that's good.

 

[RamFan]

You already bought them and they're several years old. At this point just run them, it certainly won't hurt anything.

I'm more interested in if you've been driving around in this truck. If you've known it needed a front end rebuild, it should have been done. If it was that bad 10 years ago I'd hate to know what shape it's in now.

 

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
"Several years"? They used to brand their stuff "OE" and probably something else before that.


There is one part that came in a red box. I think that one is branded OE, but has the same part number as the DW parts when I did a parts number lookup later on. I honestly don't remember how long ago I bought the stuff. It was awhile ago.

 

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted By: RamFan
I'm more interested in if you've been driving around in this truck. If you've known it needed a front end rebuild, it should have been done. If it was that bad 10 years ago I'd hate to know what shape it's in now.


I was driving down the road and when I came to a stop, I heard a loud thud, the truck turned sideways and I saw one of the front tires roll down the road.

That was a joke.

In all seriousness, I bought the truck as a long term restoration project and and while the front end was/is solid, I felt like eventually refreshing the front end was an integral part of the restoration process.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Driveworks is AAP's cheap economy line, so I probably wouldn't trust it. Moog and Raybestos are hit or miss, while DW is mainly miss. Deeza is also good.

 

[JHZR2]

if it was a part that would require a lot of repair time to replace when it fails, Id consider seeing if they will do a return for store credit/exchange, and use the higher branded parts.

if it is something relatively simple and fast to replace, Id likely take the gamble.

 

[bullwinkle]

There's a reason DW only has a 1 year warranty, while AAP's CQ & other name brands often have lifetime warranties. I'd only use DW on something I was getting rid of.

 

[Kool1]

I had Deeza ball joints made in Taiwan and Raybestos as well as Moog parts made in India. I believe that the country of origin is your best bet to a long lasting quality part. It's hard to find chassis parts made in Japan so I use chassis parts made in Turkey.

I currently have made in Turkey ball joints from Beck/Arnley and made in Turkey tie rod ends which are from O'reilly's house brand ImportDirect. I also have made in Turkey sway bar end links from Meyle HD. So far all these parts are holding up fine with over 20,000 miles on them.

 

[Merkava_4]

I do all my own chassis and suspension work. The Moog parts that I've bought for my Buick are USA origin and premium quality. They have two lines: the economy line and the "Problem Solver" line. Go with the "Problem Solver" parts if they're available for your vehicle. Well worth the extra money.

 

[KingCake]

I've had good luck with store brand chassis parts on my beater cars. Most of the time it's a reboxed federal mogul/moog part anyway.

That said even the longevity of moog is not what it used to be. OEM is the only long lasting part these days.

 

[dlundblad]

When I worked at Oreilly's, I sold the heck out of "low end" house brand parts. Many of them have lifetime warranties and have the same country of origin as name brands.

That said, I am sure they are good enough, but I can understand wanting to go name brand. The Moog drag link ends for my Jeep for example were beefy compared to the house brand. They were grease-able too, which is enough to make me sway towards name brand.

I guess returning for in store credit is worth a try, but you might want to check Rock Auto beforehand.

 

[2003f7]

I installed Driveworks ball joints on my Excursion. They are grease-able and have a lifetime warranty. The cost difference between Moog and DW was HUGE!! I have about 15000 miles on them. so far so good.

 

[Hootbro]

Use what you got. It is a 1990 pickup and not a Ferrari restoration.