Which brand of tie rods to get?

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My Mazda 3 definitely needs inner tie rods and I will also change the outer ones as well, since they are all original ant near 180k miles.
Not sure if I want to go OEM as I don't know how much longer I will keep the car, but another year or so is definitely in the cards.

Rock auto lists the usual, Moog, Mevotech, AC Delco, Beck/Arnley. It also has ProForged brand, which I am not familiar with.

What is your experience with these?
 
I generally prefer 555 Sankei for Japanese makes, I think Trav was saying good things about ProForge??

I would at least price out OE....They may not be as high as you think?
 
According to the RockAuto's pics, the ACDelco brand has the 555 stamped on the outer(s). But, IDK if that means anything at all or if it's repackaged Sankei 555 or if this is even the exact part that you'll receive(as I am well aware of).

And also, I kinda/sorta like the greasable outer tie rods from MOOG however, IDK if greasable necessarily means better compared to sealed!!!

At one time(30 yrs ago), greasable did mean better but today, who knows?
 
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Partsgeek has Sankei 555 inner tie rod ends for your car at $37.58 each. From my experience that is the only aftermarket brand I ever buy. And as an aside any greaseable ones I have ever bought have been poor quality, only the OEM or 555 ones have lasted.
 
Thanks fellas, as usual great and informative feedback. I think I will go with sankei or OEM. It looks like it will be about $100 or so more than going with Moog or others.
I will also contact my local mazda dealer to see their pricing.

Considering I have to get an alignment afterwards and my time to change it all, the price difference is quite small.
 
Where can I get a catalog of Sankei 555 parts?

Is there a definite seller that anyone here has used?

I'd like OEM like parts for my Camry, but not at dealer prices...
 
Where can I get a catalog of Sankei 555 parts?

Is there a definite seller that anyone here has used?

I'd like OEM like parts for my Camry, but not at dealer prices...
 
Originally Posted by michaelluscher
Where can I get a catalog of Sankei 555 parts?

Is there a definite seller that anyone here has used?

I'd like OEM like parts for my Camry, but not at dealer prices...

You can't, at least not anywhere that I have found. Unfortunately Rock Auto and does not appear to be a major seller of the brand either.

I have never found them anywhere that is consistently or significantly less expensive than any other particular seller. Usually I find they are priced very close to what OEM Toyota or Honda parts cost from an online dealership.
 
Originally Posted by KrisZ
Thanks fellas, as usual great and informative feedback. I think I will go with sankei or OEM. It looks like it will be about $100 or so more than going with Moog or others.
I will also contact my local mazda dealer to see their pricing.

Considering I have to get an alignment afterwards and my time to change it all, the price difference is quite small.


Front wheel alignment is about $75. Aftermarket major brand inner & outers is about $100. $175 total vs $275 ("$100 or so more") is not a small difference, and the labor is not much (for most vehicles, I've not done a Mazda 3) but suit yourself.

Granted, the ACDelco being marked "555" in a picture is not a guarantee that's (Sankei) what you'd receive, but it still seems like the best value.

Go with greaseable tie rod ends if your roads have a lot of potholes or wavy road surfaces common near river drop-offs, underlying sinkholes, or asphalt driven on by heavy trucks. The metal on metal design will resist these stresses better. If you don't have these road variations, the plastic bushing in the non-greaseable will be a little smoother (at least until the greaseable break in).
 
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C'mon man, $100 difference for vehicle repair is pitifully small in the grand scheme of things, considering that the extra $100 buys me in most likelyhood the last repair of this, whereas the others, I might be repeating it in a year or two, depending on my luck.
 
555 Sankei is made in Japan, but not true OEM quality. Certainly better than the Chinese/Taiwanese stuff being sold for Japanese cars. Moog reboxes them, as they don't have a need to make "Problem Solver" grade parts for imports in many cases.

OEM or OEM supplier(TRW, Lemforder - both are ZF brands) is my choice. Then 555 if there isn't better.
 
Sankei 555 or Proforged

Proforged is made in Taiwan, but they are good quality
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by nthach
555 Sankei is made in Japan, but not true OEM quality. Certainly better than the Chinese/Taiwanese stuff being sold for Japanese cars. Moog reboxes them, as they don't have a need to make "Problem Solver" grade parts for imports in many cases.

OEM or OEM supplier(TRW, Lemforder - both are ZF brands) is my choice. Then 555 if there isn't better.

For many years the OEM parts for my Toyota cars were 555, if you bought them from a dealer they were identical in appearance (including the 555 logo) to aftermarket 555 parts.
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Sankei 555 or Proforged

Proforged is made in Taiwan, but they are good quality
smile.gif



Either one of those and OE would be my choice, Proforged have been very good, well made and well finished. Deeza was good until they started expanding their line and they out sourced a lot of the parts.
 
I bought some Beck/Arnley outer tie rods for our Nissan Quest from Rock Auto, and they came with 555 brand made in Japan parts in the box. Very nice quality.
 
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Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by michaelluscher
Where can I get a catalog of Sankei 555 parts?

Is there a definite seller that anyone here has used?

I'd like OEM like parts for my Camry, but not at dealer prices...

You can't, at least not anywhere that I have found. Unfortunately Rock Auto and does not appear to be a major seller of the brand either.

I have never found them anywhere that is consistently or significantly less expensive than any other particular seller. Usually I find they are priced very close to what OEM Toyota or Honda parts cost from an online dealership.

555 distributes a lot of their product thru wholesalers such as Worldpac.
 
OEM and Sankai 555 sealed units should easily last 100k+ miles.

Avoid greasable tie rods. I have Moogs and the steering tends to feel notchy and loose if they aren't greased every few thousand miles (even with synthetic grease). I dislike having to get under the car before an oil change is due just to grease some stupid tie rods.
 
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