Mevotech vs. MOOG

pbm

Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
10,206
Location
New York
I had to order sway bar links again for my daughters Elantra after the Mevotech 'Supremes' started 'clunking' after less than 50K.
I ordered MOOG Problem Solvers this time and they are noticeably heavier/stronger than the similarly priced Mevotechs…. As an added bonus...the MOOG's
are Made in Mexico...the Mevotech's are Made in China. Needless to say....No more Mevotech anything for me...
 
Depends on the vehicle. Some have a ball joint, some have round radial bushing, some have just a rod and axial bushing. I don't mind Moog's BJ and radial bushings but would put their new Problem Solver axial bushings below everyone else's because they switched to using a hollow hard white plastic design. I almost thought they were counterfeit the first time I saw them but subsequent reports and pictures show that this is indeed the change Moog made.

Again depending on the design, you can look at the individual components and the failure mode. If they are heavily rusted, which they might be in NY after some years, you may need new metal hardware. If they are suffering from rubber bushing failure, be sure not to over-torque the replacements as this can lead to it, but generally speaking you will have a longer life bar link if you get aftermarket polyurethane bushings from someone like Energy Suspension, then use those instead of the low grade Chinesium rubber found on most today. "Made in" (country) doesn't necessarily tell you whether they use self-destructing Chinese rubber.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
You replaced low grade parts with slightly higher grade ones, neither are quality parts.



I paid pretty good money for a Moog unitized wheel hub bearing assy for my Cadillac, and I'm convinced it's the same part as the generic Chinese stuff for 2X the money and a Moog sticker.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
You replaced low grade parts with slightly higher grade ones, neither are quality parts.
.

Aside from OE...what brand would you recommend for this type of part? The Taiwan made Proforged that I put in my Corolla last year seemed decent.
As I stated before...I'm avoiding Chinese made anything (whenever possible) due to the duplicity of their leaders.......
 
Originally Posted by pbm
Originally Posted by Trav
You replaced low grade parts with slightly higher grade ones, neither are quality parts.
.

Aside from OE...what brand would you recommend for this type of part? The Taiwan made Proforged that I put in my Corolla last year seemed decent.
As I stated before...I'm avoiding Chinese made anything (whenever possible) due to the duplicity of their leaders.......


I have had good luck using the Proforge and the 555 as well as OE and OEM eg Lemforderer, Sachs, TRW (some), Delco OE (not Advantage or Pro). Motorcraft, etc.
Some NOS original Moog can still be found in the wild but you have look at them in person for COO, these are mostly for older domestics and pickups/vans.
These days you need a well polished crystal ball to navigate through the parts, so many good old brand names are just names today.
 
Yes, Sankei 555 or Proforged.

Parts Geek has Sankei and Rock Auto carries some Proforged. Parts Geek has a weird set-up; they don't list the item using the manufacturer's part number. They have some internal numbering system. And sometimes you see the item listed more than once with each having a different warehouse letter indicator and a different price. But if you're savvy enough with car parts, you can figure out what you want.
 
I normally default to Moog but my AWD Infiniti is a one-off car. They have 25 vendors for the RWD version but 0-5 vendors for the AWD. So in many cases, I was forced to use MEVOtech. I only have 1 month on the control arms so I can't really say much.

They do have lifetime warranty and Rockauto, for the most part, isn't bad about the warranty. You lose about $20 shipping back to them but yea.

I've heard Moog problem solver line and Dorman items to be complete junk. And cost more than Mevotech, I had to give them a try. I got swaybar endlinks coming as well.
 
Can confirm the 555 works very well with Landcruisers. Essentially the only non-Yota that can be trusted in there.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
555 is as good as it gets for an aftermarket part.

They are not OE, but they are quite decent for aftermarket.

For my Sienna many OE parts were Sankei 555.
 
For the people saying Moog is not as good as it used to, what are some of the ways they've cheaped out to make parts of a lower quality? I'm not a believer that just because it's made in China that it's bad quality. There are inherent root causes that make a part inferior (eg. worse metallurgy, lower QC standards, etc...)
 
Start with lower QC, holes for cotter pins drilled off center, using pressed on non sealed boots that get damaged from installation and go right through QC.
Finish on the castings are inconsistent some are smooth some have flashing and rough, no matter toss it in a box and sell it.
Odd size zerk fittings that are not suited to the installation eg straight fittings where a 90 is must if you ever want a grease it because the frame rail is blocking access.
You are not buying these at AA or AZ, they are a fine thread and the only place I could get them was Fastenal and special order at that.

These parts were sealed OE but Moog sells a HD version with a unusable zerk fitting included. Back to the boots, these things suck big time, they use a captured metal ring molded in the rubber that is pressed on at the factory, the problem is many are cut, not all the way through mind you but this is where they blow out when greasing after a while.
If you are unlucky enough to get one not pressed properly you have a real problem, it no simple push on. These have to be the worst boots ever used.

I could go on and on but why bother, leave that crap on the shelf.
 
I ordered two Moog strut mounts of my Prius, and rockauto sent one Moog and one Mevotech. I was [censored] until I opened the boxes and realized they were identical. I could see absolutely no difference between the two parts aside from one had a Moog part number paint stamped on, and the other had a Mevotech part number. Identical castings, bearings, and hardware.

Also, to add, I rebuilt the entire front of my father in law's Dakota with Moog parts. Wheel bearings, swaybar end links, upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends. They all lasted two years, and any truck where ALL of those things had excessive play on the OEM parts at 140k miles is not being used as a mall crawler.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top