Wore out MOOG drag link, anything better?

[dpuckett]

I have had my w250 for 4 years and put 150k on it in that time. The drag link is about 3 years old, with less than 100k, greased monthly, whether it needs it or not. No off roading, just occasional use in mud/snow to get to barns or the store. Drag link is WORN OUT. I want to put something better on there, that I wont have to replace in a couple years. One local store used to carry Spicer, which I think was far better than Moog, but they discontinued them.

What other options are there? The old brands aint what they once were.

Dan

[RCCUMMINS89]

Subscribing.... I recently bought all of the MOST expensive MOOG stuff I could get... 25k miles later and my drag link and tie rod ends are sloppy. Not bad, but a little bit sloppy. I'm not impressed to say the least.

[dazedandconfused]

Moog quality has went down hill greatly. I've gotten more miles out of my cheap auto zone ball joints here recently then I did the Moog joints.

[oldestof11]

Andy, that's good to know since I need to do mine.

[dazedandconfused]

Moog joints I put in when I put mine together are trashed. 20k miles on one side and 10k on the other. Have 10k on auto zone replacement top ball joint and its still tight.

[dpuckett]

Glad I am not alone. I am tempted to take a file with me to NAPA and see how hard their drag link ends are. If its behind the counter at Auto Zone, I dont need it.

So, now that we have established MOOG as Chinese-equivalent junk, are there any alternatives anyone has had good experience with?

[ellis93]

I hate to see the Moog Reviews here I've always relied greatly on those parts.

You fellers dont think the wear is do to use,Style of driving,or weight of load?

Honestly i dont think its realistic for those with jacked up 4x4s to cry about front end parts wearing........you kinda did that to your selves

[dazedandconfused]

I'm running D250 lower control arms, ball joints and all of the steering components. Only half ton stuff I have left is half of the spindle, wheel bearing and upper ball joint. I've already wore out a new drag link, have slop in my tie rods and lower ball joints are shot. They were all new Moog when I put it together.

[RCCUMMINS89]

Ellis... though I agree with large tires, etc... wearing parts out incredibly faster. The idea is when you can get (me, personally) 50-75k miles out of the old moog joints... and now can get half of that life, it is nothing more than a lowered quality part. I grease all of my stuff religiously every 2 weeks. I hate replacing stuff and HUGE tires and bumpy mountain roads are incredibly hard on stuff.... but I am the first to notice a good or poor quality part. Are moog poor quality? No, but the quality has greatly come down from where it was.

Is there anyone making anything to the same quality as Moog used to be? Not sure.... I don't yet know. Which is the point of Dpuckett bringing this thread up.

[ellis93]

I haven't found any better parts than what Moog parts were,apparently. The idea that any autozone/perfect circle part would out perform Moog parts is almost preposterous to me. I've just used to much of it without bad stuff coming back in....in the past. Now,with the economy like it is,folks want the cheapest possible priced part to heal up whatever is broken on their vehicles. That forces me to use a lot of master pro (O'Reilly) and dura junk. Neither of those will stand up,but guess what,oh it's got a lifetime warranty,big freakin whoop.

It's sad that you can't get what was best to last, I've no idea where I'd have to go to get anything better so I guess I'll stick with Moog for now.

Andy,a two wheel drive dodge was never meant to stay tight and FWIW there are Moog joints in the dodge now that have rode for almost100k,are they tight....nope. But they are not bad enough to change out either.

[dazedandconfused]

I'm just hoping it was a bad batch. I got a screaming deal on some Moog stuff here recently so I do have another set of lower ball joints to try .

[RumbleFish]

I see this everyday. I try to push the moog, and I use it on my own stuff unless the price difference is ridiculous. Nearly everybody who comes in wants the cheapest available, and the normal moog customers are those in Ellis' position or somebody who already wore out the masterpro stuff. I'd still go with the moog draglink. Even if it needs replaced in a few years, its easy and has a lifetime warranty.

[dpuckett]

Ellis,
I know you werent talking to me directly, but I dont have a jacked up 4x4. I have an under engineered Dodge with a heavy engine. The only off roading I do is down muddy lanes getting to barns- usually less than 100ft- and driving through 6" of snow on the street. 95% of my driving is on the highway and 2 lane backroads. I dont think I have outrageous expectations. Spicer used to make steerng and suspension parts, and they were better than Moog, imo. Wife's shop always installed them in the HD diesels over Moog.

I agree with Ellis and Rumblefish. John Q Public wants the cheapest available, regardless of quality. I would GLADLY pay 2-3x the price of the Master Pro or whatever to do it once, and not worry anout it for 8-10 years. I simply lack the time and desire to tun wrenches on stuff I did the year before last

[CumminsPower59]

If it means anything, my pile has the same drag link I installed 10 years ago...and is still as tight as new. It is a Skyjacker adjustable unit...spendy, but worth the investment at the time. I installed it to correct some steering issues my pile had at the time.

[bill-d-c]

Both of my 93's also have the Skyjacker adjustable drag link. Good, sturdy, heavy built unit. I like the fact that they are adjustable for exact centering of the steering wheel. There are however a lot cheaper units out there though.