Interesting article on potential dangers of using aftermarket parts. The video (midway down the page) in the article shows a Florida 4Runner owner who lost is LBJ going over a speed bump at 20mph, and damage caused. As he says, it could have been much worse.

The World Of Aftermarket Car Parts Is Confusing And Dangerous

I generally agree with the article. Except for the part about Moog making quality parts. But (and its a big BUT), lets not let this argument go to far. Carmakers are all ready trying to use copyright laws to prevent us from repairing/modifying our own cars, that we own. I can see them using the above line of thought to bolster their position


Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars - Autoblog

Brian - After following your link to the Autoblog article (which was from April, 2015) I knew that within the last few days I'd read something related to the issue of DIY repairs and the Supreme Court. It seems they just ruled on a printer cartridge refilling case, which applies somewhat to auto repairs. I found the article I'd seen in my browser history, from Wired magazine; here's the link:

http://www.wired.com/2017/06/impression-v-lexmark/

The last two paragraphs in the article are what got my attention:

"With the Supreme Court issuing a definitive ruling on patent exhaustion, expect manufacturers to turn to contract law—like sneaky end user licensing agreements—to enforce their will. You already see it happening. John Deere, after losing a copyright law fight to folks like Repair.org, simply updated its EULA to block software modification in its tractors. Litigation dodged, problem solved. “They can’t infringe upon your ownership rights if you’ve already signed them away,” Gay Gordon-Byrne, director of Repair.org, told me.

Corporations will continue to do all they can to keep your ownership rights weak. It isn’t personal, it’s just business. But to a farmer relying on a EULA’ed tractor, it is quite personal. Let’s hope an angry farmer takes his case to court. Or that right to repair legislation blocks these restrictive contracts. Otherwise, corporations will continue dictating what you can and can’t do with the stuff you only think you own."

Ironic that they specifically reference Moog as quality part yet you can clearly see in the video that the failed LBJ is a Moog product. Moog is usually good, but the problem with their greasable design (and any greasable chassis part) is that it's a metal on metal ball on stud, which means it requires religious regular greasing. Most people don't do that.

I stopped using Moog balljoint in my and my wife's 94 Cummins. They didn't last for crap with that 1100lbs engine above then. The same napa balljoints have been in for 12 years and counting. I don't touch Moog anything anymore. Removing the steering knuckles on a D60 can be a task if the hub rotor assemblies don't want to come out of their hole. Then there is the risk of screwing up the oil seal sliding the axles back in.


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