Buying whole LCA. Moog or Mevotech?

[Bkt4runner]

I had these aftermarket control arms for a month and the rubber boot ripped. All aftermarket control arms are made in China except for the really heavy duty kind like the Chaos which cost thousands of dollars. I recently went backed to OEM and the ride is so much better. Those made in China balljoints are not forged steel but the oem are. So you get what you paid for. Save your money and buy Toyota dealer parts so that you don’t have to do it twice like me. I also went with oem outer tie rod ends and sway bar end links.

 

[gookies]

I had these aftermarket control arms for a month and the rubber boot ripped. All aftermarket control arms are made in China except for the really heavy duty kind like the Chaos which cost more than double the oem. I recently went backed to OEM and the ride is so much better. Those made in China balljoints are not forged steel but the oem are. So you get what you paid for. Save your money buy Toyota dealer parts so that you don’t have to do it twice like me. I also went with oem outer tie rod ends and sway bar end links.

Why not just replace the ball joints then when you buy the cheaper control arms? I currently have 1A Auto ones installed, they've been on for a few months and still look good. As for the actual control arm itself, I can't tell the difference between it and OEM, but no way to tell if they actually have the same structural integrity, and it's just a daily driver, no off-roading. I plan on replacing the ball joint sooner than later though.

 

[falkon240]

I bought cheap LCA for my truck and you guys got me legit sweating lol

 

[Drunner97]

I bought cheap LCA for my truck and you guys got me legit sweating lol

To be fair I've been abusing my truck pretty good and had a couple hard hits/drops lately. Standard dirt you'll probably be fine.

 

[cloud]

I paid a shop $100 to press the one bushing out that I couldn't get, and press in all four oem bushings. I've broken too much Chinesium in my life to trust that my control arms aren't made of pot metal.

The cheap bastard pays twice is one of my favorite sayings

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

Some OEM arms and Energy Suspension kit # 8.3128 will last exponentially longer than any aftermarket LCA with "rubber" bushings. More filler in the rubber these days than ever.


The ES bushings are labor intensive to install, but worth it.

 

[Morphyne]

This thread makes me feel stupid. And waited on a brand new pair if LCAs on craigslist that were $80. Now u have to rebuild mine...

 

[blackfc3s]

One year update with the Mevotech LCA-

Boots are ripped and bushings have a lot of play in them after 15K of normal road driving with some offload mixed in. Would not buy again.

Going to rebuild my OEM lower arms with Moog bushings and ball joints.

As i get older, i realize that you get what you pay for.

 

[07V8]

OEM are $275 a piece for the whole arm. You get what you pay for.

 

[Morphyne]

One year update with the Mevotech LCA-

Boots are ripped and bushings have a lot of play in them after 15K of normal road driving with some offload mixed in. Would not buy again.

Going to rebuild my OEM lower arms with Moog bushings and ball joints.

As i get older, i realize that you get what you pay for.

Well, this makes me feel much better. thanks.

 

[falkon240]

I'm saving my old UCA and LCA on the side of the house these cheapie ones will be good to run until I get new bushings pressed in.

 

[Bkt4runner]

Why not just replace the ball joints then when you buy the cheaper control arms? I currently have 1A Auto ones installed, they've been on for a few months and still look good. As for the actual control arm itself, I can't tell the difference between it and OEM, but no way to tell if they actually have the same structural integrity, and it's just a daily driver, no off-roading. I plan on replacing the ball joint sooner than later though.

First off the ball joints will need to be pressed on and that cost a lot of money and if you don’t do it right your alignment will never be straight. Second of all most if not all of the aftermarket ball joints are junk. Remember the old saying you get what you paid for. Well there are certain things you don’t go cheap on and that is ball joints because your life depends on it.

 

[gookies]

First off the ball joints will need to be pressed on and that cost a lot of money and if you don’t do it right your alignment will never be straight. Second of all most if not all of the aftermarket ball joints are junk. Remember the old saying you get what you paid for. Well there are certain things you don’t go cheap on and that is ball joints because your life depends on it.

1) Ball joints aren't that difficult to press in yourself, Autozone or AdvanceAuto has the ball joint press kit available for loaning out.

2) Then go for a reputable brand, like Moog? There's a reason why I said to replace the ball joint that comes on the cheaper aftermarket LCAs.

 

[Bkt4runner]

1) Ball joints aren't that difficult to press in yourself, Autozone or AdvanceAuto has the ball joint press kit available for loaning out.

2) Then go for a reputable brand, like Moog? There's a reason why I said to replace the ball joint that comes on the cheaper aftermarket LCAs.

I once considered going the cheap route and buying the aftermarket control atms and replacing it with Moog ball joints. But after careful research I decided to not take the cheap way out and just get oem. Like I said almost all of the aftermarket ball joints are not forged steel. My mechanic basically told me that it will be a pain in ass to press that ball joint in the control arms and that it would cost me almost the same price as buying a new control arm. Watch this video and you decide if you want to risk your life to save a couple bucks..

https://youtu.be/s8ZVahKc06o