I have 4 of the good TRW ball joints that don't seem to have gone bad internally but have bad boots on them. Can I get new rubber boots for them? Also Jordan or anyone ever send the TRW single piece units out for rebuild?

As I learned recently with my Deeza turkish prison edition 9-5 ball joints, ideas like this will always bite you. Ingalls makes some joints that are reasonably priced if you need something on the cheap.

Sam wrote:As I learned recently with my Deeza turkish prison edition 9-5 ball joints, ideas like this will always bite you. Ingalls makes some joints that are reasonably priced if you need something on the cheap.

These are for the rally car so I would prefer to stick to the trw or similar ones.

I haven't seen just the boot kits in a long time - sounds like something to set Jordan on the loose to see if those are still available? Maybe call a Moog representative?

Energy Suspension makes polyurethane boot kits that might work. You'd have to check the catalog for fit...

John

you can frequently find Moog joints, boxed in other boxes on rock auto for like $10 each. Boot kits are probably more money then that, if you could even get em.

I got a bunch of... "source 1" joints on rock auto a few years ago for $9.50 each, 1/2 of them were moog - the good ones, and 1/2 of them were the shitty ones with the stamped steel ends...

*RockAuto suddenly has no stock of cheap C900 balljoints left....

Are Moog any good then? I have a few but have never used them, always prefer to find TRW.

I believe Moog used to be the most expensive of the available parts and the other suspension and steering parts I bought have held up till now. I can't say how they compare to the TRW since I haven't had to buy balljoints in ~7-8 years now.

Moog is now making stuff in china and india. I had a set of strut mounts for my 9-5 from them. Piece of crap! A friend ordered some links for his 350Z and they were great and made in USA. Seems to be a crapshoot at this point. I also had a set of end links from them about 5 years ago that were crap and got loose after just 2 years. BTdubs, federal bought them, which is the source of the issue here. The dirty little secret at federal is that they don't make all their own stuff. They are basically like AC Delco and act as a 'certifier'/distribution chain.

Ingalls is some of the best stuff you can buy in JDM land. Not sure what the objection is to the joints as they are very high quality. Are they as good as OEM? Not sure, but the last ball joint i bought new for my 9-5 was $70.

Bummer. I was at a trade show today, lots and lots of companies making cheap servo / stepper motors made in China and even advertised as such since it makes them much cheaper.

This is the link to the ones I have. http://www.ingallseng.com/ik9578-ball-joint.html

The seem to be available on the net from 30 bucks each which will definitely add up with 4. I looked back at my reciept from JC whitney from 2012 and looks like i paid $18 each, lucky me.

The thing with manufacturing origin is not as simple as most people make it out to be. Manufacturing has moved to the east and eastern block Europe, just a fact. Most things even if they are "made in USA" are generally manufactured in Asia and perhaps assembled (maybe some guy put a sticker on it on US soil) to say made in USA. Very few companies, especially in the automotive industry where machinery, materials and labor is expensive, have a start to finish process in the US or Germany. I see this stuff every day made all over the world and I can honestly tell you country of origin is less important than the company that stands behind it. Better quality controls, testing, ability to take suggestions or warranty products are far more important then which side of the ocean the metal is smelted on. Also certain products lend themselves better to aftermarket production to others. Some things that have a certain fit and finish are going to be much harder to replicate than products with more universal pieces. Many times you get what you pay for, but many times you don't.

MOOG is an arm of Federal Mogul, which has several different internal brands, manufacturing bases so I'm sure there are a variety of variables in which MOOG part you get. In general I find them to be pretty well made.

Febi for example is one of those company that seems to have almost all their production moved to asia, and there prices reflect that, BUT their quality tends to be very good. I really like their c900 ball joints (except for the bolt kit hardware). But again, different products, different stories.

Has the quality of ball joints for C900s changed much since the above discussion took place? I haven't had to change any in a while, but I'm now in need of at least 4. The eeuro ball joint kit looks good, and reasonably priced, but if the Febi ball joints have declined in quality, I'd be interested to hear what else people have used lately. Are Moog still good quality? I'm not seeing the TRW ball joints anywhere. Are those the "genuine Saab" products on eeuro? I'd be grateful for any guidance people here can provide. I'm not going racing, but I'd like to find ball joints that are going to be durable.
Thanks,
Alex

Genuine SAAB are still made by TRW to the best of my knowledge. The Febi ones are good quality and have held up very well to the rigors of racing and road use.