i'm going to replace ball joints, inner & outer tie rods, and connector sleeves on my IROC while i'm going the fix-up.

so, i go to local carquest and their "premium" ball joint" is $37.99/ea, "cheaper" ball joint is $27.99/ea. didn't even ask about tie rods after those prices. this brings on my first question: is there really that much of a quality difference between parts stores "premium" parts and the "cheaper" ones? i just can't fathom that it'd be cost conscientious for manufacturers to run two different lines, one with cheap **** and one with premium ****, but i guess it's possible.

okay, so i hit rock auto and get to thinking about the above and attempt a google search and really didn't find much other than one article that i'm blocked from reading whilst at work. but, i did find an article that claimed amazon would put small parts stores out of business, so i go to amazon and find a kit consisting of inner and outer tie rods and the adjustment sleeve along with a set of ball joints. hey, this is me, exactly what i need! right? well, the price on the whole kit is $36.08. is this stuff junk, or what?

i'm not out to spend more money than i should, but i also want to put good stuff on the car as i'm fixing it up for my son to start driving it next year when he turns 16.

tl;dr people:

- is there really a big difference between "premium" and "cheaper" parts in parts stores?

- is $36.08 for 4 tie rod ends, 2 adjuster sleeves, and 2 ball joints a really good deal or am i buying junk and should i be shopping better quality?

 

Is there really a big difference between "premium" and "cheaper" parts in parts stores?

Absolutely. Within reason. The el-cheapo no name lines mostly come from slave labor sweat shop third world countries. They cut the cost because the 'factory' is pretty much a concrete block house with a dirt floor, exposed wiring, and so forth. Aside from basically being slaves, the staff might work on one product this week, and another product next week, etc. No worker benefits, no OSHA regulations, etc. All that costs money. Since the company has no brand name, and no reason to expect they'll ever need to make another run of the part in question, they have no reason to do it right either. So you end up with a part that may or may not work fine for a day, a month, or years. If you want to see this in action, buy a $.99 cent grease seal, and the $4 grease seal and compare them. If you can have the counter monkey pull half a dozen $.99 cent grease seals from the same no-name brand, you might find 4 different variations of the same seal in the boxes. Meanwhile, a name brand like National, or Federal Mogul, Timken, etc is going to be more consistent, and probably much higher quality.

Spend more than $36. Moog. Think of Moog as solid oak furniture. Sure, it's more expensive than particle board **** from Walmart, but it'll also last the rest of your life if you treat it right.

 

After posting the above, that's what i actually did: bought Moog. I read a thread on another site comparing various brands and Moog was the undisputed king. so, paid $135 vs $36. the $100 additional is well worth the peace of mind i'll have with my kid behind the wheel.

 

Theres also a thread about new replacement Idler Arms, which to buy, some work, some dont depending on brand. I'll try and find that. It's a pretty good thread and write-up.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...er-arms-3.html

 

My thread on this subject:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...-bushings.html