Moog Ball Joint differences

[woytovich]

I purchased new ball joints for my 71. I finally got around to cracking the boxes open and... SURPRISE! They are 2 different styles... One is marked for the "555" brand the other has no markings. I am going to contact PartsGeek to get one of them replaced (I want the 2 to be the same)..

Can someone explain the differences? They both have holes for grease fittings, one looks to be adjustable, one is a bit larger...

Thoughts?

[Inf]

Take a look at this thread. The search function is your friend.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36784

The one on the right in your pictures looks very similar to the one in the very last post in that thread.

It seems Moog changes suppliers from time to time, so they may both come through legitimate channels. However, your unit on the right looks a lot more beat up. It may have been getting shipped around and/or stored somewhere for a very long time before it ended up with you.

Edited April 26, 2010 by Inf

[woytovich]

I did search and that thread does not answer my questions...

Any info on which is "better"?

Is the one on the right adjustable and the left one is not?

[JohnnyO]

The one on the left is closer to the stock ball joint and the same as I purchased from rockauto.com. I don't know enough about adjustable ball joints to offer up an answer to that question but my quick search on google shows some adjustable ball joints that dont look anything like either of those.

I would at least get a matched set whichever you choose.

[tlorber]

If you have one of the control arms out, I would try both the ball joints on it and make sure that one or both fit. I had bought some Meyle? ball joints from IMC and they were off by about 3/16". I had to do a combination of grinding the bj and the control arm so that the holes would line up.

Beyond that, make sure you install zerk fittings.

[zKars]

Good advice tlorber. And don't forget to put grease in them after you put the zerks in. The one's I purchased lately came dry as a bone. At least they came withe zerks in the package.

Jim

[woytovich]

So, I bought these at Amazon (not PartsGeek). They shipped the replacement OVERNIGHT at no charge. Amazing customer service....

EXCEPT that the replacement ball joint is YET ANOTHER brand... not matching either of the first two.

Bad news is that they do not have any means to actually open the boxes to look for matching (555) ball joints so that they could send me the RIGHT one...

Good news is they are taking them all back...

Here's what I got today:

[Inf]

So, I bought these at Amazon (not PartsGeek). They shipped the replacement OVERNIGHT at no charge. Amazing customer service....

...

I highly recommend you check out RockAuto.com

They have a pretty good assortment of ball joints, and they have pictures of each item so you know what you're getting. That's a big reason I referred you to the other thread you disregarded as being useless.

Also see this thread for a discount, basically amounts to free shipping:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37752

The units you got from Amazon are sealed-for-life, i.e. you can't regrease them. The boots on ball joints often go bad after only a year or so. If you have a unit you can regrease, you can order some more durable urethane boots, grease the hell out of the ball joints to clear out any dirt that got in there, and slap the new boots on. Can't 'purge' the socket with the sealed-for-life unit

If that doesn't make a difference for you, why not go ahead and just use the Amazon units?

Edited April 27, 2010 by Inf

[woytovich]

I highly recommend you check out RockAuto.com

They have a pretty good assortment of ball joints, and they have pictures of each item so you know what you're getting. That's a big reason I referred you to the other thread you disregarded as being useless.

Also see this thread for a discount, basically amounts to free shipping:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37752

The units you got from Amazon are sealed-for-life, i.e. you can't regrease them. The boots on ball joints often go bad after only a year or so. If you have a unit you can regrease, you can order some more durable urethane boots, grease the hell out of the ball joints to clear out any dirt that got in there, and slap the new boots on. Can't 'purge' the socket with the sealed-for-life unit

If that doesn't make a difference for you, why not go ahead and just use the Amazon units?

1. I didn't say it was useless. I said it didn't answer my question.

2.Thanks for the discount link.I'll be ordering from them tonight.

3. 2 of the 3 units DO have grease fitting ports. And it IS important to me to be able to grease them.

Thanks,

mark

[Inf]

Mark,

I just replaced the ball joints in my Z with my Moog units from RockAuto. The units that were in there previously were the square-cornered units, just like the one you got in your original order. I would highly recommend NOT using those parts.

They are quite a bit longer than the units I replaced them with, and they actually ended up damaging one of my Rewind rims. Essentially, the ball joint was worn enough that in turns, the transverse link was able to move slightly outward relative to the strut tube. What then happened is that the hardened steel grease fitting on the bottom scraped the inside corner of the rim leaving a gouge mark in the relatively soft aluminum.

The new units have no clearance issues, and I don't see this happening again for me. This occurred using the MSA bump steer spacers for 15" wheels.

It'll save you some grief anyway if you decide to get different wheels someday.

[woytovich]

Ok... so I returned all of the mismatched Amazon MOOG parts and ordered Beck Arnley parts from RockAuto... what came in the 2 boxes are identical "555" brand ball joints... the ones with the spring holding the rubber boot and a grease fitting!

The only downside I found with RockAuto is that when I tried to order a number of parts it turned out they were coming from different shipping locations and RA wanted to charge me separate ship fees for each location... that added up to a lot of money. Unfortunately when you are choosing the part from those available (in the list of ball joints they have, for example) you can't see the location. Only once you are in the shopping cart can you see the ship location and the applicable ship fees... a bit frustrating.

BUT: I have the right parts at a decent price so, after all, I am good to go...

Thanks for the RockAuto recommendation and all of the info.

Mark

[winfab]

It seems to me that there was a split in ball joint type from early 71 to late 71. Some have 11mm threads, and others have 14mm threads. I suspect that the 11mm thread version is for 1969-mid 1971.

The 14mm thread ball joints do not seat all the way into the bottom of the knuckle like the 11mm version. When i tightened the ball joint nut, I could barely get a cotter pin installed. So there must also be a slight difference in diameter of the ball joint shaft(?) itself.

I bought a set of the 14mm, and the holes are off about 3/16" as another post had stated. Looking for the 11mm threaded ones as we speak.

I see that you also have a 1971, but what month is your car? Do you have the Beck Arnley part number of the ones you had ordered, that came with the "555" logo?

ACDelco 45D2043 - 11mm thread

ACDelco 45D2054 - 14mm thread

Thanks

Jay