Opinions: Should I buy ball joints and bushings and service stock arms (upper and lower) OR buy Moog upper and lower arms with new ball joints and bushings installed and replace?

Also, any suggestions hints, words of wisdom. I own a 20 ton press and would do the work myself. Is it worth the effort to keep stock OEM arms or is Moog good/reliable USA made replacement? I think I prefer replacing with Moog, but I like the idea of staying stock/original. I have no idea how bad it will be getting old joints/bushings out and what trouble I may have pressing in new ones. Anyone with experience out there?

Thanks in advance!

-Ben

 

Clean press/replacement maybe good on a 5yr old. 13yrs+ new arms are cheaper now.

 

I wanted to new ball joints / new arms about 6 months ago. The replacement arms I ordered ( I can't remember brand) were no where near as well built as the factory versions. My oriiginals are boxed on on the bottom, the new ones were not.

I ended up not doing the work. Its an all day or all weekend job. Also don't forget to order the camber adjustment plates and bolts as well as the little pins that go with them. I have all of it, will make you a hell of a deal if you want those parts.

Tim

 

Moog makes all the parts, I just went through this, I used either AC Delco or Moog on all parts. Dont forget the steering box if you have any play in steering after replacing all this.. Iwheel bearings check them also, chances are you may have slop there also- Timken makes the best replacements and are pretty much the oem.
Once your done, steering wheel be as new again- mine is.

Also while you at it, before you get aligned check the height at all four fender well tops- make sure rear is equal and front equal side to side (you will have different heights front-back). IF you are off on front and back you may be able to get the stance right again by the torsion bar. Simply adjust the torsion bar up on the lower rear side and your front will also adjust out. If your truck is leaning slightly to one side, this most likely will correct it. Literally a 10 minute task.

 

I dont think there is slop in the steering box, at least if there is I cant tell from driving. I will have to check it once I am under the truck. It has great steering and tracking right now, even though state inspection said it needs ball joints and idler and pitman. I already did the Timken wheel bearings, which was an easier job than I anticipated.

Do I need to buy the camber plates and bolts and pins, or can I re-use?

Chrmer3 - were the Moog and ACDelco parts as nice as the OE parts you took off? I am torn between restoring the original arms and saving my time (and back) by replacing them. The truck can sit, as I dont need it as a daily.

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.

 

I went with MOOG problem solver parts for my full front suspension rebuild and a Bilstein steering stab. Those MOOG parts are definitely beefier than the stock parts. I did not mess with my steering box as it does not have any issues. I have also not done my control arms but I did upgrade to DMAXStore tie rods which are massive compared to the stock toothpicks.

 

LoJac, what did your full front suspension rebuild consist of? Did you do the work yourself? Did you restore/repait your control arms while you were at it?

I am going to check out the tie rods you mention, thanks!

 

I used the Dmax tie rod ends too, night and day difference.

Tim

 

The camber plates and etc are too cheap not to have on hand. I think you can get the Moog parts for around $50 or so.
Don't forget new shocks while you're in there, bump stops too. It might even be a good time to install leveling keys too.

Tim

 

Agree with OP anyone that has owned their truck since the first set of UCA knows they originally came fully boxed, the new ones are clearly just general control arms shared among multiple vehicles. With that said after 100k on the AC Delco/GM/Moog UCAs I can say that it made no difference to me.