Moog tie rod ends and idler arm quality & stg box adj notes
03-15-2011, 02:30 PM
#1
Moog tie rod ends and idler arm quality & stg box adj notes
Like many of you, my biggest problem and aggravation with my C3 is getting good quality replacement parts.
I wanted a new idler arm and tie rod ends, and heard that even Moog might be made in China, Indonesia etc. I expressed my concerns to Dan at VanSteel and we inspected the current Moog replacement parts.
Three of the four tie rod ends were in boxes labeled Made in Japan, and the idler arm and one tie rod came in a box labeled Made in USA. My experience with Made in Japan parts has been as positive as Made in USA parts.
I avoid Made in China parts because I’ve almost always experienced quality issues, and because I don’t like to support totalitarian states.
All the parts appeared to be of very good quality, with heavy forgings. All but one of the USA tie rod ends were pre-greased. For NCRS folks: three of the idler arms had Moog cast on the rubber boots. The flat portions (where the grease fitting goes) were slightly dished out and had number stamped in them. The idler arm was not a needle bearing type like I hoped but it was not the stock rubber bushed type either (which I find become loose very quickly) and had no up and down play.
When the tie rods were disconnected, I also disconnected the PS ram from the frame mount so the pitman arm was basically free. I was then able to adjust the steering box bearing to 4-6 inch pounds and then the over-center to 5-9 inch pounds.
Note: with the pitman arm free I was able to make certain the steering box was centered when the steering wheel is centered. This is really an important check because these boxes will always act loose if off-center.
Also note: The inch-pound torque wrench available at Advance Auto was not useful for reading torques under 10 inch-pounds. You may have to scout for a useable torque wrench. I used a spring scale on an arm affixed to the steering wheel but an appropriate torque wrench would be better.
The reason for this work: My car wandered so much, especially with wide 16” 50 series tires and the deeply worn/rutted FL roads, that I considered the expensive Steeroids or Borgenson conversions. Both have significant drawbacks for me, including reduce turning radius and eliminating the safety of a collapsible steering column, respectively.
Summary:
The steering is much tighter now, I’d guess mostly due to the steering box adjustment.
The current Moog replacement tie rod ends and idler appear to be of very good quality.
I wanted a new idler arm and tie rod ends, and heard that even Moog might be made in China, Indonesia etc. I expressed my concerns to Dan at VanSteel and we inspected the current Moog replacement parts.
Three of the four tie rod ends were in boxes labeled Made in Japan, and the idler arm and one tie rod came in a box labeled Made in USA. My experience with Made in Japan parts has been as positive as Made in USA parts.
I avoid Made in China parts because I’ve almost always experienced quality issues, and because I don’t like to support totalitarian states.
All the parts appeared to be of very good quality, with heavy forgings. All but one of the USA tie rod ends were pre-greased. For NCRS folks: three of the idler arms had Moog cast on the rubber boots. The flat portions (where the grease fitting goes) were slightly dished out and had number stamped in them. The idler arm was not a needle bearing type like I hoped but it was not the stock rubber bushed type either (which I find become loose very quickly) and had no up and down play.
When the tie rods were disconnected, I also disconnected the PS ram from the frame mount so the pitman arm was basically free. I was then able to adjust the steering box bearing to 4-6 inch pounds and then the over-center to 5-9 inch pounds.
Note: with the pitman arm free I was able to make certain the steering box was centered when the steering wheel is centered. This is really an important check because these boxes will always act loose if off-center.
Also note: The inch-pound torque wrench available at Advance Auto was not useful for reading torques under 10 inch-pounds. You may have to scout for a useable torque wrench. I used a spring scale on an arm affixed to the steering wheel but an appropriate torque wrench would be better.
The reason for this work: My car wandered so much, especially with wide 16” 50 series tires and the deeply worn/rutted FL roads, that I considered the expensive Steeroids or Borgenson conversions. Both have significant drawbacks for me, including reduce turning radius and eliminating the safety of a collapsible steering column, respectively.
Summary:
The steering is much tighter now, I’d guess mostly due to the steering box adjustment.
The current Moog replacement tie rod ends and idler appear to be of very good quality.
