Public Service Announcement: Avoid MOOG sway bar end links (2001-2004)

These end links were terrible to install. Specifically the part that attaches to the lower control arm. Because there's a curve, it's almost impossible to get a big wrench in there to hold the bolt in place while you tighten the nut from the other side.

Also, I barely just installed these in June, and they're already looking rusted (cheap materials)

I recommend the Beck/arnley ones since they have a slot so you can insert an L hex key while you tighten with a wrench. So much better and easier.

 

You wouldn’t be the first person with Moog problems.
Late 90’s - early 2000’s they were some of the best.
I used a lot of their stuff on our 2500 Dodge Ram back then.

Lately, it seems they have went downhill.
I’ll likely take your (and others) advice and go with a different brand if I need suspension parts.

 

My moogs were done within a month

 

Ha Ha I think they went downhill long before the dates you mention..

They were the go to Suspension people in the seventies

 

exactly, there were many go to companies back then , that I wouldn't buy parts from today. most everything is made in "China" now with inferior materials being used. Made in the USA is a thing of the past for most auto parts.

 

made in Taiwan seems to be a different thing. From my experience, they’re up there with made in Japan & South Korea..

also China is so big and makes way too many things for the world, but they certainly have good quality, but you have to pay $$. For example, the iPhones that are made there

 

BUY OEM!!!!!!

 

yes of course. Lots of times though, some stuff is better than oem.

Like the LC Engineering exhaust manifold/headers, or the camber upper control arms, or the non-oem shocks like bilstein5100/kings

 

Stuff like ball joints and tie rod end buy OEM. Aftermarket exhaust manifold, headers, CAMBURG and KING will be better.
I hear stories all the time that aftermarket carrier bearing, U joints, ball joints etc going bad months after install. IMO, If you're replacing STOCK components, I'd spend the extra money and buy OEM.

 

Painting the end of the bolts and anywhere else they're rusted will help to minimze rust. Hardware looks like basic black oxide coated metal which isn't rust proof.

 

I’ve never really bought oem other than a gas cap and a pcv valve hose. Stuff like ball joints from the dealer are expen$ive

All my ball joints and similar are mevotech or beck&arnley, and I can attest to them being quality parts.

IMO, the most important thing is to replace them at appropriate intervals and not overdo it too much with holding off on replacing them.

 

these are pretty nice because the nut happens to cover the rest of the bolt once torqued to spec

 

I put in Moog end links last winter. Yeah the flats on the stud were kinda hard to get to but it wasn't impossible. I just put the wrench on the flats with the threads barely started and it was fine. Once it got tighter I used an impact to run it down the rest of the way (on the lowest torque setting) and friction seemed to hold it in place and keep it from spinning. If you lower your jack that's supporting the LCA a bit as you tighten the end link it puts a bit of preload on it and helps keep it from spinning. A wrench with a bend in it like a brake line wrench might help to get in there easier but I didn't have any to try it with.

I had a very hard time removing the old OEM links lol...what a terrible design for serviceability. Put the impact on it, started spinning instantly. There's no flats to put a wrench on. The allen key hole in the stud? What a joke, stripped instantly. Any rust at all and they become impossible to take off. I ended up cutting the boot off, cleaning the grease out and welding the ball joint in place to keep it from spinning. Worked great but took way longer than it should have. Started a little fire once or twice too. Oh yeah and I ran out of wire for my welder on the last stud and ended up having to cut it off with a cutoff wheel. Moral of the story, sway bar end links, like most suspension components, suck if there's any rust. I was so close to just removing my sway bar all together after having to fight to get the old links off.

 

Oh my gosh. Reading that and just imagining the frustration of having to go through all of that..

Agreed though. They were a bit difficult to take off. I think I wouldn’t have been able to do it had I not soaked them with PB blaster. That stuff works wonders on loosening nuts on rusted bolts

im wondering if I would have gone through what you did, if I’d replaced them in a year or more. These were installed like 4 months ago

 

I’ll be updating this thread in like 4 months to show a comparison between both end links. Curious to see how they compare after a similar amount of time

 

Yeah it was one of those hungover saturday morning's too. Ended up taking me 3-4 hours total, should've been about 30 minutes lol.

I liked the moogs cause they were greaseable and also dirt cheap. My UBJs are also greaseable which I grease about every oil change so when I do those I'll do the end links as well.

I'm assuming you don't live in the salt belt? Yeah PB Blaster is a god send. I usually spray them one or two days ahead of time, try to remove the nut/bolt. If that fails, blowtorch comes out and they get heated up for a while, try again. If that fails, something either shears or it's time for the angle grinder or welder. I love working on my truck but I dread having to remove rusty nuts and bolts, it really takes the fun out of it...

 

Nope. I’m in Texas luckily.

I’ve also been thinking about maybe getting graspable upper ball joints. But the way I kind of see it is, might as well just replace the whole thing after 60-80k miles or whatever the recommended replacement interval is (don’t remember).

Kind of funny to think about it all in retrospect though. 3-4 hours on some stupid end links lol. I have another similar story in which I was trying to take off the rubber from inside of the bushing case, for the lower control arms. I must’ve wasted like 4 hours on it. I even made a thread on here asking for help, and someone really helped me out with buying the whole complete case bushings (didn’t even know they were a thing as I only bought the rubber that goes inside). Ended up saying f that after messing around with a burr and a torch, and without success. It was so easy to just pop in the new ones

 

Agree with you 100%.
I posted the below back in March. Definitely check out the difference between the Moog brand and 555 brand from Low Range.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/sway-bar-end-links-comparison-555-moog.655359/

 

I installed the same MOG links and though the design was way better then the OEM ones I cut off. When putting the new ones on, do the bottom one first with a crows foot on an extension to hold the flats. With the top disconnected there is plenty of space to fit the crows foot in. It only took a few minutes. There isn't any rust on mine but everything that goes in gets a solid coating of anti seize on it.

 

Yes a crows foot wrench, that’s the tool I was looking for.
+1 on lots of anti seize