Thread: Where to buy good suspension parts? 84c-10

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I have bought a 84 c-10 that was stock and plan on keeping it that way, well except for the 50 emission lines. I have had it for 2-3 years. Got the engine rebuilt , with 30,000 miles it smokes on start up. I have replaced the heater core twice. I have replaced the radiator once. I have replaced the alternator twice. I redid the entire front suspension a year ago and had to replaced a tie rod last weekend. The upper control arm bushings on driver side are falling apart. I just checked the ball joints and the uppers drivers and passengers need to be replaced. With just a year of use they are gone. The ball joints are moog from oreillies.

Are all your parts coming from O'reilly's?

I've had better luck with NAPA for suspension parts, as they offer more alternatives to pick from, but their product lines are being affected by the rush to produce in China just like everyone else.

Don't know if they're still available, but back in the circle burnin' days, my NAPA guy used to get us suspension pieces from a line they carried.... Think (don't trust my memory) it was a NAPA line, never broke one under normal racing and had some of their pieces stand up even in a big frontal wreck that broke most everything else!!!!!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Are all your parts coming from O'reilly's?

Yes most are coming from oriellies, some from Napa. I apologize for the rant but come on... I have always loved working on my vehicles but this is getting old quick. Put a new heater core in and a year later it needs to be replaced again. Put a new radiator and again with a year its leaking again and needs to be replaced. Most of the parts do have the warranties but I kinda remember parts lasting a little longer . I did not mention in my above post that I have also put on 3 AC compressors and 2 AC condensers and at this time the AC still does not work.
Dang these parts manufactures know how to get your money thats for sure. I kinda figured orielly was a little better then Auto zone especially when buying Moog parts.While looking into napa I also found a lot of their stuff is about the same as orielly, not what it used to be. Dang original parts lasted 20 years, new parts last 2 years. Whille taking off ball joints even the cotter pin was trash . Usually they bend straight to remove them these just broke. OK, rant over.

No problem on the rant.. I will have to admit that I'm surprised by Moog giving you such a short life. They build many OEM parts! So if the original lasted 20 years.. the new one should go more than 2. I would think. I did a 4X4 for a cousin 5 years ago, a ford f150, all new steering parts, it's still going strong with no problems..

If you're having problems with radiators and heater cores I would ask you if you have ever had your water tested? Could it be slightly acidic? Just searching for a cause..

I know everyone on here has had some type of issue with new parts and we all grumble about the lack of quality and/or quality control. But I also know most folks will buy the cheapest priced part over the one that costs a few dollars more. I know this is true as that's how Harbor Freight stays in business and / or even Wal-Mart! Some folks just want it cheap. So there.. That'll be my rant!

Sorry I cannot offer some profound advice. I'm wondering if there was something that you might have done during the install.?.? Everything was kept as clean as possible? Fasteners not overtorqued / overtightened??? It does seem like a long list of parts that failed... I don't know anyone who's been having so much "bad luck"....

Testing the water would help , could of change some thing up in last couple years. I also make it a habit not to cheap on out on parts for the main reason that I dont want to do it again anytime soon. The ball joints got replaced last night and to be honest they did not look the same as the new moogs under warranty. Dont know if they came from a different part of the world the last time or maybe some one at the store replaced the good ones with some cheap ones and took the good ones, dont know. I also had a bottle of simple green ,acetone, fresh grease, and oil so I keep it clean. I also have about 4 different torque wrenches. Even so I would think you would get more than a year out of the cheapest parts.

Originally Posted by rspears

their product lines are being affected by the rush to produce in China just like everyone else.

Alas, that's just the way it is today. Younguns don't know the difference, but for those of us who lived through "Made in USA", life isn't quite as sweet as it once was.

Maybe consider an anode for the radiator.

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Alas, that's just the way it is today. Younguns don't know the difference, but for those of us who lived through "Made in USA", life isn't quite as sweet as it once was.

You got that right tech.. The cheap garbage is filtering,,sorry,,has filtered through the system to New Zealand..I have even replaced rubber suspension bushes on my F100 more times than I thought I needed to,,and even the kingpins only did 40,000 miles before they needed replacing..