help-cheap prices needed

[blue thunder]

Does anyone know of any cheap sites for sho parts. More importantly for arm and ball joints. Also outer tie rod ends. I looked at shoshop but not very happy with Vadim right now, also looked on shonut and cincysho. Napa gave me a price of 125.00 for arm and ball joint and 49.00 for tie rod ends. I'm looking for new not remanufactured or used. Shonut I think I saw 88.00 for arm and ball joint. Thanks for you help!!!

 

[Slo-Sho]

Just go to autozone man...Outer tie rods for $16/side lifetime warranty and about $54/side for the lower control arm.

 

[blue thunder]

Looking for something excellent quality. Have 300hp with quaife transaxle and new rack, want something depenable that can handle that power and more. Got a few prices now, but which is the best. Napa 125.00 and 49.00. Autozone 57.00 and 25.00. Advanced auto 82.00 and 20.00. With such a variation in prices who gives the best product. Autozone does give lifetime warranty on the outer tie rods though.

 

[Yamaha V6]

The Autozone lower control arms / ball joints are Perfect Circle , IIRC. They flash rust extremely quickly, even sitting there on the shelf. They're not that bad for a normal job, but I don't like them over Ford's, honestly (personal preference). Fords are around $85 each from memory.

Outer Tie Rod Ends were redesigned for Ford recently, and they've also doubled in price; my cost was something like $32 each IIRC. However, they eliminated the cotter pin safety feature, and went with a nylon-center nut instead. Nice & easy for the techs, but I don't like the idea of not having a cotter pin in there.

 

[blue thunder]

Fred, If you were buying ones for your sho which would you go with. THanks for your input. Oh ya I tried to run by your shop but read the web site wrong and only went as far as Charlton Ma. Didn't realize I had to get on 32 also. Spencer I thought was closer than it is. Charlton or Worcester is only 20 min. away.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Ahh...ok so you want the best. I'd go with the OEM TRW lower control arms and tie rod ends since you want to spend the big bucks.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

"Heavy duty" and "cheap" are two terms rarely used together. You get what you pay for. If you want cheap, go with AutoZone. You want better quality (I wouldn't describe ball joints or tie rod ends as "heavy duty"), go with Ford or Moog.

 

[Electricat]

Check rockauto.com, they usually have good prices, be aware of shipping costs though.

 

[benharper]

look for spicer brand parts. i sell them at fisher/federated auto parts. not cheap, but not too expensive and reliable. all updates ford did to their suspension parts, so did they, and you get a lifetime warranty. i'll get a price tomorrow for you.

 

[shojuan]

Check rockauto.com, they usually have good prices, be aware of shipping costs though.

Rockauto has the best prices on Moogs which is what I have on my car. But yes, you have to watch their shipping.

Moogs are the only ones that have zerk fittings for regreasing. This also allows you to use a high quality synthetic grease right off the bat. Downside is you have to be careful not to make a mess. On the outer tie rod ends you would want to use a piece of paper or a clean paper towel or something between the rod end and the brake rotor dust shield. Then after greasing wipe the excess grease away by fishing another clean shop towel back and forth through there. There's a hole in the dust shield (my 89 at least) and a grease laden shop towel will gladly touch the rotor through it.

Some people in the rust belt prefer the sealed boot ball joints and rod ends because they feel the joints are better protected from salt and winter crap. I prefer knowing I have really good grease in there. But to be fair I must say, "What is this salt and rust you speak of?" I have only mild winters and about 30" of rain a year to deal with.

Now for INNER tie rods the redesigned Ford units are said to be the best and I've heard an estimated service life of 200,000 miles vs. 100,000 miles for the old design and Moogs. Downside is that you will need a crows foot style tie rod removal/install tool vs the more common socket style. Autozone rents the socket style for free. I don't think they stock crows foot style kits. If yours does then they will probably rent it for free too. Just have to put down a deposit of the full price of the tool.

 

[benharper]

prices from spicer at fisher are about the same as ford.

 

[SonicRiot]

You get what you pay for:

I bought Perfect Circle ball joints/control arms. Greased, installed. 6,000 miles later, I notice a groaning noise and feel some slight vibrations. The arms, I found, are completely rusted to the point where the grease fittings fell OUT! The grease leaked out, one boot ripped, and the ball joints are shot. Junk. I haven't even installed the tie rods yet because they are perfect circle and are already completely rusted from sitting in my dry trunk for a month! Garbage!

Go with Moog. For what you pay for them, you are getting your money's worth.

BTW, a 300 hp SHO is not the best car to own on a tight budget...

 

[blue thunder]

Thanks for the info guy's, decided to go with moog's. My mechanic has one of the parts stores he uses that sells moogs the next town over. THere about 10.00 more than rockauto but I don't have to pay shipping or wait. Again thanks for the info!