I need new inner tie rods and hear conflicting info about the quality of MOOG parts. I usually opt for OEM parts but have heard that tie rods can be replaced with some aftermarket parts that are of equal and very good quality. The OEM part from Sewell is $114 and the MOOG part from Rock Auto is $23. Anyone have any experience replacing the inner rod ends?

 

I've bought MOOG parts over the years and have never had a problem. Tie rods, bushings, steering parts and most of the related chassis stuff. All were at least as good as OEM.

One thing about their tie rod ends is that they will usually accept zerk fittings. I've always added them.

Paying five times what a Moog part costs does not make sense. In fact buying anything from Lexus when is available from a quality domestic supplier is just foolish. The Japanese do not have a lock on quality.

 

MOOG parts are very good .

 

Recently I bought 2 new Moog front stabilizer bars for my ls from a member of this forum. Few months later I noticed my car was pulling left. Jacked up the car and noticed one of the Moog stabilizer bar is bent. That's my experience with Moog's product. I just ordered 2 new OE stabilizer bars from Sewell lexus and should be here Thursday. I'll take pictures of the Moog when I remove them.

 

Are you talking about the end links?

 

Yes the stabilizer bar links.

 

Moog is high quality, in fact many of their Lexus suspension parts are actually OEM that come from Japan. Just make sure to get the "Problem Solver" line, that's usually their premium offering.

Don't drink the dealer Kool-Aid though that only something from a dealership is quality, Lexus suppliers build their parts to a price point. Take tires for instance, usually the factory tires that come on cars new aren't top of the line. I almost never replace tires with the factory spec'd ones.

The OEM suspension parts on Lexus are great, but in my opinion the premium is not justified. If you're rebuilding your entire front end, you're talking a huge difference in the price of parts.

 

This doesn't seem to jive.

I've replaced the sway links on my LS, and the Moog's were MUCH more solid than what came from the factory. They were about twice as thick.

And if the stabilizer/sway link became bent, it obviously had a major impact. I don't see how that's Moog's fault.

A stabilizer link does not effect a car's alignment, so even if it was slightly bent, it shouldn't make the car pull to the side if it's going straight down the road.

 

I do agreed there may not be a correlation between my car pulling and the bent swaybar link. I don't know how it happened but the fact of the matter is the link is bent. The car managed to have 120K mile with the original stabilizer bar links without bending. Seems like everyone has positive experiences with Moog's products beside me. I guess I just have some bad luck.

 

The reason I posted this thread was because I just came back from the dealer, JM Lexus in Margate, FL. I've grown tired of the dealers here in South Florida, they almost always fail to diagnose an issue correctly, and when they do they advise replacing thousands of dollars worth of parts. I was advised that my front-end knocking, which they diagnosed as the tie-rods, could only be fixed by replacing the entire steering rack, to the tune of $2400. The tech said it should be replaced "because the car has 152,000 miles on it and is 12 years old". Such garbage. I had to educate the service advisor and his tech that the rod ends are available separately and that the entire rack does not need replacing. I shouldn't have to educate these people on their own product.

The other issue I had was an oil leak in the motor. I thought it might be the pan. Dealer said its the front crank seal, valve covers gaskets and cam seals. Again I'm not inclined to believe it's all of these, since I had the valve cover gaskets and cam seals replaced 35,000 miles ago. And their quote to fix just the crank seal? $2100!

 

To me this screams you have a really dishonest dealer, take your business elsewhere. Ask around and find a good independent shop.

It used to be that you paid more at a dealership but usually they weren't over the top con jobs that could get a place shut down, but I almost think now your average dealership is more shady than the average "Mom 'N Pop" shop.

The front end knocking could be something as simple as the sway bar endlinks, a very easy repair that's not much more difficult than changing your oil. One way to check them is just reach under there and attempt to move the sway bar or links around around with your hand. Sometimes they get so loose that the sway bar bangs around.

If you think either the inner or outer tie rods are an issue, jack one side up off the ground, grab the front tire by the 3 O'Clock and 9 O'Clock position and try to rock it back and forth. If the tire moves back and forth (with the steering wheel locked) you've likely got an issue. Have someone check while your doing this to see where the "play" is coming from, the inner part under the boot or outer part that's connected to the spindle.

It could also be your upper or lower ball joints that's popping, but the answer from the dealer that it's your entire steering rack and that it can't be fixed because of the mileage is complete bull****.

Regarding the oil leak, I would go to an auto parts store and buy some of the UV dye that you put into the motor oil, just drop it in where you add oil. After a few days with the lights off in a dark garage, put a UV light on it and you can trace where the leak is coming from. I've found this a really great way to find where leaks start.

I don't know how big of a leak you're talking about, but if it was my car, I would probably just let it leak a little oil and put a piece of cardboard under the car in my garage. I certainly wouldn't drop over $2,000 to fix a minor leak. I would use that money instead to rebuild the suspension.

 

I'm having doubts about JM Lexus too. They quoted me $500 for the hood struts! I took it in recently to diagnose my tranny since it isn't shifting as smooth as when I bought it a year ago after a drain and fill. They couldn't find anything and stated its normal for my car's age (2006). Good grief.

 

I've had every part in the front end replaced about 35k miles ago EXCEPT the inner tie rods. I have had multiple diagnostics done and techs never found anything wrong, partly because the symptoms weren't that bad before. It has very recently gotten worse, so I don't doubt that it's the inner rods since every other part is new. I just did the sway bar links and mounting bushings about 8k miles ago. Steering rack bushes are new too.

There's a great DIY garage here in Miami (garageyourself.com), so I can do a lot of diagnosis and work myself, but this one was throwing me for a loop, I just couldn't accurately pinpoint the problem, but I was able to EXCLUDE all the other parts. I've been to multiple Lexus dealers in town, North Miami Beach was the worst. There are two indie mechanics that I do like however they are very far away, and I have to get a rental car if I get anything done that takes more than a few hours. So that's why I decided to try JM again and get a loaner.

 

Eric's Wrench in Delray is my favorite place to go, small independent Toyota/Lexus shop. I'd suggest having them do a complete flush, they did mine, I supplied them with 11 quarts of Amsoil synthetic fluid and they flushed it completely. Drain and fill won't do much unless you do it multiple times to eventually change all the fluid, since only a small portion of the fluid is drained each time.

 

+1 for moog, i replaced UCA's/LBJ's and inner tie rods on my GS with Moog. Great quality and fit. The 2nd GEN GS Guys have nothing but good things to say about the brand