Ball joints from MSA !

[Inf]

I read over this thread when I was deciding on which brand of ball joints to buy, so I figured this was as good a place as any to post this.

Ended up going with the Moog units, which RockAuto had in stock for a decent price. They seem to be highly regarded on the various Z forums.

The first thing that surprised me is that they're made in Japan. After reading about how most of these aftermarket companies are outsourcing to China now, this was a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, they use castle nuts, rather than those nylon lined lock nuts, and it comes with all the necessary hardware, including a grease fitting.

I nearly ordered ball joints from MSA when I placed my order for tie rod ends and steering rack bushings, but now I'm glad I went for the Moog units. I won't be able to install them until the weekend (assuming my MSA order comes this week), but they appear to be a top quality unit from initial inspection.

One of my minor gripes with MSA is how they don't list the manufacturer of their aftermarket parts, like RockAuto does. It really makes it tough to make a decision when all you can search for is "MSA Ball joints," when clearly they change their part sources from time to time. On the upside though, I did get some good advice on alignment when I called into MSA to place my order.

[Nigel1943]

Even better Moog units!

[S30Driver]

I realize this is an older thread, I have a question for Andrew (Inf)

Did the ball moog ball joints install without any issues? Were both units the same?

Just got mine from rock auto, one is identical to yours, the other is the "better" moog joint. I assume there is no difference between L & R ball joints.

[Inf]

Mine went in flawlessly, perfect fit.

In retrospect, I don't see the "better Moog units" as being any better - they are MUCH taller, and appear to have the same dimensions as the units I pulled out. I discovered I was having some pretty serious clearance issues with the old ones, so I would definitely avoid the "better" units.

With MSA bump steer spacers for 15" wheels, the grease nipple on the old units were very close to the edge of my 15" rewinds (1-2mm?). The wear in the ball joint led to the transverse link moving out relative to the strut enough for the grease nipple to dig into the rim while taking corners. There is a big gouge mark on the inner lip from it. Those grease nipples are hard (insert joke here)!

There are no clearance issues with the units I just installed.

Yes, they were both the same, and I would only install a matched pair anyway.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Inf

[Nigel1943]

Mine went in flawlessly, perfect fit.

In retrospect, I don't see the "better Moog units" as being any better - they are MUCH taller, and appear to have the same dimensions as the units I pulled out. I discovered I was having some pretty serious clearance issues with the old ones, so I would definitely avoid the "better" units.

With MSA bump steer spacers for 15" wheels, the grease nipple on the old units were very close to the edge of my 15" rewinds (1-2mm?). The wear in the ball joint led to the transverse link moving out relative to the strut enough for the grease nipple to dig into the rim while taking corners. There is a big gouge mark on the inner lip from it. Those grease nipples are hard (insert joke here)!

There are no clearance issues with the units I just installed.

Yes, they were both the same, and I would only install a matched pair anyway.

All you needed to do, as you had clearance issues, was to fit blanking screws in place of the grease nipples as per OEM.

[Inf]

All you needed to do, as you had clearance issues, was to fit blanking screws in place of the grease nipples as per OEM.

Hindsight is 20/20 alright, they even had the shorter grease nipples, much smaller than the ones the new Moog units came with.

At any rate, the damage was done at that point. The clearance did not appear to be an issue when the car was at rest when I mounted the wheels.

The new ball joints are mounted with the included grease nipples, with no clearance issues. I consider that an improvement.

Also, could you elaborate on what makes the other ball joint better? Not trolling here, I'm genuinely curious.

Edited May 7, 2010 by Inf

[Nigel1943]

A larger machined steel grease reservoir has to be an improvement over the "tin-plate" cap of most ball-joints and how many times do you need to grease them anyway ? Not very often.

[mgmoreau]

Even better Moog units!

Hey Nigel,

Thanks for posting this picture. Did anyone notice that the Moog part number is very close to the Nissan OEM number 4016-A8600!! There is a good chance that Moog uses the same manufacturer that Nissan does. I am going to give it a shot. I was quoted $101.00 for the Nissan ball joints yesterday from Conyers Nissan in GA. Their site is down but check out Nissanpartsnow.com. It should be up in a few days. They give better discounts than Courtesey.

[bpilati]

Have been told the degradation of the rubber boots is a result of the grease used when lubing the ball joints. Have gone back through the old Factory Service Manuals and tried getting the grease they recommend, however they still turned to tar/goo. Anybody have any grease recommendations. I had used a Castrol grease. Sorry for the twist to the thread.

I think it's a product of poor quality rubber used by the Japanese in the days of yore. Their probably made from the same drawing. I recommend using synthetic grease, which will likely be less harsh on the rubber boot. The ES boot is probably a good idea. Original look or not, it's a safety part.

[Inf]

I replaced my outer tie rod ends only months ago, and the rubber boot that came with it from MSA has already split wide open on one side. Great quality!

Ordering the urethane boots soon

[Marty Rogan]

Hey Nigel,

Thanks for posting this picture. Did anyone notice that the Moog part number is very close to the Nissan OEM number 4016-A8600!! There is a good chance that Moog uses the same manufacturer that Nissan does. I am going to give it a shot. I was quoted $101.00 for the Nissan ball joints yesterday from Conyers Nissan in GA. Their site is down but check out Nissanpartsnow.com. It should be up in a few days. They give better discounts than Courtesey.

I ordered Moog ball joints from Carquest. They were identical to the Nissan part. I don't remember the exact price, but it seems like it was 30-40% cheaper. They list these under their "OEM Replacment" parts line. It only took about a day for the store to get them and they didn't even charge me for shipping.

Marty

[mgmoreau]

I ordered Moog ball joints from Carquest. They were identical to the Nissan part. I don't remember the exact price, but it seems like it was 30-40% cheaper. They list these under their "OEM Replacment" parts line. It only took about a day for the store to get them and they didn't even charge me for shipping.

Marty

Hi Marty,

Can you give me the Moog part number? I am trying to order them today.

Thanks,

Marc