Control Arms - OEM or Aftermarket? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Control Arms - OEM or Aftermarket?

jay-d

jay-d

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My Forester (240,000km) needs new control arm bushings but I'm just going to replace the entire control arm because it includes all the bushings. Every item that needed replacing to date on this car was OEM, so I've no idea about aftermarket brands.

Subaru OEM control arm is $500/each. Mevotech (some Canadian brand), sells their supreme variety for $140/each. Tech guy from Mevotech said they use steel bearings in the ball joint and bushings are not like the rubber OEM ones.

MOOG is out of the question, I've read their quality isn't what it used to be.

Why are the OEM ones so expensive, crazy difference in price!
 
jay-d said:
My Forester (240,000km) needs new control arm bushings but I'm just going to replace the entire control arm because it includes all the bushings. Every item that needed replacing to date on this car was OEM, so I've no idea about aftermarket brands.

Subaru OEM control arm is $500/each. Mevotech (some Canadian brand), sells their supreme variety for $140/each. Tech guy from Mevotech said they use steel bearings in the ball joint and bushings are not like the rubber OEM ones.

MOOG is out of the question, I've read their quality isn't what it used to be.

Why are the OEM ones so expensive, crazy difference in price!
Click to expand...
Spherical bearings are normally more expensive than rubber bushings. More feedback too but louder. I am assuming by Canadian you mean made in China? That seems way too cheap.
 
GreyGhost said:
Spherical bearings are normally more expensive than rubber bushings. More feedback too but louder. I am assuming by Canadian you mean made in China? That seems way too cheap.
Click to expand...
Engineered in Canada, but probably made in China, I will confirm.

Part - Mevotech

This is the page content
www.mevotech.com www.mevotech.com
 
jay-d said:
Engineered in Canada, but probably made in China, I will confirm.

Part - Mevotech

This is the page content
www.mevotech.com www.mevotech.com
Click to expand...
They have factories here in the GTA, but it could be made anywhere in North America
The Supreme grade should be fine for a daily driver
If you purchase them from Rockauto, they also have a limited lifetime warranty
 
Wonder why the user deleted the post.. hmm.
 
If you're paying someone for labour, or you don't want to do the job too often, I recommend OEM or genuine Subaru parts if you can't get OEM. I replaced the front control arm bushings and ball joints on my 2012 Impreza using Deplhi. The bushings pressed in easily, but I had a hell of a time with the ball joints - I had to use an air hammer (on the housing) to get them seated enough for the punch bolt to go through, even though I cleared all the rust in the knuckle. Only 15,000 kms later, they're clunking again. Whether they're just crap or whether I damaged them during installation is the same thing to me since there was no other way to install them. At least with OEM or original, you're not questioning the fit. Plus the originals lasted 360,000 kms.
 
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