I know there has been some discussion of this before, but I've got a little more to ask. I have been under the impression that Moog was the best brand to purchase as far as wearable front end parts go.

That said, I have found that a brand named McQuay-Norris is available for a better price and at least the tie rod ends I purchased for my daily driver looked great. I was in a bind b/c the tie rods needed replaced NOW and I couldn't wait for the parts store that carries Moog to order some for me. Anyway, they were made in the USA and were identical in appearance to the ones I removed from the car-nice, heavy castings etc.

Anyway, in searching for an idler arm and a fast ratio power steering pitman arm for my 68 I have found a huge range in prices for pieces from TRW, Moog, McQuay-Norris and Rare Parts.

Now, I know you get what you pay for, but considering these are all made in USA what would you guys do?

By the way, I have also noticed that some pitman arms are greasable while others aren't-I'm really interested in comments regarding this. Let the opinions fly....

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Bret Copsey
'68 Camaro base coupe
'92 Caprice wagon
'98 Malibu

I've used Moog only for the last 25 years never any problems.I wouldn't use anything else unless Moog didn't make it in that case I would try TRW

My 2 cents,
TRW,Moog,& Federal Mogul are all now the same company. All with good reputations.
McQuay-Norris is a part of Dana Corp. Also a company know for making quality parts.
I think that as long as you stick with parts backed by one of the larger US companys, you shouldn't have any quality problems.
FYI, Carquest parts are made by Moog & Advance Auto Parts stocks TRW. Between the two, I found all of the parts I needed to rebuild the front-end of my 67 (in stock).
Brichead

Thanks for the replies. After a lot of calling around and checking on the 'net, here's what I found. Only a few local places even carry Moog, none carried the pitman arm in stock and the price range was $63-$83. Advanced Auto Parts carries TRW and had one in stock for $58 (though the web site listed it for $80-something!). I went down to Advanced and took a look and was happy enough with it to plunk down the cash.

The label on the box did indicate TRW as being a Federal Mogul company. The pitman did not have a grease fitting but the part is guaranteed for life if there are any problems. As far as I can figure, the pitman has such a limited range of motion at the ball stud that greasing it isn't necessary? Anyway, thanks for the input guys!

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Bret Copsey
'68 Camaro base coupe
'92 Caprice wagon
'98 Malibu

I think the Moog camaro pitman arm is fairly new and uses a new number than the old moog pitman had.
If the parts store doesn't have the most up to date cataloging, they won't be able to look up the new Moog part or may not have it in their price lists yet.

I think Dana is a pretty good company, but don't have personal experience with their parts.
David

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Check my web page for First Gen Camaro suspension info:
David's Motorsports page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/)
First Gen Suspension Page (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/David_Pozzi/first_gen_suspension.htm)
67 RS 327
69 Camaro Vintage Racer
65 Lola T-70 Chev 350 Can-Am Vintage Racer

I've seen Moog components in McQuay boxes.

On this particular order it was specified as Moog only.

One tie rod end was in a Moog box, the other in a McQuay. However, even though both rod ends had Moog stamped in them they were visually different. The Moog part in the Moog box was beefier and appeared better assembled.

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The Red Beast http://www.geocities.com/casanoc