Is it worth $640 to get OEM lower control arms over aftermarket?

September 24, 2015 3:05 PM

I have a '92 Geo Tracker with shot front lower control arm bushings and ball joints. My mechanic has recommended replacing the entire control arms rather than using a bushing kit, which I am onboard with. Given that this is a 25 year old car, OEM parts are preposterously overpriced.

GM quoted me $400 each for the control arms and $175 each for the ball joints. Same with Suzuki (Tracker = Sidekick). I've already decided to go with $55 ACDelco ball joints because they're a brand I trust. When it comes to the control arms, I'm at a loss. I've found 3 manufacturers who make arms that fit: Dorman, MAS Industries, and ASP. I haven't heard of any of them. They're all about $80/each.

Considering that:

A) I love this car and want to keep it for the foreseeable future
B) It's only worth about $3750 on paper
C) Suspension parts aren't exactly things you want to skimp on
D) The labor cost of installing them is going to be about $300-400

Is it worth $640 to get OEM parts? I can afford it if I need to.

posted by nathancaswell to Travel & Transportation (14 answers total)

Is there an active forum for Trackers and Sidekicks? In my experience if you can find a community of people who are still trying to keep their cool old cars running you'll find plenty of opinions about aftermarket parts to buy and avoid.
posted by Polycarp at 3:26 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

What's the reasoning against the bushing kit? The arm itself isn't a wear item. Is it deformed or cracked?
posted by hwyengr at 3:35 PM on September 24, 2015

Response by poster: There is a forum about Trackers/Sidekicks and I've asked a similar question there (it's how I found the aftermarket options) but car forum posters tend to be a little bit of "parts nerds" (no offense, parts nerds) and offroaders and I wanted more of a common, commuter perspective.

One of the two mechanics at the shop said he had a bushing kit bushing fail on his Mustang and it was a disaster and he hasn't used them since unless he has to. The other said that removing the control arm, whose bolts may be seized, as well as the old bushing and ball joint, which are in pretty rough shape, can often bend or warp the control arm, which leads to the replacement bushing failing even sooner. The labor costs for the 2 options are similar, and I'm sourcing the parts myself, so he really has no incentive to mislead me on this so I'm deferring to his expertise. I did ask on aforementioned Tracker forum if people had had good experiences with bushing kits.
posted by nathancaswell at 3:47 PM on September 24, 2015

If you're using it for commuting, the aftermarket arms will probably be fine. It's highly unlikely that it will outright fail on the street, but it might just be harder to keep aligned if it deflects a little. One of those suppliers probably makes the arms for OEM or re-boxes OEM parts, but I don't know who does that for Suzuki.

I recently ordered an idle valve from an aftermarket supplier. It came in their branded box, but it was a genuine Bosch part. Exact same part, $140 from Pep Boys and $450 from the OEM.
posted by hwyengr at 4:03 PM on September 24, 2015

have you already tried looking for salvaged parts?
posted by mullacc at 4:17 PM on September 24, 2015

I would much rather fit a replacement, aftermarket, arm than to re-bush an old original. You will save not only on the parts but on the labour as messing around with 25 year old parts is often a nightmare.

For a car that age and for that particular component I'd see negligible risk in going full aftermarket. Save your money.
posted by Brockles at 4:38 PM on September 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: I do have a good hookup for salvaged parts, the issue w/ that in this case is the bushings have likely dry-rotted as they've been sitting in junkyards for 10+ years.
posted by nathancaswell at 4:39 PM on September 24, 2015

I would use a junkyard. You're almost certain to find a flock of geos. As for purchasing aftermarket arms, you're probably fine. This is somewhere the car forums are very helpful, because many of those people have purchased aftermarket part after aftermarket part, and some brands are known for failure (Scantech makes aftermarket parts for Volvos, and only by visiting TurboBricks would you learn that they're AKA Scamtech, and "Scantech just kicked in, Yo" means your car exploded).
posted by shenkerism at 4:40 PM on September 24, 2015

Best answer: FWIW, I have some experience with aftermarket suspension parts as an enthusiast, albeit for Toyota trucks.

Although you may have a "brand awareness" of AC Delco, you should know that AC Delco parts are made around the world, often in cheaper labor markets such as China and Mexico. The prices for AC Delco parts reflects this. This is one thread I found on a GM forum that discusses this, but you might want to do a bit more searching and reading. Don't assume that AC Delco = OEM in terms of quality. Their parts may still be fine for your purposes, but said parts are almost certainly made to a lower standard than OEM.

Here's a similar thread on Dorman parts. I tried to find similar info on MAS Industries and ASP and wasn't successful.

Personally, if I don't want to pay for OEM and there isn't a compelling reason to use a higher end or special purpose aftermarket manufacturer, I use NAPA. NAPA sells quality parts. Not the cheapest, but their parts are well made and they stand behind them. NAPA is very likely selling professional grade components to the independent auto shops in your area.

Here's a link to NAPA's 1992 Geo Tracker lower control arms. The lower control arms they carry for your Geo are "made" by Altrom -- well, they are made by someone else and distributed by Altrom. If NAPA is selling them, you can assume they are truly a reasonable replacement for an OEM part. They are priced accordingly -- their lower control arms are $159, so not much cheaper than OEM, but probably of comparable quality.

As you said, these are suspension parts. These are not the parts to save money on when saving money means lesser quality or looser adherence to OEM specs.
posted by mosk at 4:47 PM on September 24, 2015

To add to my above comment: I don't hate going to a junkyard to find OEM parts, but for a lower control arm I'd probably rebush the junkyard part with a high quality bushing, such as one made by MOOG (link is to MOOG's page for Tracker lower control arm bushings).

Junkyard parts are often fine as is, but lower control arms are only as good as the bushings they hold. If you already have the part in hand, you might as well rebush it before you install it. That way you can install it with confidence.
posted by mosk at 4:52 PM on September 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Seconding mosk. If you are going to buy ball joints, get *good* ball joints. If you buy the cheaper ones, you'll be replacing them again sooner than you like, Don't ask me how I know this.
posted by rudd135 at 6:46 PM on September 24, 2015

Dorman is a perfectly good aftermarket part brand. I mean, they might be re-man arms, but...even on my own vehicle, I'd rather have the reman factory put the bushings in than have to drive 'em out myself. With heat. And hammers.

Another vote for whole arms: if your mechanic is helping you out on the labor, help him out right back and get arms, not just bushings. On a greasy old Tracker, seized bolts and slightly tweaked frame parts mean it's gonna be a pain in the ass. Your mechanic is praying you get whole arms.

Nemmind the ACDelco ball joints. Get the uprated Moog ball joints. It's the difference between plastic innards and brass innards.
posted by notsnot at 7:40 PM on September 24, 2015 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks all, this has been helpful. Re: ball joints, I was thinking these ACDelco "Professional" (not sure what that means on a car) grade ones, not the cheaper ones. But I've heard good thing about Moog suspension parts ("Moog or OEM" seems to be a lot of people's mantra) so I'll take that into consideration.
posted by nathancaswell at 4:52 AM on September 25, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Brought all options to mechanic and he said he prefers Dorman control arms (even over Napa) and, as many suspected, Moog ball joints "even over originals." Handshakes all around.
posted by nathancaswell at 6:01 AM on September 25, 2015 [2 favorites]