Parts brands

[ontherun987]

My 1987 Subaru gl has bad front wheel bearings and my ball joints boots are torn up. I looking to replace them but rock auto only has a few brands.

I don't have any experience with these brands.

MEVOTECH

CONI-SEAL

API

MCQUAY-NORRIS

I am thinking about using these BECK/ARNLEY 0513859 for the front wheel bearings

And for brakes DYNAMIC FRICTION 651213042

I really appreciate all the help with this, I know that finding good part is getting harder

 

[moosens]

Back a few years at least you could open a Beck Arnley package and at times it would be the genuine Subaru part inside. That seemed to fade away as the 80’s went by but you should do well with Beck Arnley parts. We 70’s owners have used that brand for decades. 
 

Best of luck. 

[GeneralDisorder]

Wheel bearings are simply 6207-C3 electric motor bearings. Personally I believe the knuckle was designed to use a 7207 axial thrust bearing with proper shimming, etc. Any bearing house can supply these. 

Joint boots are available in urethane for many sizes. If the joint is not worn out then just replace the boot:

https://www.suspension.com/universal-dust-boots.asp

GD

[Step-a-toe]

never had problems with any of their brands on these sort of items, yet they are not always the cheapest despite what people say. Their listings can also have some bum steers and you sometimes really need to fully research each part right back to the main supplier. I got caught recently with a tricky item listing and the further I went into the return of it, it got worse, so, effing ouch ! If you end up ordering, don't forget to use a discount code in their order page field "how did you hear about us" I found all you need to do is google search a currrent discount code. I find these on forums such as the Ranger forum easily (if you don't have one of your own. Since my experience, I am only recommending their discount code

[idosubaru]

Subaru ball joints aren’t still available?  They are for 80s XT6s but they’re the same as legacy/outback. 

if you can reboot the ball joint like GD said and there’s a chance it’s a Subaru ball joint I’d keep it.  Aftermarket ball joints aren’t impressive for Subarus. I don’t trust them and the shops I’ve been too have ball joint failures that aren’t very old. Granted it’s never been a Subaru but still I dont see any reason to avoid Subaru ball joint quality if possible.

[ontherun987]

1 hour ago, idosubaru said:

Subaru ball joints aren’t still available?  They are for 80s XT6s but they’re the same as legacy/outback. 

if you can reboot the ball joint like GD said and there’s a chance it’s a Subaru ball joint I’d keep it.  Aftermarket ball joints aren’t impressive for Subarus. I don’t trust them and the shops I’ve been too have ball joint failures that aren’t very old. Granted it’s never been a Subaru but still I dont see any reason to avoid Subaru ball joint quality if possible.

How would I know if they are OEM, and if they are worn out?

I am looking to replace them because I was in a Toyota Sequoia that did this at a low speed. A real sh*t your pants moment 

I have had my Subaru for 10 years, mostly parked, (camping and snow car) but I haven't done much to it.

[GeneralDisorder]

That's a very rare occurrence for a ball joint on any vehicle. I've seen some VERY worn out ball joints and the only occasion I have seen one come apart was due to improper assembly by another shop. They did not install a cotter pin and castle nut fell off. 

I would not worry about this. Check for play in the joint - if there is not perceptible play then clean the joint out, add some grease, and put on a new boot. 

I just went though this with my LMTV - all my tie rod and drag link boots were shot from 14 years in the desert but the truck has only 5800 miles on it and the steering is VERY tight so no reason to replace the joints. I used generic urethane boots, cleaned and greased them up. 

GD

[idosubaru]

1 hour ago, ontherun987 said:

How would I know if they are OEM, and if they are worn out?

I am looking to replace them because I was in a Toyota Sequoia that did this at a low speed. A real sh*t your pants moment 

In the end if you can't get Subaru then yes just get one of the other brands.  I've bought from those brands before and gotten "different" parts - in other words Beck Arnley sourced the part from someone different the second time I bought the same part.  With the low volume and miles of aftermarket reports we get it'll be hard to compare them in terms of quality. 

OEM - I don't know.  Probably can't but many have original or second ball joints which puts it long enough ago that OEM was a reasonable option. 

Worn out - they're either loose or they're not.  It's just a socket joint. 

Toyota - I've seen a couple like that at acquaintance's shops and side of the road i pulled over to help. All mangled and sheared off.  one was like a 10 year old new style mustang - I asked the shop owner and he said he sees it from time to time on cars that age, wasn't nearly as surprised as me.  all the ones I've seen were not Subarus (and I think none of them were Japanese).  My (entirely anecdotal) guess is other manufacturers may use lower grade ball joints than Subaru/Japanese, which I associate with aftermarket too.  Anyway - minor point, and I'm making some wild guesses and assumptions, people use aftermarket ball joints all the time, so I wouldn't worry about it either if there's no options.

Edited December 26, 2021 by idosubaru

[GeneralDisorder]

We only use Subaru OEM or Sankei 555:

http://www.sankei-555.co.jp/products

Knock on wood I've never had a failure (that was brought to my attention) after using the Sankei components. They might supply some of Subaru's parts - they appear very similar in construction. 

GD

[el_freddo]

You guys must have some crappy aftermarket parts over there. I’ve always used aftermarket ball joints, tie rods, tie rod ends etc and haven’t had any issues other than when the expected wear and tear catches up with them. 

I’m sure I could go down to my old local parts shop and order new ball joints etc. probably about $AU20 each. Run them until they’re dead - which usually involves lots of abuse offroad until a boot tears, if I don’t pick that up it’s what kills them pretty quickly! 

Cheers 

Bennie

[1 Lucky Texan]

fred, are your aftermarket parts usually from a chinese maker? I have read that, chinese factories with German-inspected ISO certs are OK, but the Chinese ISO certs are suspect. Adds to the risk of non-Japanese part purchases.

 

aftermarket here often requires some research, or, for many 'consumable parts' at least, avoiding the the very cheapest. No parts supplier wants to lose a sale because you went 2 blocks down the street to save $1.25 so, there's a bit of a race to the bottom. Those cheap parts often get purchased for cars being flipped/sold immediately - but a savvy buyer would avoid them for his own daily driver that he intends to keep. Oh, they may work well-enough at first, but may not be long lasting. Plus, we may have dozens of 'brands' to choose from, that makes it a bit tricky as well. The actual number of factories building the item may be small, but it seems a lot of companies are convinced they can make money with the right packaging and marketing approach. We must have 60-80 brands of batteries, even though there's only 5-10 manufacturers (w'ever - made-up number lol!)

 

 

[Step-a-toe]

down under we can be pretty sure that the brand is not the manufacturer unless the name on the package is also stamped into the product and there is often no telling where item is made until you have ordered and received item and unwrapped. Lately, I have been getting stuff from Rock that is not dusty old stock in faded or rotting packaging but newly packaged, made in China - and I am not sure, I don't think I find out country of origin until I have confirmed the order - or maybe not until received. Some of the Chinese stuff is in well known brands to Rock customers too. I am running a Chinese made water pump on EA82 - certainly better than the one that came out  

I got an economy level timing belt kit for EA82 that came as made in Korea. The belts were stamped made in usa, None of the bearings in the other items were brothers and sisters. I think two were made in Korea, and recall one bearing was made in Japan.