'96 Civic CX

I currently have Moog outer tie rods which turned out to be garbage in such a short amount of time (less than 20k) so I'm left asking what outer tie rods is comparable to OEM without costing as much?

I am considering making the move to OEM for these parts if all else fails but if there is a viable alternative to OEM I'll go for it.

Thanks in advance.

 

Greasable tie rods are available, otherwise order the OEM's online from Majestic or something, better pricing then the local dealer.

 

I've always had good luck with moog

 

Interesting, last year when I was rebuilding my suspension on my VX I wanted to do the outer tie rods. The counter guy at the Honda dealership tried VERY HARD to talk me into Moog tie rod ends. Cost, quality, size (I guess the Moog is beefier). The Moog was something like $35 vs. OEM Honda at $55, but I couldn't do it. I went with OEM. Better to pay the higher cost once than the lower cost twice.

OP, OEM.





eH.

 

OEM it is for the left outer rod then. I can get it for $39 from my local dealer.

Although I managed to snag a Sankei 555 right outer tie rod off eBay for $18 shipped. Win.

I used to use Moog for years, but lately they have been going down the drain.

 

Quite often I see people now a days speak decently of Beck Arnley. They seem to require a high level of quality to rebox with their name.

I tend to lean towards them if I can't source OEM for a decent price. Or anything with a lifetime warranty as they tend to be higher quality too.

 

I agree with you Moog has definitely gone "cheap". I bought some all-in-one spring/strut assemblies from Moog. They blew out after FOUR MONTHS! and I didn't even hit anything, just died and I was riding on the bump stops! INSANE! Moog (google it, easy to find) has changed a lot of their products over to cheaper lineups from china.

Sounds like you got some good stuff, I've heard that Sankei 555 is good. When I replaced my outer tie-rods, it was a no brainer to get the oem, spend the higher price ONCE and be done with it. So much junk out there in the aftermarket lately!

 

Tell you how long it's been since I've purchased OEM replacement suspension/steering parts LOL. I think the last Moog product I bought was in 2006, which at that time was a solid product.

 

No lie there. Even though my hatch is 99.9% stock (head unit, OE replacement radiator, and Energy Suspension transmission bushing are the only aftermarket items), I prefer to purchase either OEM or parts from manufacturers that are contracted by Honda (i.e. Gates, Nissin). I don't want to deal with going through the same hogwash with shoddy aftermarket parts from Autozone. Even with lifetime warranty, you still have to go through the hassle of taking the part out and taking it to them to get the replacement.

Just do it once and be done with it, I look at the long-term since time is just as precious as money, if not more. Can't put a price on peace of mind.

 

That right there sums it up! Pay a little more, do it once, be done with it. I've had a couple of aftermarket parts on mine and some of them just stopped working quickly! I did aftermarket on the shocks/springs (sachs shocks and made in usa moog springs which are good) and those worked out well.

Just to add, I had a problem with new wiper blades last week. Turns out the aftermarket wiper arm is bending on its own! Causing the new blade to chatter! Are you kidding me?!? I said forget it, and bought the honda one. Spent more than I would have if I just bought the Honda one and been done with it! I wasn't about to bend the aftermarket wiper arm back, why? So it can just do it again? Lots of crap out there!

glad to hear yours is doing well, yeah I just got done rebuilding (took almost 3 years) this civic I have now. Feels good to be done!


I also agree with you that if you go to the supplier of the parts to Honda you'll be just as good, a little different but much closer to the honda part. I agree!

 

Yep! I also ended up purchasing OEM Honda wiper blades as well. I had crap luck with aftermarket ones so I decided to just go with OEM and they always perform just as good as it did when the car was new I'm sure.

Even if you end up selling it, the fact that OEM parts were used will also help in selling the car much quicker for close to the price that you would ask for. Some buyers would pay a little bit more as long as they have the peace of mind that all the vital stuff has been taken care of.

 

you know that's a really good point about whenever I choose (if I do) sell it, that all the oem parts in the suspension will help it bring a better price. What's funny is that the oem honda parts that I'm getting now are actually better quality than what the factory put in. And it's not just because the original parts are worn! I think that honda updated the parts and made them better. so thanks for that info!

 

OEM from Majestic! Great price

 

I put Sankei inner and outer tie rods on about a year ago, they are holding up very well. Last time I inspected them (about a month ago) they were still stiff as new. I drive fairly hard and Michigan roads are tough on suspension parts so they get my vote as a quality product, expensive but quality.

 

Soooo, final verdict? Shall I add Sankei 555 outers to my "reliable aftermarket parts" FAQ post? Otherwise go OEM?

 

Great to hear! I hope mine will last A LOT longer than these crappy Moog outer tie rods

 

Kinda shocked to hear you had a problem with moog. ive sold them for years and have had hardly any comebacks. Chances are you might have came across a dud. they have a lifetime warranty so i would just swap them out

 

Since they've changed many of their lineup to include chinese made parts, they have clearly decided to go for "profit" over quality. yes they were good and after buying trw they were 2nd only to oem and in some cases better. But not today, that laughable pre-assembled shock assembly was clearly cheap. Who cares about a lifetime warranty when I have to keep ripping out the parts? no thanks! Not when a quality part isn't that much more and it gives me years of fault-free driving.

so no I doubt I came across a dud. I did my research after that happened and there are plenty of people who are walking away from some of moog's lineup. a simple google search of Moog CK part line up will show the junk. And in some instances the old, high quality parts are being replaced with ONLY the cheap junk.

I will admit that I bought Moog's springs for my shocks and they were made in usa, very good quality. No complaints. But it seems that less and less of those type of moog parts are being manufactured anymore.

 

There's a company down here in Miami who sells tie-rods on eBay, the refillable grease variants, and I've had them on my EM1 for about 60k miles with no issues.. I think I got both inner, outer, ball joints, and C/V boots, for like $50 bucks.. They had 100% feedback so I gave it a shot and I was a happy buyer..

 

Covered all bases with this post.

Yeah I used to be a staunch supporter of Moog but with certain parts such as upper control arms or outer tie rods or ball joints, I'll look elsewhere.

No point in a lifetime warranty if I have to get it aligned again after the affected part(s) are replaced.

 

hey thanks! yeah the only thing that I would recommend were the moog springs for my shocks. They were made in usa, and so far been working great. I did add the honda insulator (glues on via a sticky patch inside the split tube) to the top of the moog springs. That will keep it quiet so the spring coils don't rub against each other making noise. It's been nice n quiet for awhile now.

but other than that moog, I won't look at them anymore. It's interesting when you hold a honda lower control arm and an aftermarket arm. The difference is night and day! I have some aftermarket parts on the car like the distributor (honda doesn't make mine anymore), the a/c compressor (denso), and the map sensor (standard motor products). But those were good quality so I don't regret using them.

hope others get to read this thread so they're aware of what moog's done.

 

I've also heard good things about the 555, but to be fair that was back in 2013. Things could change now so what we need are people who have recently purchased them and what were the life timeframe before replacing them again. I've tried looking for them, I just went back to ordering my replacement parts online. Its been 2 yrs since I've replaced them and I took this civic on a TON of road trips and no issues so far.