eBay tie rod ends

[Festy46]

If you are considering buying new tie rod ends from this guy and think you are getting a high quality part - think again. I purchased 2 tie rod ends from him because the picture he shows is of a high quality tie rod end with a grease fitting. What I got was the same junk every other Ebayer is selling for half the price.
Link to part: http://tinyurl.com/ye452hc


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[Hot_Wheels]

what do yours look like? lately ive been wanting to change my festiva control arms but i want to know what are the difference between them all price ranges from 24 buxs ea for a doorman/ebay to 100 for a moog! whats the difference?????

[freshtiva]

Thanks for the warning.

[Festy46]

what do yours look like? lately ive been wanting to change my festiva control arms but i want to know what are the difference between them all price ranges from 24 buxs ea for a doorman/ebay to 100 for a moog! whats the difference?????

I didn't buy control arms, but usually the price depends on the quality of the steel that was used. It's sort of like buying a cheap set of imported wrenches compared to a good quality set of wrenches. As far as the tie rods I purchased, they were made lighter (cheaper) than good quality ones. If you look at the picture of the tie rod in the eBay link above, you'll see a heavy square part where the inner tie rod screws into it. The ones I bought did not have this heavy part. They were thin walled where the inner tie rod screws in and had a thin wall hex nut attached on the end. If you needed to leave a lot of the threads on the inner tie rod out of the outer tie rod to get the correct toe setting, I think it's possible the thin outer tie rod could split open where it screws onto the inner one. I have also had past experience with these cheaper tie rods breaking off where they go into the steering knuckle.

[TominMO]

General recommendation--get the best quality parts, especially for brakes, steering and suspension, since they are safety-related items.

[Safety Guy]

When it comes to the important, load bearing and control stuff, buying quality parts is good advice!

On the other hand, the place to save some money is to buy used or cut rate High Performance Fuzzy Dice. Watch out for lead content on those made in China and keep them away from your children!

Karl

[renny10n]

When it comes to the important, load bearing and control stuff, buying quality parts is good advice!

On the other hand, the place to save some money is to buy used or cut rate High Performance Fuzzy Dice. Watch out for lead content on those made in China and keep them away from your children!

Karl

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Couldn't agree more on getting the quality parts from the get go. Yes, you pay more, but you end up paying even more in the end replacing all that junk in no time.

I learned the way hard way when doing the Aspire swap. Bought the a-arms, inner & outer tie-rod ends from an ebay vendor(not sure which one, but not the one you mention). What a bargain compared to Moog's stuff! ....yeah!! Now with only about a year/ year & a half, I'm finding myself in need of replacing them(front end whats to do the hula going down the road-yikes!) Haven't got around to installing the new stuff yet, but this time I paid the extra script for all Moog replacement parts. BTW, thanks to someone for the heads up, got all my items from Rock Auto, beat out Checker's/'Oreiley price & that includes the shipping even to Hawaii- So thanks to who ever you are for that one!