front end rebuild-parts Q

[Longhorn Man]

I hope to have my burb swapped over to 1/2 ton by X-mas. Before I do this, I have to rebuild the front suspention, and possibly calipers/rotors/bearings... etc.

The last few years, I have been just calling my NAPA guy and telling him to source my parts and get them to me. However, that Longhorn has some crazy stuff under it that even he can't locate some of it. But, with this 1/2 ton 72 suspention, I no longer have to worry about it.

Now... on to the Q...
With keeping in mine a realistic budget, what's the best place to get these parts at? I'll be doing upper and lower ball joints, and outter tie rod ends at a minimum... possibly inners and the idler, and if things look bad, the control arm bushings too.
Does anyone actually have anything bad to say about the NAPA suspention parts?
Is there a particular store or brand to avoid?

There'll be a full coil chopped out of the front springs, and I do have a stock sway bar up front... but I doubt any of that will matter.

[weasel29gm]

Andy, Classic Performance Products has kits startin' at $ 269. Most of the truck mags has their adds.

[clemson71guy]

me and my dad went to autozone and will never go back there again....none of the parts they give you are the same, we had to make 4 or 5 trips there just to get the right ball joints and tie rods. i would say go to napa even tho they might not be the cheepest stuff there stuff is right.

[Ackattack]

there isn't really front control arm bushings to change out. There are some seals to keep the grease in that LMC sells (only place I've been able to find them)

Moog is supposed to be a very good brand for parts.

[rodnok1]

I found the best parts/prices are TRW from advance. Same parts as Napa if I remeber correctly, but cheaper. I stay away from any store brands on anything I plan on keeping, unless I can figure out who makes them. I usually figure out what I need prior to going in incase they don't list it for that vehicle.

[drman929]

Moog offers great replacement parts, but a little more $$.

Carquest offers the Moog in a bluish box and a cheaper line that comes in red boxes. I do not know the brand, but if I'm not mistaken they are lifetime warranty just like Moog. I'll have to check it out Monday to confirm the warranty.

Classic Parts has decent prices on suspension parts. Haven't checked the other vendors.

I will say this...unless you are completely strapped for cash, do everything up front. The difference is unreal if everything is tight up there. Grease everything once in a while and be done with it forever!

[Cyclone44]

I also used TRW in my chance over, I got mine from Napa with no problems, I avoid the Advance and Autozone store's here, It seems like every time I get a part from them is is the wrong thing, It's always a hassle to have to go back and return parts, I like to spend my off time working on my trucks not waiting in line returning stuff...JMO...George

[Boog]

I have never had any probs with Moog brand parts. May cost more but the quality is there and I'd just rather not have to do this job over in a year or two because I saved a few bucks..

[BigDaddyDave]

I used Auto Zone junk on my 70 and Moog on my 71 and I could not believe the difference.I will never use anything but Moog again.

[oldgold70c10]

I rebuilt my front end completely using parts from LMC and O'reilly's That was over a year and 10,000+ miles ago, and I have had no problems. It was much cheaper and less of a hassle to get the complete control arm cross shafts and end nuts, rather than fiddle with using the old parts. I didn't have to make any return trips, everything was correct the first time. I got the ball joints, & tie rod ends at O'reilly's, the rest from LMC. Everything was in stock. NAPA & Oreilly's will charge for one end nut what you can get both nuts, the seals and cross shaft from LMC for.

[powell72]

www.rockauto.com carries MOOG stuff and the prices are tough to beat. NAPA and Carquest seem to be the most expensive I've noticed.

[68 P.O.S.]

Don't forget about ECE. They have the complete front end kits from Moog as well. I believe the kits w/ PS run $425 or $475.

[special-K]

So Boog likes Moog.Sorry,I couldn`t help it...
Just remember when buying cheaper stuff that has a lifetime warranty.They aren`t figuring for one minute that part will last a lifetime.It`s just a sales ploy.They don`t figure you`ll run it that much longer.Alot of "like new" replacement parts going to the crusher every day.

[JVictor75]

Hi guys!
Haven't posted here in a LONNNNNGGGGG time, but thought I'd jump in.

I was having the same question for a while on my 71 C10 longbed. Carquest, NAPA, AutoZone, Checker Auto, Kragen, Advance Auto parts, Pepboys, and all are great if you want to "freshen up" your front suspension only.

However, If you want to completely rebuild the ENTIRE suspension, front and back with quality parts that come with a warranty, you really couldn't do better than LMC for the price. Top half of page 135 on either the online LMC catalog or the newest dead-tree variety.

$449.00 plus shipping gets you the following:

2 Upper ball joints
2 Lower ball joints
2 Upper control arm shafts
2 Lower control arm shafts
2 Rear axle to control arm U-bolts with washers and nuts
4 Lower control arm shaft u-bolts with washers and nuts

2 front coil springs
2 Rear Coil springs
4 Rear Coil spring clamps
(An aside here, I called to ask if I could substitute the springs in the kit for other springs for extra money and they said no, no substitutions)

1 Polyurethane front sway bar bushing set (stock style sway bar)
1 Polyurethane rear control arm bushing set
1 Polyurethane rear tracking arm bushing set

2 Upper a-arm rubber bumpers
2 Lower A-Arm rubber bumpers

1 Idler arm
1 Pitman arm
2 Outer Tie rods
2 Inner Tie rods
2 Tie rod adjusting sleeves


I think everything including shipping was $483.20.

I already ordered the kit (last night actually) but I'm not home and won't be until the first weekend in November. Depending on my flight I may not even get to work on the truck until the 2nd weekend in November. Yay for military training! (Wooo, even)

If you all can remain open-minded and patient I can certainly give you an "installation report" (I.E. how the install went, what my impressions are, etc.).