i wouldnt say this is off the topic because it deals with suspension so i didnt put it in the pits.
my question is how is the prices for ball joints, all tie rod parts, lowering springs so cheap on ebay? i can get two ball joints for the price of one and the tie rods are cheap as hell too. is it because they dont spend money on add dollors like autozone?

ebay parts are usually cheap chinese parts made with inferior quality materials by workers in sweatshop conditions. you will pay less but they will wear out or fail much quicker than name brand stuff that has a warranty

If you're wanting to spend less for simple suspension stuff check parts dinosaur or rock parts online

there are some things you can be a cheap dick on. intakes, some exhaust bits, etc. Things that don't have the potential to kill your ass by causing a wreck. suspension components are one area where you can't afford to be a cheap dick.

Erik P.
Official 2GNT thread Hijacker
Some say that he's driven over more Covenant than he's shot, and that his grenades aren't where you'd expect them to be...
All we know is, He's not The Stig... But he is The Stig's Spartan cousin!

+1 for what Erik said.

When I shop ebay I ALWAYS ask the vendor where the parts were manufactured. Even if the Chinese stuff is CNC machined I stay clear of it because I know they have little or no quality control and usually use a cheap, inferior metal. Just a heads up.

agreed with everyone else, alot of stuff on ebay is made in foreign countrys that are less supereior in quality, but if it works it works, now those cheap coil springs setups, i would never use, from what ive seen there spring rate are crap and unequal on every corner ect

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no, i was just wondering. i wouldnt buy stuff like that. i was just looking at them and pondering. I would look into what i buy first becuase my suspension is spent bad and im going to rock out a whole new set up. i want to feel safe diving in the rain again.

I agree with everyone I got new lower and upper controls arms, inner and outter tie rod ends in a kit off ebay for like $350 shipped and it was a bad mistake the parts have rusted and I have 8000 miles on these and now im hearing pops from the ball joints and have a new vibration on the highway so im guessing ill be replacing these parts soon.

Also I bought wheel bearings both side brand new they were like $60 shipped and I was thinking man I only need one but for that price im going to go for it well I put 2000 miles on them and went to a shop to check my alignment and the alignment was good but the wheel bearings were shot they had a ton of play in them.

So I have learned my lesson and as a person who has used a ton of parts off ebay I will say most of the parts have been great but suspension isnt a good idea unless they are from a known manufacturer.


Just my 2 cents.

Moog makes good suspension parts for our cars but be prepared to pay the price. Dorman is also good for replacement compression arms.

Timken, National, Skf... for wheel bearings. I have National myself and have held up well.

You also have to watch for the fake Ebay items, there the ones that say name brand but are actually the cheap stuff with a name brand plate welded onto them. Seen that too many times on there.

Some people on Ebay buy the parts in bulk quantity and sell them cheaper.

Some are also selling the same quality parts at resale cost or 10% above cost to make thier sales quota with a particular vendor.

I recall from when I was in the shop that some parts have a 200% markup on them. I remember one Alternator I did where our cost on the unit was 80.00 and the MSRP was just under 400.00.

Its not always that the parts are lower quality.

Terry

Erik P.
Official 2GNT thread Hijacker
Some say that he's driven over more Covenant than he's shot, and that his grenades aren't where you'd expect them to be...
All we know is, He's not The Stig... But he is The Stig's Spartan cousin!

I am a firm believer in doing it right the first time with quality parts. The bushings in my right side upper control arm started wearing. When I removed the control arm I discovered one of the pivot shafts broke through the body of the car in the engine bay. The replacement part was from $150-$200. Didnt have much money at the time I found a deal on ebay to replace all the control arms for under $200 which was "OEM Brand" parts which I will never purchase again. I bought a case of beer for one of my friends that was a welder and he welded everything up for me. I replaced all of the control arms and 8 months down the line the boots on the balljoints were cracked and the balljoints themselves started to wear again. All i can say is folks is that you cant go wrong with napa. It's been 4 years and no problems with my front control arms

Napa is no better or wrse than advance or Vatozone. They are no longer the parts store they once were.

Erik P.
Official 2GNT thread Hijacker
Some say that he's driven over more Covenant than he's shot, and that his grenades aren't where you'd expect them to be...
All we know is, He's not The Stig... But he is The Stig's Spartan cousin!

I went shopping around and found a lot of good prices on everything. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213764 cheap mopar ball joints and auto zone lifetime tie rods. using the search button and shopping around got me good deals. tein for 170 as well. im still looking for shocks that can handle the lowering tho

How low is the drop on the Tein springs? I've had KYB GR2s that lasted 100k+ on less than a 2 inch drop

Erik P.
Official 2GNT thread Hijacker
Some say that he's driven over more Covenant than he's shot, and that his grenades aren't where you'd expect them to be...
All we know is, He's not The Stig... But he is The Stig's Spartan cousin!

__
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1998 RS gone to(Dsm Heaven)
1997 gs gone to Dsm heaven

the tein is -1.3 and eBay is the place to look for them and they are legit. i got them in two days and free shipping. the kyb gr2 is the way to go then over stock. i heard that oem shocks goes out faster on lowered springs?



http://motors.shop.ebay.com/__?_from=R40&_trksid=p3841.m39.l1313&_nkw=eclipse+tein++&_sacat=

__
1995 gs Saved from the crusher
1998 RS gone to(Dsm Heaven)
1997 gs gone to Dsm heaven

well eibach springs that adjust would be the best bet because you can have that option to go street or track. im looking on getting coilovers from tein but i dont have to cash to get it at the moment. my whole front end is shot so i have to replace everything so i just went with springs for now.

When my front end (as well as the rear) was going, I bit the bullet and went to the dealership for everything. It might cost an arm and a leg ( I keep all my reciepts), but quality isn`t something that should be compromised. I`ve already put over 90k miles on my replaced suspension components with no problems. I`ve even had a spinout on the highway in a bad rainstorm that sent me off the road backwards, tearing up the grass on the embankment for a good distance. I restarted my car and went right to a shop to make sure my car was ok and everything was good. Never choose `cheaper` over `better.`

Was it the small lower control arm that broke? If it was, it`s that recalled part. And you`re right, be careful, because I got mine replaced and the one they put on the first time had absolutely no grease and started binding. Luckily, I didn`t have any complications and the new one they put on is fine.

Actually, it wasnt the balljoint itself that broke. It was the nut that threads onto the balljoint. The small lateral control arm is the one that the nut broke off of. I called the dealer and gave them my vin # and there were no recalls for my car. I have heard of these balljoints breaking because of boot damage in assembly, but since the nut broke and not the balljoint they didnt give me squat. I wonder how many other people have had this problem.