Guest crazytrain2 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Anyone have any eperience (good/bad) with Mevotech brand replacement parts (Canadian company with emphasis on suspension and drive train parts) I'm looking at replacing front lower ball joints ..Moog & Raybestos seem a bit too pricey, so I was curious if anyone's had personal experience with this brandMevotech | Performance Design Selection | HomeThanks, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I d ont know anything about Mevotech but one thing i know is , most after market ball joints are cheap and d ont last very long even if they have a life time warranty,i would go with GM original parts and it will last for an other 20 years not 2 or 3 years.One thing i would like to know is how to replace those ball joints,do the 3 rivets have to be taken off or just change (insert)the ball joint it self? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Never heard of Mevotech. Moog is just as good as the original parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I also have been looking into replacing the ball joints on my 92 Riv....been checking out Rock Auto. My understanding is that the 3 rivets need to be drilled out and the replacement joint comes with 3 bolts (?). Is my observation correct, folks?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I always had to remove the rivets and replace with bolts (used to come with the replacement ball joint). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Padgett...you and I were responding at the exact same time....many thanks for answering my question.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 If the bolts do not come with, use only grade 8 (or equivalent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazytrain2 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) I agree with Moog's being as good if not better than OEM's but run an extra $100 more for the set. My gut tells me Mevotech is gonna come in with "Made in China" which is revolting to me. I'll let you know in a follow up post. I've worked on Canadian mfg. machine tools (Husky and Engel) and respect their quality. Thus my interest in this Mevotech Co. - I hope they're not just a distributor.Yes I plan to drill out the 3 rivets which if you start out with a small "pilot" drill (1/8" or so) and gradually work your way up in diameter should't be a big deal. At least I hope not THANKS GUYS!!!! Edited June 2, 2010 by crazytrain2 Spelling error (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wildcat465 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Mevotech is what is in the Master Pro boxes at O'Reilly's and in Car Quest boxes as well. Quality is similar to standard McQuay-Norris (Raybestos) which is in the NAPA boxes. Exception is McQuay-Norris Extreme series which is only available for parts that were crap form OEM day one. Yes, even the GM S10 Blazer ball joints are junk, just a bad design. But Mevotech is a actual maker of parts. As far as the China thing goes, many of the "quality" parts are/will be coming from there or nearby. Unless you are planning to drive your car daily yearround you probably will not need to replace them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 I found something that confirms what i tought about drilling the rivets to change the ball joints on a Reatta,i d ont think they need to be drilled,the existing ball joint needs to be pressed out and press the new one in,in the pic it show the part in question,its on Ebay.Srry about the quality of the pics,you can go to ebay to see,thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 I'm sure the pressed in kind could work just most people do not want to remove the whol;e arm to put in a press. FSM says to drill rivets and bolt new one in (see section 3C).Back in the day, it was the upper ball joint that usually went but the Reatta does not have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 What i mean is that you can use a ball joint separator,not a big floor press,then it goes back in just by thighting it back in place.(I am not a specialist just that i THINK it can be easely don that way) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 I found something that confirms what i tought about drilling the rivets to change the ball joints on a Reatta,i d ont think they need to be drilled,the existing ball joint needs to be pressed out and press the new one in,in the pic it show the part in question,its on Ebay.Srry about the quality of the pics,you can go to ebay to see,thanks. That photo tells nothing about replacing the ball joint on a Reatta. I don't believe you are getting the big picture. You need to replace the ball joint assembly that is held in place with 3 rivets or bolts. See photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 I understand that,but coult it be done using this tool,on alot of cars this is what they do,coult it be done on a Reatta,would be easyer,why would they have riveted it if it needs to be taken out ?D ont get me wrong,i am not making an argument on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 (edited) I understand that,but coult it be done using this tool,on alot of cars this is what they do,coult it be done on a Reatta,would be easyer,why would they have riveted it if it needs to be taken out ?D ont get me wrong,i am not making an argument on this.There are probably dozens of ways it COULD be done. But, the proper and probably easiest way is to do it the way the photo from the FSM shows that I provided. Why try to reinvent the wheel? Like you, I'm not trying to be argumentative. I just don't understand why you are wanting to avoid the normal way of replacing a ball joint.BTW, the reason the factory used rivets is because installing them is faster than using bolts. Edited June 4, 2010 by Ronnie (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 At the factory, the arm is assembled before attachine to the car and a very large riveting machine is used (those rivets are steel). In millions the rivets are much cheaper than nuts and bolts.For the repair person and replacement parts where much of the cost is the packaging, nuts and bolts should be included.Finally the GM design is not for a pressed in ball joint. I would not trust one in this case. Note that the attachment is a large (and, to GM, costly) plate which would not be there unless the car had to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 The main reason is that i would rather keep those rivets,i think theyre are less a chance they will move,and changing them for bolts could play wht the alignement,I rest my case,thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 And how do you plan to replace the rivets without applying enough force to possibly change the alignment ? Steel rivets do not form easily (if they do they are not grade 8 equivalent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 Padgett, from what I read, he plans on leaving the rivets in place and intends to change the ball joint by pressing it in and out of the plate held to the control arm by the three rivets. It appears he has made up his mind to go ahead with that plan. I don't understand it but I wish him well and hope it works out for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mongeonman Posted June 4, 2010 Share Posted June 4, 2010 I d ont want to change the rivets,thats what i trying to say,not change the rivets just the ball joint part,if it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wildcat465 Posted June 5, 2010 Share Posted June 5, 2010 You will not press the ball joint out of that assembly with out damaging the assembly. You will likely damage the new ball joint pushing it out of the new assembly you buy. If you press in the ball joint that you have to press out of the new assembly to do it this way, it will not stay in and you will (Murphy's Law) have it slip out when it is not a very good time for it to slip out. (Assuming you even get it done that way.) This car does not use press in joints like many others that do. Saving 20 year old rivets?Crashing your your beautiful Buick Reatta?Seems like an easy choice to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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