Difference between a Moog or Crown product? (steering/suspension)

Not_Invented_Here_

Not_Invented_Here_

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I'm finally about to start the ZJ upgrade and full steering refresh and I've got all the Moog parts priced/picked and ready to order. Same for the Moog track bars. I'm getting analysis paralysis on the control arms though. You can get the full kit (Crown CAK13) on Summit for $185 right now which seems like a heck of a deal. The other more expensive option is buying the Moog arms individually for uppers and lowers.

WHAT exactly is the difference between these CA's? I know the CK line uses clevite bushings. I'm unclear on the benefit and whether it would make a difference on a mainly DD rig that will only ever see super light trails. The quality control issues I see with Crown arms also spook me a bit too. The Moog CK's seem very well regarded and I'll spend the money if it's worth it, but I'd like to understand how/why.


FWIW - I found CK's for the uppers on this forum but only see CK660203 (XJ LCA's) and CK660204 (TJ LCA's but more expensive and harder to find it seems). One random guy said he threw the 603's on his 98 Sahara with no issues but who knows. Either way, it's more expensive and will likely require shipping from different sources
 
I generally use rockauto for parts. The Moog arms seem to be about $210 shipped to CA. I don't know the difference between the types. I just bought the cheap bushings and did the job myself. You could get all 16 Moog bushings for $114 shipped and just rent a ball joint press and spend an afternoon putting them in. If you don't have two left thumbs it isn't too bad. Besides the tough ones are in the Dana 30 and you have to do those the hard way no matter what.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Not sure about Crown, but my Moog boxes say "Made in the USA".
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I refreshed most of my front end with Moog over the last few weeks and my stuff was a bit of a mix of manufacturing sites.

My ball joints, tie rod, tie rod ends, track bar, and coil springs were made in the USA.

My front and rear stabilizer bars were made in Mexico.

My stabilizer bar bushings and front upper control arm bushings are Moog also, but I can't recall if they were USA or Mexico or other.

My front upper and lower control arms were made in China (I bought RK series instead of the CK without paying much attention and didn't notice until I had installed them and I was throwing away the boxes). I kicked myself a bit for doing that but I'll run em and see how it goes.

I paired all this up with Bilstein 5100's and a Monroe SC2928 steering stabilizer and I have been pretty happy with the fit and finish of everything I have installed so far.

That being said though, I replaced 16 year old worn out factory stuff, so I imagine anything would have seemed like an improvement over what was on there.
 
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I'm pretty much in the same boat - all 15 year old parts being replaced here so it's unlikely I won't come out ahead in the end one way or another.

I guess all I'm trying to avoid is something I don't need. This Jeep is not meant to be a rock crawler and I generally regard adding tools/equipment that you don't need/use with disdain (no offense to anyone, we all do it at some point - including me). I just care about reliability above all else and as someone using his rig as a DD/occasional light workhorse, I want to be able to "set it and forget it" with these parts.
 
Not_Invented_Here_ said:
I want to be able to "set it and forget it" with these parts.
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Same here. While mine isn't a DD, I do drive it an hour each way in traffic on interstate highways once or twice a week for fun. My main goal was for it to have "decent" road manners at 65mph. It is basically stock height and rolling on 31x10.50 BFG's and before I redid everything it was a beating to drive on the interstate.

Also, while it isn't an off road rig, it will get occasionally get out to some rough washed out camp roads now and then, so I wanted to be able to manage that without issues.

So far it seems I have accomplished my main goals with the Moog refresh and it definitely tightened it up quite a bit on the highway. While 65mph isn't as refined as it is in my DD (Nissan 350Z) it definitely is no longer a white knuckle affair either.
 
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I just ordered the Crown set of control arms from summit myself. I read a couple guys on here say they were good for stock replacements and you can't beat the price really.

Last week I had replaced the steering components and track bar with MOOG, minus the long adjustment rod for my tie rods. I ended up going with the Mevotech to save $20. The part seems pretty solid but the clamp hardware is nothing compared to the small MOOG adjustment sleeve and hardware I got to connect at the pitman arm.

Since MOOG doesn't make a full set of control arms for the tj, I just went with the more affordable Crown set and a pair of MOOG bushing for the front axle.

I can let you know my first impressions when they arrive tomorrow.
 
Don Ashcraft said:
I just ordered the Crown set of control arms from summit myself. I read a couple guys on here say they were good for stock replacements and you can't beat the price really.

Last week I had replaced the steering components and track bar with MOOG, minus the long adjustment rod for my tie rods. I ended up going with the Mevotech to save $20. The part seems pretty solid but the clamp hardware is nothing compared to the small MOOG adjustment sleeve and hardware I got to connect at the pitman arm.

Since MOOG doesn't make a full set of control arms for the tj, I just went with the more affordable Crown set and a pair of MOOG bushing for the front axle.

I can let you know my first impressions when they arrive tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure I'll end up ordering them as well and then just doing Moog for the steering. Good luck.
 
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