Moog Control Arms Vs. OEM

hjumper33

New member
So finished this job yesterday and the van is currently at the alignment shop. Already looks like the wheels are placed farther back in the wheel well than they were, and possible not perfectly centered relative to one another.. Old arms are still in good shape, so I’m wondering if I’m going to wind up getting new bushings and just using the factory arms after all that work. Will have to see how it drives first. Oh well, easier the second time since the bolts are all new. Who would have thought that a van with 200k miles from the east coast would have rust?

I’d personally like to thank Mercedes for that rear control arm bolt with the almost inaccessible nut on the back that won’t come off unless you can get the bolt backed out, which you can’t, because it’s completely seized to the inside of the bushing. Thank god the drivers side somehow came out without cutting.

Also I agree the moog arms welds leave something to be desired.
 
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hjumper33

New member
So just to update this quickly. Alignment went well, just got back from some windy bumpy roads on the lost coast, and new suspension setup performed admirably. If I had to do things all over again, I might just take out the original A arms and have a shop press in new ball joints and bushings, but if your A arm bolts aren’t as corroded as mine, it might be easier to get the moog full kit. For those considering a shock upgrade, the konis have made a world of difference in body roll and overall noise. This was replacing the original stock shocks after almost 240k. Tie rods weren’t very difficult at all with a tool borrowed from autozone. Thanks again to all those that post here to make like a little cheaper/easier for us DIY enthusiasts.
 

Coast2Coast

2006 158 Cargo
can anyone provide any info if the moog control arms will fit the same as OEM? or are there known issues with the MOOG control arms? i need to replace the worn out ball joints on both sides and would rather replace the arms and all bushings to prevent any other issues. Am planning an entire front end rebuild on my 2005 118" with 260K miles and would like to use the MOOG front end kit as well as replace the struts and wheel bearings.
Give these a shot. I just spoke with IDparts today and they said that customers were happy with the Mevotech Brand. https://www.idparts.com/steering-refresh-kit-t1n-p-11812.html

Please remember to report back after installed with update of how everything turned out so we can get some feedback on different products. :thumbup:
 
Does anyone know the pet numbers for the right control arms ? I’m struggling with alignment and tire rub and think this is my problem . Also the spring rubber end bush has worn through (in a few weeks) since I replaced the front spring . Any advice welcome . Thanks

Jake the snake
 

Helmach

New member
Thanks.

They do appear to be different. For one thing the front spring pocket isn't in the same alignment. But is the "stock" A arm OEM? See post #15 below.

Pics loaded to Sprinter-source.

View attachment 108592

View attachment 108593

View attachment 108594

It appears that there is only one Moog part choice.

https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/products/dodge_sprinter_2500_2004


The "RK" series part is "a more value driven part".

Part prefixes are described lower down here.
https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/moog-rk620752

Added:
The Dorman part appears similar to the Moog. Both are stamped steel.

View attachment 108599

:cheers: vic

Remembering Maxextz's balljoint change thread I went searching.

It appears that his 2005 Euro model has an A arm that looks similar to the aftermarket.

View attachment 108612
I just installed the Dormans and can confirm they move the wheel about 1" back, causing tire clearance issues. Steer clear!
 

Helmach

New member
Does anyone know the pet numbers for the right control arms ? I’m struggling with alignment and tire rub and think this is my problem . Also the spring rubber end bush has worn through (in a few weeks) since I replaced the front spring . Any advice welcome . Thanks

Jake the snake
Based on my recent experience I would recommend rebuilding factory control arms. I believe many/all of the aftermarket ones come from the same supplier which has incorrect wheel geometry which shortens the wheelbase by 1"
 

220629

Well-known member
Based on my recent experience I would recommend rebuilding factory control arms. I believe many/all of the aftermarket ones come from the same supplier which has incorrect wheel geometry which shortens the wheelbase by 1"
I wouldn't disagree.

It seems odd that a company like Moog could be that far off in the geometry. That said, Moog may just be buying another manufacturer design and sticking their name on it.

Is it possible that there are different dimension OEM control arms?

There appear to be differences between the Euro A arm shown in Max's Write-up and a NAFTA A arm pictured next to an aftermarket part.

001bAarmsMoog01wNotes.jpg
Same pic with notes added.
001bAarmsMoog01wNotes02.jpg

0001cAarmsMoog04.jpg

0001dAarmsMoog05 (1).jpg

:cheers: vic
 
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Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
If the wheel is further forwards with the original arm then was this a modification by MB to fit the 16" wheels?

To the best of my knowledge the USA was the only country to get 16" wheels hence aftermarket parts manufacturers may not be aware of the difference.

Keith.
 

Helmach

New member
Is it possible that there are different dimension OEM control arms?
This must be the case. I noticed the photo of the Euro A arm shown in Max's thread appears to be a sheetmetal arm of a similar design to the Moog/Doorman etc. I also noticed the "Genuine Mercedes" A-arm sold by EuropartsSD is the same sheetmetal design. I'm guessing its the OEM cast arms (which most of us have) that are different. I have a friend at Dorman that is supposed to be looking into this for me.
 

220629

Well-known member
I went out and inspected the 2004 and 2006 A arms. Both have the same A arms as the NAFTA model pictures. They are not forged. They are heavy shaped steel. The ball joint is definitely offset.

001bAarmsMoog01wNotes02.jpg

I would not install an A arm with the inline ball joint on my truck. I'll replace the ball joints and bushings if I can't find a replacement A arm with offset ball joint.

:cheers: vic
 
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ions82

Member
I went out and inspected the 2004 and 2006 A arms. Both have the same A arms as the NAFTA model pictures. They are not forged. They are heavy shaped steel. The ball joint is definitely offset.

View attachment 118480

I would not install an A arm with the inline ball joint on my truck. I'll replace the ball joints and bushings if I can't find a replacement A arm with offset ball joint.

:cheers: vic
Did you measure the centerline location of the ball joint in relation to the bushing centerline? I wouldn't be too concerned about a "visual" offset as long as all the pivots are in the same position (relative to one another.). I can't tell from the pics if the pivots LOOK like different locations (but very well may be in the same locations as factory.)
 

220629

Well-known member
Did you measure the centerline location of the ball joint in relation to the bushing centerline? ...
Nope. Given the transverse spring pocket position I see no reason to do that. The spring pocket creates a reference. The transverse spring aligns the same with the bushings in any pictures which I've seen.

:cheers: vic
 

progear

New member
I know this is an old thread, but just wanted to thank you guys for the input. Redoing the whole front suspension and was just getting ready to run everything over this week and I am so glad I read this post. I bought all OEM except for the CONTROL ARMS! I bought MOOG due to the high cost of the OEM, and yes, upon inspection the ball joint position is different! Unreal! My mechanic would have throttled me! Thanks for the heads up!
 

220629

Well-known member
More aftermarket part comments from another thread.

Hi Dennis, Do you have any personal experience with the Napa or Sidem parts?
Thanks, Dan
YES I DO!
DO NOT USE.
JUNK.
No dimensional conformity whatsoever , Fred Flintstone could have made better !
Dennis
Alrighty then. After way too much thought, I strongly considered sending these back (shipping ouch) and taking JoeyB up on his kind offer and buying his used ones (more shipping), and having them rebuilt and ready to go before I start the tear down. If I was starting over from scratch, I would buy a used set of the correct arms and get them prepped (new ball joints and bushings) for a swap.

However at this point, I have decided to keep them and put them [Sidem branded] on. I really do not expect to have a clearance issue with the stock tire size. [Joey B says you won't.] I will let you all know how it works out in a couple of months. Then we will all have a bit more information regarding this as well.

If I don't like the result or they don't hold up, I will rebuild my original arms and put them back on.

In the meantime, I am still very receptive to anyone's experience regarding their install of the aftermarket parts and the tire in wheel well alignment. Before and after measurements would be most welcome as well as overall experience.

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Dan
Yabba Dabba Doo!

:lol:



vic
 

1337chaos

2005 Sprinter 3500 DRW
I ordered Moog control arms last November in anticipation of needing to redo my entire front end once spring/summer hit this year. To my dismay, I found this thread about a week ago once I started tearing things apart and read not to use Moog control arms. I'm well past my return limit on these things, but one interesting thing I've found is that all the pictures of your guys NAFTA control arms don't match my '05 3500 control arms. The Moog arms actually are the same style as my control arms I took off of my van. I'm thinking these Moog arms are possibly designed on the 3500 design and you all have 2500 vans so they are designed differently for the larger wheels on 2500's (3500's run 15" wheels) But honestly, I still am not going to use the Moog arms because even though the ball joint lines up in the right position based on the old A-arm, Moog put too much of an angle on the ball joint vs the OEM design, and the welds look terrible. I'll see if I can get a picture of the Moog vs OEM side by side and update this post when that's done.

EDIT: Here's the OEM '05 3500 control arm next to the Moog. You can see they match up pretty well.
20210602_130620.jpg

Here's a shot of each individually from straight overhead to give a better view of how they match up.
20210602_130625.jpg20210602_130631.jpg

And here's the issue I've got with the Moog and why I won't be installing them on my van. Look at the angle of the socket where the ball joint sits.20210602_130713.jpg
 
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220629

Well-known member
... I'm thinking these Moog arms are possibly designed on the 3500 design and you all have 2500 vans so they are designed differently for the larger wheels on 2500's (3500's run 15" wheels) ... I'll see if I can get a picture of the Moog vs OEM side by side and update this post when that's done.
That would agree with what Cheyenne mentioned.

Follow up with pics for what you find would be helpful. :thumbup:

If the wheel is further forwards with the original arm then was this a modification by MB to fit the 16" wheels?

To the best of my knowledge the USA was the only country to get 16" wheels hence aftermarket parts manufacturers may not be aware of the difference.

Keith.
If/when I need to replace ball joints my first choice will be to just replace the ball joint proper to keep the same geometry. Previously I was leaning toward replacing the entire lower control arm.

vic
 

1337chaos

2005 Sprinter 3500 DRW
Yeah I'll be replacing my ball joints and reusing the original control arms after seeing the quality difference between the aftermarket ones on rockauto which are all exactly the same as Moog except the Mevotech ones, which look identical to my OEM ones. I think for you 16" folks though, there's no alternative to having to reuse the old control arms, since it looks like every aftermarket control arm thats made is a 15" design.
 

SprinterLex

2006 T1N 3500 Long & Tall
15" rim lower ball joint is different than the 16" rim lower ball joint.

I called a dealership and on the phone, we compared:
- 2006, 3500, 16" rim, 148", cut-away with 14' box
- 2006, 2500, 16" rim, 158", high-top Cargo-van
- 2006, 3500, 15" rim, 140", high-top Cargo-van

I gave the Vin of all three vehicles and we compared the part numbers.
- The 16" rims had the same control arm even though one was a 2500 and one was a 3500
- The 3500s did not have the same control arm. (their difference is rim size, wheel base length and one is cutaway and one is high-top van)
 

Cheyenne

UK 2004 T1N 313CDi
From another LCA thread...
Just spotted a very interesting fact in the 2003 parts manual 'VIN PLATE DECODING INFORMATION' on the first page...

For the same nominal wheelbase when moving from 15" to 16" wheels the wheelbase actually INCREASES by 17 mm!

For a 140" wheelbase van the figures are 3550 mm for 15" wheels and 3567 mm for 16" wheels, and similarly for a 158" wheelbase van 4025 mm for 15" wheels and 4042 mm for 16" wheels.

17 mm is just short of 11/16 Inch.

Is this difference solely due to the different LCA's?

Keith.
 

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