Are there any "name brand" off brands?

I need a pair of stabilizer links and don't want to spend much. These will be going on a Vue. Are there any good off brands? Specifically I'm looking at the choices on the Bezos site. 

Also does it make much of a difference if I get some with or without the zerks fitting. I usually buy parts with them but then rarely actually maintain them and add grease periodically.  

IDK if they're any good, but I got these for my GF's 2006 Vue last month:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=6822484&cc=1432889&pt=7580&jsn=10

The right one went on OK, the left one seemed to have a bad thread so I ended up with a replacement from O'Reiley. Maybe spending more than $5 is a good idea lol, but since they're not critical to keeping the wheels on or anything I felt it was alright to cheap out a little bit.

Zerk fittings are nice to have and give you the option of extending the life of the joints. I got some Mevotech Supreme sway bar links after some stock ones had to be destructively removed when upgrading the front sway bar on my Toyobaru, they have the zerk fittings and claim to be a heavy-duty part...

In reply to Blunder :

In years past I put 140k miles (125k to 265k) on a 2003 Saturn Vue. The car goes through sway bar links at an alarming rate.  I eventually had my friendly shop put on something with a long warranty and they were replaced twice during the warranty. 

However, it takes longer to get the tire off than it does to actually change the link. So, replacement is simple but the car sounds like it's going to rattle and squeak non stop until they are replaced. 

Buy rear wheel bearings with a long warranty too because they are also made out of paper machete and need replacement often. 

Ive had good luck with cheap mevotech stuff. I did a cheap front end rebuild on a dodge with the base mevotech stuff. I remembered to grease it all at oil changes and about 60K later when I sold it all the components where still tight. Upper and lower ball joints and sway bar links. FYI the lower joint on the dodge sway bar links where ball and socket joints which i assume is the type your Vue has.

Mevotech seems to be the new hotness over Moog. Having just bought some from rockauto for the truck, they seem pretty good. Was cheaper than Amazon too

The cheaper stuff seems to be manufacturer of the week.  Never know what you're going to get in the stab link box.

Altrom is my favorite NAPA brand for imports, it is usually OE spec, and often cheap.

The name gets tossed around quite a bit.

Then theres this just for the name lolzers. (Its a real Chineseium  company)

In reply to John Welsh :

I just replaced the rear bearings with some cheapies from Amazon.  I'm sure I will be revisting them down the road. 

In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :

I have noticed Mevotech stuff lately. It did seem to be of a better quality then the some of the other brands. By how much is up for debate I am sure. 

Does anyone have any experience or info about the Detroit Axle brand?

Appleseed said:

Then theres this just for the name lolzers. (Its a real Chineseium  company)

This company changed their name to Dickase...but a drift team did get a sponsorship from them first

In reply to Blunder :

Ive done 3 front ends on 4x4 chevys and 1 ford taurus (I think it was DA) and the stuff is standard cheap parts house service grade. Didnt have any problems except 1 tie rod on the taurus (which im not 100% sure was DA but I think it was) and the idler on a GMT400, no issues on the two GMT800s.

My position is, if you need a whole front end get the DA stuff because its cheap, but if you have a single piece thats known to fail on the platform get a better part for that one spot.

my experience with mevotech supreme parts is with replacement LCA assemblies for 2010 honda odyssey.  ball joints are not greaseable, boots disintegrated in less than a year, which destroyed the ball joints via contamination and dryness. berkeleying lame, will not buy that brand again.

I'd go with NAPA for the Saturn.

Greasable is IMO a sign of an inferior part, high-quality joints don't need periodic lubrication.  Plus a grease fitting is a way to put contaminants into the joint.

I am not saying that all non greasable joints are high quality, but when I see greaseable I think of high friction junk.

I had low service life with Mevotech ball joints on my S10 when I had it.  Less than 20k miles. So,d the truck to my brother, who replaced them with Napa parts, and they still are fine 30k more miles later.  He went with the more expensive of the two options that Napa offered at that time.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Greasable is IMO a sign of an inferior part, high-quality joints don't need periodic lubrication.  Plus a grease fitting is a way to put contaminants into the joint.

 

I am not saying that all non greasable joints are high quality, but when I see greaseable I think of high friction junk.

So working for Napa Canada, through (ride control!!) training, I learned that our premium chassis parts used to come with out a provision for a grease zerc fitting because it wasn't needed, until enough of the old timer mechanics / farmers complained 'they can't grease the joints' so they added them. The joints can't really take in much grease at any time, but it made the customer happy and quiet.  So may be worth checking on greaseable stuff because it maybe the same case. 

GameboyRMH said:

Zerk fittings are nice to have and give you the option of extending the life of the joints. I got some Mevotech Supreme sway bar links after some stock ones had to be destructively removed when upgrading the front sway bar on my Toyobaru, they have the zerk fittings and claim to be a heavy-duty part...

Ugh - how's your experience been so far with that? I put those on a 9th gen Civic Si with a massive rear sway bar and those end links clunked like I had 2 12inch subs in the trunk

DirtyBird222 said:

GameboyRMH said:

Zerk fittings are nice to have and give you the option of extending the life of the joints. I got some Mevotech Supreme sway bar links after some stock ones had to be destructively removed when upgrading the front sway bar on my Toyobaru, they have the zerk fittings and claim to be a heavy-duty part...

Ugh - how's your experience been so far with that? I put those on a 9th gen Civic Si with a massive rear sway bar and those end links clunked like I had 2 12inch subs in the trunk

No problems so far but they only went on in May. I'll inspect them during the post-winter/pre-season crunch period in March.

For tires, I've been having really good luck with Hercules tires.

They seem to have bought all of BFG's old tire molds.

The truck tires have been good, I've had two sets now with no troubles.

Swapped to summer wheels last night, Mevotech Supreme links still holding up well at 10~11 months (looks like maybe some grease leakage from the first one though?):

Looking at the pics, the dirt buildup in the last one looks rather questionable too...no cracked boots though.

Update: Just at the 1yr mark and I'm getting a clunk at the front (where the Mevotech Supreme links are installed) when going over uneven bumps now. Confirmed that all camber plate hardware was tight at lunch today just due to their noise-making potential. The links may be about due for their first re-grease now, (1yr and maybe 6,000mi since installation) but I'm thinking it's too late for that if they've started clunking.

Autotecnica is URO for non-German. They're okay. 
 

disclaimer- I worked for them for a bit. We saw some duds for sure but the return rate was pretty low. 

ShawnG said:

For tires, I've been having really good luck with Hercules tires.

They seem to have bought all of BFG's old tire molds.

The truck tires have been good, I've had two sets now with no troubles.

I've used them off and on since the late 80s. No complaints, although the 8 ply rated bias plies took a couple miles to warm up and get rid of the flat spots from being parked over night in the winter months.