Would you trust these Rock Auto / Moog parts together on your car?

I ordered a pair of Moog front lower control arms for the dog's Volvo from Rock Auto. They weren't premium parts, but I have respect for the Moog brand and felt that they were the best choice.

The part numbers are one digit apart, one for the right side and one for the left. The boxes look the same, but the parts inside look quite a bit different. In fact, they look like they were made in different factories. Both were Hecho en Taiwan.

The parts were bagged inside the boxes, but the bags were not the same type. No big deal. But the next thing that I noticed was that the left side came with new hardware, but the right side didn't.

Closer examination shows some serious differences in the parts. The left side is a smooth casting with thicker ribs, while the right side is a rough casting with thinner ribs. The ball joints are clearly different from side to side.

And finally, the inner bushings on the right side control arm aren't even the same front to rear. The left side arm bushings look to be the same front to rear.

I was really disappointed  when I saw all this and I contacted Rock Auto. They said that Moog subcontracts stuff out to vendors who manufacture stuff to their specs, and these parts meet those parameters. I believe this.

But there's something about using mismatched parts on something as important as opposite sides of my front suspension that rubs me the wrong way.

I'm just not comfortable with that. Would you be?

Rock Auto said that I can return the parts for a refund of the parts cost, but I will have to eat the cost of shipping in both directions. I buy a ton of stuff from Rock Auto, but I may be done with them after this. In addition to losing some money, I've lost a lot of time. I just want to fix my car.

I wouldn't put them on my car. Maybe contact Moog and see what they have to say about it?

I would contact Moog and provide photos and request a replacement. They may not know about it and be thankful for your call. 
 

I agree with you regarding having parts like that match. It probably is not a problem but it would bug me. 
 

Oh. Another thought would be to see if there is one in stock at a local parts place that you can look at for comparative purposes. 

If you don't like the idea of mismatched parts you will always be thinking about it and not be happy. One thing to think about, what if something happened  that you were only going to replace one like accident damage. Would that bother you or would you want the pair replaced?

I wouldn't like the mismatch either, but I would not hold tge reseller responsible.  Really, it’s not their gig as I see it.  Maybe see what is available locally that matches one or the other, and restun the odd man to RA and call it good.

I've decided to return them to Rock Auto, eat the shipping, and order a proper pair from IPD, as I should have done in the first place.

I think you should talk to Moog first. I smell a counterfeit. I am sure they want to know who is counterfeiting their parts, and who is selling them. 

Yeah, talk to Moog. What if you get the same junk from IPD?

This has happened to me so many times from RA I’ve begun to wonder if they do it on purpose!  In your case it’s almost understandable as they are two different p/n’s…. but I’ve ordered pairs of identical side-to-side ball joints, tie rod ends, endlinks, etc etc. and it seems like half the time they don’t match.

I will say that I generally just use them anyway.

From my former experience slinging auto parts, Moog isn't alone in doing this. A lot of the time, I would open boxes of suspension bits with the same box and part number and different parts would be in there. It happened across all lines we carried, from the cheap stuff to the premium parts. If they were something like end links or ball joints, I'd slap them in, but an entire control arm that looks that different? you made the right decision here. I'd also shoot Moog a note, like others have said.

I agree with almost everything I have read here, although it's not my responsibility to talk to Moog. Eventually, they will figure this out on their own.

I don't cheap out on suspension bits. I've seen the way I drive. That said, I'd probably have taken the same gamble you did, then returned them all the same.

It’s definitely not your responsibility and sending them a note might not do anything other than let you practice typing for a minute.   But it might save other people from the same hassle you just went through!

i feel your pain about just wanting the job done though...

parts manufacturers sometimes buy parts from other manufacturers because they want to round out their catalog but don't want to invest in tooling.  that's probably what happened here.  Moog is owned by Federal Mogul.  Perhaps someone at FedMog ran the business case and decided it made more sense to buy one of those parts from another manufacturer and put them in Moog boxes.  generally speaking, this is not an uncommon practice.  i am not speaking specifically of Moog / FedMog.

I know everyone likes the cheapest parts from the cheapest source, but this wouldn't have happened with OEM parts! 

I don't really see an issue and would just put them in.  They say made in Tawain right on the box..if you want OEM parts, buy from the volvo dealer.

Woody said:

I agree with almost everything I have read here, although it's not my responsibility to talk to Moog. Eventually, they will figure this out on their own.

doubt it

Woody said:

I agree with almost everything I have read here, although it's not my responsibility to talk to Moog. Eventually, they will figure this out on their own.

Why not take 5 minutes to send them an e-mail and hopefully prevent this from happening to another poor soul who owns a Volvo? I mean you took the time to post all the pictures on here and let us know.  

Saron81 said:

I know everyone likes the cheapest parts from the cheapest source, but this wouldn't have happened with OEM parts! 

I did not choose the cheapest option. I chose a brand name that I trusted.

DirtyBird222 said:

Why not take 5 minutes to send them an e-mail and hopefully prevent this from happening to another poor soul who owns a Volvo?

That's what I'm doing right here.

Really depends. If it's a vehicle I'm precious about (read: motorcycle) then no, I will only trust the best.

In most automotive situations you wouldn't BELIEVE my capacity for replacing worn factory parts with the cheapest possible rockauto/ebay parts. I have a theory that today's manufacturing methods/abilities are so decent that even the bottom-barrel parts are better than what one would consider mid-level 20 years ago. I'm probably wrong. Often am.

Relevant background: I generally don't own any given car for more than a few years.

I have ordered two sets of Moog sway bar end links for the same car from RA and got two very different sets of parts.  The first ones were the cheapest Moog parts listed and they were cheaply made.  The second set I ordered had grease fittings and were much better built.  Maybe you got one of the better and one of the cheaper ones.

Woody said:

DirtyBird222 said:

Why not take 5 minutes to send them an e-mail and hopefully prevent this from happening to another poor soul who owns a Volvo?

That's what I'm doing right here.

Probably won't help Moog's QA department. Just saying. 

What brand does IPD carry (and you bought)? FCP usually has a good selection of OEM and aftermarket Volvo parts.

ebelements said:

I have a theory that today's manufacturing methods/abilities are so decent that even the bottom-barrel parts are better than what one would consider mid-level 20 years ago.

It's not a bad theory, but when it comes to quality machining, forging, metallurgy, I think the old stuff was pretty good.  I could be wrong too.  :)

I bought two front brake rotors, same part #, obviously different thicknesses.  Different weights.  

To throw a bone to Moog, I've seen rebuilt suspension parts mismatch when a factory part was superseded and there are old cores still floating around.  

I couldn't abide by having mismatched parts.  I would drop a note to Moog...never know, they might make it more than right?  I've had good luck with their higher end stuff.