ball joints

[Archangel]

I might have to replace atl east the upper ones, maybe the lowers too, and from what it seems I have three choices:

1) TRW, cost about $40 a piece, lifetime warranty;
2) Moog, cost about $75 for two, 1-year warranty;
3) McQuay-Norris, about $60 a piece, liftetime warranty

Given the fact I live in the state ranked #4 in the country for bad roads, I'm considering getting the McQuay-Norris heavy-duty stuff, according to their website it even has polyurethane boots instead of rubber. But I've never heard about that brand before, so I'll need some advice here - which ones of these three do you guys use or know good/bad things about?

[Blaze86Vic]

That's odd, here Moog has a lifetime warranty.

[mrltd]

They all are good. I've used some McQuay norris stuff and it's looked the same as all the others. A good way to see if they are made by the same company is look at the part numbers. If they use the same numbers but with a different suffix or prefix, more than likely it's the same part. The poly dust cover is a nice feature.....

[Grand Marquis GT]

I prefer the TRW or Moog stuf, myself...

[Lincolnmania]

save up for big brakes and a pr of 16" steelies and two tires lol.......if the car needs 4 ball joints and new bushings, the only additional parts you are buying are the 92-94 upper arms, 96-02 spindles, rotors calipers hoses
if wheels are the issue, put the 95-97 brakes on it, larger rotor but only a single piston caliper........future 98-02 upgrade would be a 2 hr job lol

[sniper308]

Well dude i'll go with MOOG that's the ones i've use in my panther and recomended by most mechanics,TRW???? :confused:


ATT.SNIPER 308. :drummer:

[Archangel]

Well, actually I just took care of it today - turned out my ball joints are perfectly fine, it's the bearings that were loose. Took them out, checked the rollers and races (all good), repacked them, tightened them like they're supposed to, and voila - no more play in the front end, no weird wheel angles when parked either.

So ball joints are off the shopping list for now, which is very good as I can now afford to install a shift kit and a new exhaust. By the way, TRW supposedly owns Moog.

Scott, I'm planning on a brake upgrade up front, but not anywhere near close to what you guys usually do - I have a pair of very nice brand spankin' new 2-piston calipers with pads, it'll require milling some massive steel adapter plates to install them, but can be done. Lol, there's my spring summer project, after I'm done the old Linc should stop like a mofo with those, considering how the the stick-ed V10 donor performed :evil: Plus when it comes to wheels I'm like a high-maintenance ho, real picky, and all the wheels I'd love to have on Angie are out of my financial range for the near future. I also have new 255 Firehawks in the rear, ain't no way I'm running 16" steelies up front and 15" turbines in the rear.

[gadget73]

The only problem with upgrading the calipers, you've still got small rotors. Cross-drilled vented ones are avaliable as a stock replacement item. Might want to look at a set.

[Archangel]

Small rotors yes, but more clamping force will result in more stopping power. And I am actually planning on running slotted/vented rotors when I put the big brakes, the stock rotors would be due for replacement by then anyhow. Only problems is they are expensive, Murray's quoted me over $150 each?!

[DuceAnAHalf]

Cross-drilled rotors have a tendency to crack when well heated. also if you have a small rotor the last thing you want to do is rtemove material from it. The more mass the rotor has the more efficently it can stop.

A brake system works by converting kinetic energy (the wheel rotating) and turns it into heat through friction (the brake pads) If you are slowing a 4000# car down from 70 MPH that is a lot of energy that needs to be converted.

if you have a small rotor that has been drilled, it will not have as much metal to absorb and then radiate the heat. When too much heat builds up in the metal and then it cools over and over again the metal starts to fatigue, right across those holes.

Any brake caliper can lock a wheel, a good caliper and rotor can slow the vehicle quickly by creating heat through friction and then dissapitaing that as fast as possible.

If you are concerned with brake fade, then rig up some cooling ducts. They would run from behind the grill down and as close as you can get to the center of the rotor, near the center of rotation. The vanes cast in the rotor are there to act as a fan to pump air out, ducts would allow some cooler air in to cool a bit better.


Also wheels affect how well brakes cool. A stock steel wheel is not very open and does not promote air circulation, as well as even a turbine wheel. An open wheel, such as Justins, Cobra R wheels are even better. Ideally the wheel spokes would double as a fan blade to pull air out away from the brakes. Back in the 70s some cars would run Corvair cooling fans over the face of the wheel to tdo this same thing.

[Lincolnmania]

reason i got away from the stock brakes, is cause i was always warping the shit out of the front rotors.......had to cut em every 6 months..........big brakes been on a while, havent touched a thing, been to atlanta twice and fl once, and virginia several times with the car too.........by the time you make up special brackets for the two piston calipers, you couls have swapped to the 96-02 spindles.........the torino based guys are doing big brakes in a similar method making a bracket, but they also machine the hub and rotor to a hub that they can slip a 98-02 rotor onto
scott