Had to choose between OEM control arms and cheap ones from RockAuto for my 03 Tahoe

I went with the cheap ones six months ago and both ball joints are clunking already so now I get to do the whole job again and spend double what the OEM ones would have cost in the first place, has anyone else been burned by saving a few bucks on suspension parts?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaronf401d ago

@kai564 hit the nail on the head. I read somewhere that aftermarket suspension parts are basically a gamble, especially for older trucks like that Tahoe. Heard a mechanic on a podcast say a lot of the cheap ones are made with softer steel or bad rubber that just can't handle the weight. You're not alone, I did the same thing with worn out tie rods on my old Silverado, had to swap them out again inside a year.

kai5641d ago

Man I feel your pain on that one. Nothing worse than doing a job twice because the cheap parts gave out.

parkerl331d ago

Actually that mechanic was a little off on the science. Softer steel would actually flex more before snapping, cheap parts usually use the wrong heat treatment so they're brittle instead. The rubber compound is definitely trash though, splits way faster than OEM stuff.