Moog Sway Bar Links

Just purchased a pair of Moog sway bar links and have some questions.
I couldn't find a metric or sae wrench that would fit on the hex nut.
Also, the nut will only screw on about two turns on the bolt before it
starts binding. Upon closer examination, the threaded hole in the nut
appears to be ovalized. I measure about 0.680" across one set of flats
and 0.700" across another. What gives?

Secondly, there are holes for the grease fittings on both ends of the
link but they are not threaded. Are the grease fittings self tapping?

 

Done so that the nut will not rattle loose. Just wrench it on.

Ted

 

Thanks Ted, I knew there had to be some reason for this. Can I assume
the grease fittings are self tapping also?

 

Yes you can, and you'd be correct.

That's the Moog "Problem Solver" part (some people like having grease
fittings). TRW and Moog are the same company, yet they make two
entirely different (but interchangeable) versions of the same part. The
TRW part does not have grease fittings, the Moog does. If you order
them thru your typical auto parts chain, you could get either part in
the identical box under the same part number - the only difference in
the two boxes are the words "Hecho in Mexico" (Moog) and "Made in USA"
(TRW).

If interested, take a look at this thread of mine (complete with photos)
showing the LH car sway bar end link before and after the zerks are put
in) on the 300M Club forums:
http://300mclub.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8050&highlight=moog+trw+paint

I put some loctite on the zerks before putting them in just to make sure
they didn't back out. But they did tap themselves in pretty well -
turned in until the bottomed at the hex (they must have the diameter of
the hole with just the right amount of interference to grip the threads).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

TRW and Federal-Mogul are the same company?

 

According to one poster on the thread on the 300M Club forums that I
linked, "Federal-Mogul, Moog's parent company (along with Champion,
Fel-Pro, Wagner lighting, and a few others), bought up TRW's aftermarket
parts division in the mid- to late-90's".

Now that I think about it, I was in fact on a windshield wiper design
project as a supplier to TRW, and our customer, TRW became Federal Mogul
in the middle of the whole thing.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Not busting your chops here Bill, but I can't find anything that
links TRW and Federal-Mogul to each other.

AFAIK, they are two distinct separate mega-conglomerates.

 

Nope.

http://www.federal-mogul.com/cda/content/front/0,2194,2442_888403_907204,00.ht
ml
(see letter 'S')[/QUOTE]

Page is titled; Product Line Flags Used For Federal-Mogul Orders

I think this could mean that Federal-Mogul buys components from
TRW. Doesn't specifically mention TRW as a brand of F-M or vise
versa.

Couldn't get this page to open.

TRW is more than steering and suspension components, Moog is
AFAIK 100% steering and suspension.

An interesting read non the less...

They have a facility in Alabama?

Large parts stores buy out and/or absorb small parts stores, the
inventory more often than not is re-boxed to match the new store
even though it wasn't sourced by who evers name is on the box.
I've seen this a number of times when CarQuest did their Borg
imitation on local mom and pop auto parts stores in this area.

Yup, F-M has been on the ropes for a few years now, though it
reads as though this is a move to allow them to side step some
responsibilities for asbestos abatement, etc.

K-mart goes bankrupt, K-mart buys Sears.
Gotta love those MBAs!

 

[/QUOTE]

Maybe TRW sold a division to Moog. TRW Automotice is a NYSE listed
company:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=trw
and so is Moog:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MOG-A&d=t

 

Looking a bit more, it looks like Moog Chassis is NOT part of Moog Inc. So
perhaps Federal-Mogul bought the chassis divisions from Moog?

Looking at TRW, it appears that there is some kind of supply arrangement
between the TRW and Federal-Mogul
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-16-2002/0001765171&EDATE=

 

There's the link. That totally explains why I got two different parts
(one Moog, one TRW) in the same identical (with the single exception of
the "Made in..." line) TRW box

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

aarcuda69062 wrote:

I think you're right - the link in the post by "Whoever"
(http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-16-2002/0001765171&EDATE=)
nails it I think.

....no doubt the result of the marketing agreement linked by Whoever.

That's not the explanation here - where would they get the TRW boxes
(which both TRW and Moog parts come in)? It's the marketing agreement.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Yup, the link from "whoever" nails it.