MOOG Tie-Rod Ends vs OEM

I recently replaced the TREs (Tie-rod ends) on both sides. I used the Moog Part #

$16 ES80895 Steering Tie Rod End for Toyota Tacoma

ES80895, since they are greasable, and Moog has a good reputation.

I immediately noticed how tall the boot is compared to the OEM boot. I didn't think much of it at the time, so I filled them with grease and swapped them out.

After torque'ing them down to 67 ft.-lbs, the boots did not bellow out and just smashed down. Less than 2 weeks later, one of the (Moog) boots has split completely, and I'm suspecting this is due to how compressed the boot is.

Why is this happening?! This seems like a design flaw to me, especially with how much taller the Moog boots are compared to OEM - that rubber has to go somewhere when torqued down, and it just puts extra strain on the boot itself.

I was shipped a replacement TRE, but I am hesitant to swap it out if the same thing will happen again. I've had the OEM ones on there for 65k with no torn boots.

Here are some comparison pics of OEM vs MOOG. Notice when I compress the boot it collapses and does not bellow out/expand. Same thing happens when I torque them down:





Pass. Side - Moog Boot split within 2 weeks of install.


Drive's Side


Has this happened to anyone else? Any suggestions what I should do, i.e. - add air to the boot, more grease, contact Moog directly?

 

That boot looks like it would crack from the get go seeing how tall it is without any creases for it to fold at. I went with OEM and I haven't had a problem after a few thousand miles.

 

I have the MOOG TREs as a spare set...seeing this they will only be a spare set until I can get an OEM part. Not sure why that boot is so tall.

 

I recently replaced Jasmines inner tre's on her 4runner with a pair of these. These are definitely better quality the OEM. I ordered from Parts Masters and got super lucky that they were inside the box. I guess Parts Masters is just like ordering stuff from Beck Arnely that they usually will have the OEM version packaged in their branded boxes and for a lot cheaper then ordering from the dealership..

 

Any other pictures of these?

 

only this one lol..

 

Lol that one is so much better.

 

I know we already talked about this a bit but after reading your post one thing came to mind... I didn't grease mine till after they where installed. I've ran mine for more then 10k miles with no issue and they're small and ballooned out with grease(which you probably noticed when looking at them).

 

I was thinking about this as well. I wonder how well they would do if greased after they were installed. It seems like if you install them, the boot will compress some to sort of seal itself. Then grease it up. If it's greased before installing then the boot can't really compress and it just splurges all over the place. This does make me nervous about buying Moog though. I've always heard better things about them and an considering buying their ball joints.

 

Thanks Nick! That's the only other thing I could think of - shove more grease in there until they are bloated and obese!

I might send this info. to Moog as well to see if they have any feedback or info. why the boot design is so different than OEM

 

any feedback from moog? am considering their tie rods also.

 

I replaced all my tie rods and balljoints with moog. The only ones that split the boots have been the upper ball joints. I was told by my auto parts guy to bring in the boots and he would replace them under warranty.

 

No response from Moog (yet).

I replaced the side with the split boot and pumped more grease into them (after install). It took A TON of grease, but both sides are full and ballooned out now. I will keep an eye on them to see how they hold up.

 

How are they holding up?

 

I'm curious as well since I've got 2 of these coming this week and plan to install them this weekend.

 

Mine haven't split *yet* but it looks like it's only a matter of time. The boot is a horrible fit. I wanted to put my worn out factory ones back on after seeing that boot squished into a ball of ass.

 

Thanks.

All moog had to do was faithfully copy the OEM design and add a zerk fitting, and it would seem that they can't even do that right.

 

Just checked, Mevotech had some ends for us,
Mevotech MES80895

I'm gonna look into those...

 

I'm not sure why you wouldn't go with OEM for tie-rod end replacement? I just did an entire rack, urethane bushings, and rack ends,.. and up here in Canadaland, the price difference between OEM & Moog was negligable. Looking at the Moog TRE boot, I don't know how it wouldn't crack (cycling suspension on an already folded-over boot).
Bummer that the parts didn't work out. Fingers crossed for an easy solution.

 

I was looking for one that was greasable...which won't matter if the boot splits and the grease pours out.

And I already ordered 2.