Stabilizer Bar links

[Gamma500]

Can an Engineer explain to me the thought process behind encasing a steel ball in a plastic housing?
I’ve replaced the front links last year and am now in the process of replacing the rears with MOOG greasable steel links, and they are cheaper.

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[Cherokee]

You just explained it.
MOOG greasable steel links are cheaper and will last longer.
Ford needs to give us stuff that wears out faster. So they can sell you your truck piece by piece over and over and over.

It’s a profit thing.

No maker wants to build vehicles that will last and last. They want you to buy a new one every three or four years.

Refrigerators used to last 20-30-40 years. At a board meeting the agenda was, ‘How can we sell more refrigerators?’

They decided to stop building motors with bearings.

They build them with nylon or cheap metal bushings that wear out after about 7-8 years.

The guy that came up with that got one hell if a raise.
I shit you not !

 

[Meeka]

You just explained it.
MOOG greasable steel links are cheaper and will last longer.
Ford needs to give us stuff that wears out faster. So they can sell you your truck piece by piece over and over and over.

It’s a profit thing.

No maker wants to build vehicles that will last and last. They want you to buy a new one every three or four years.

Refrigerators used to last 20-30-40 years. At a board meeting the agenda was, ‘How can we sell more refrigerators?’

They decided to stop building motors with bearings.

They build them with nylon or cheap metal bushings that wear out after about 7-8 years.

The guy that came up with that got one hell if a raise.
I shit you not !

Totally agree! On all my vehicles where I had to replace steering, suspension parts I’ve always went to Moog greaseable pieces, never a problem after that.

 

[Gamma500]

I’m always quick to complain about Ford OEM parts and their dismal failure rates.
It’s refreshing to give a callout to a product whose parts I’ve used on a multitude of vehicles over the years with success.
Hats off to MOOG, a good product at a reasonable price.
I am in no way associated with the company, I just think quality products deserve recognition.

 

[Sticks]

I'd imagine it's about money, maybe weight too. The Ford design should be strong enough for the application and cheaper to produce in very large quantities. The Moog design is probably cheaper to produce in smaller quantities because of it's simple construction.

It looks like the Ford part still uses a metal rod along most of the length, along with a metal cup in the swivel joint. The fiberglass-reinforced POM seems to be strong enough -- around 2/3rds the strength of a weaker steel like 304 at only 20% of the density. It visually looks like it should be strong -- great Area Moment Of Inertia for the plastic, with probably less stress concentration than the welds on the Moog part.

I'm surprised you had multiple links fail. It doesn't seem to be a very common issue on here.

 

[YV1227]

New guide line. Make so it last until the warranty expires, after that is not their problem any ways.
All industries are going that way. Anything that last more than five years they will be loosing money, or maybe not loosing but they could be making more, have to pay all those golden parachutes and big bonuses some how.

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