Hi guys. I have to replace the lower control arm on my 2004 ram 1500 4x4.
Are dorman and mevotech brands adequate replacements?
They cost about 113 vs 244 for moogs.
Judging form the pics the replacement come with one of the bushings, so I assume I should order another one , for the rear of the control arm where it meets torsion bar?
Any advice regarding this job welcome.. thx

 

There is some feedback and pictures of a Mevotech LCA here:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...-pics-etc.html

I would sooner press quality bushings and ball joints in your OEM control arm than get a whole Mevotech replacement. The quality of your OEM LCA is almost guaranteed to be better than the non-oem pieces. On the aftermarket pieces you dont know what kind of bushings or balljoints they use (likely bottom dollar), and are likely shooting in the dark as far as metallurgy and corrosion resistance.

 

Thanks for the response. I ended up ordering the moog LCA.
Meanwhile I'm stuck trying to get the Torsion bar out of the key and the LCA. Using lube but might try heat tomorrow.

 

The Moog is a very good replacement, and far superior to the OEM part. Reason it is more expensive is because it uses serviceable ball joints. OEM and most of the other aftermarket parts use cheaper sealed (non-serviceable) units.

 

coulda saved a bundle and just pressed in some new ball joints on the lowers, unless something else was messed up too

 

The OEM on my 2004 truck does have servicable ball joints. I put moogs on them a few years back. I took a few pics.

 

Yeah it was something else. The lower shock bolt that goes into the LCA broke flush with the LCA. I tried every kind of bolt extractor, lube with no luck. It was seized in there pretty good. I tried to drill out but ended up hacking things up worst.
The dealers, and I've called several in the area want 33 bucks for that replacement bolt..I'm just gonna go with a hardware store grade 8 and hope that does the trick.

 

That ball joint is not serviceable, it is sealed.
However, the tie rod end in your first picture is serviceable.

 

Sorry, I misunderstood what you meant. Yep, the moog is servicable (It has a grease fitting).