I'm looking at replacing the steering parts on my S10 race truck; the old ones are a little rusty and one or two pivot points seem to wobble a bit too much. They're probably original 1982 parts.

O'Reilly's lists several brands that vary quite widely in price. I'm looking at Moog parts, but AC Delco and other brands they list are far cheaper. Other parts are Proforged, Rare Parts, and Masterpro.

I normally lean towards top-quality replacement parts, but my S10 is race-only anymore.

Also: could I skip having to have the toe-in/toe-out professionally adjusted if I just keep the new parts the same length?

Thanks!
Troy

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No doubt moog is ace-high as far as quality goes, and they charge for it. Search the net on how to "string align" for toe. Basically tape some string midway of rear tire diameter (axel center) on the trailing edge "tread". Then run it to the front of the car, on say a jack stand and move the string/jack stand inward until the string just touches the leading edge of the rear tire. Then measure both leading/trailing distance of the front tire from the string (steering wheel straight ahead of course) and set your toe accordingly. Good luck!

Moog is good stuff. If you can get the part #'s and ck ebay, so many independent parts stores inventories being liquidated. Plenty of good deals on NOS name brand parts. If you have any inkling of bump steer you can use heim joints and drill out the steering arms for 5.8" bolts and eliminate the outer tie rod ends.
For toe you can use the string method. Or you can make toe plates from metal or even wood. Lay them against the tires and use 2 tape measures. Have someone hold the tapes on one side while you read them on the other. The difference between them is your toe in/out reading. If your truck goes down the track with the body raised up you can raise it up a little and ck toe there to find the happy medium.http://www.longacreracing.com/technical-articles.aspx?item=8161&article=Set%20Toe%20Properly

In the process of rebuilding the entire front end on a 1995 S10 S/St, bracket truck. Did the research on brand quality, MOOG by far the best, imo. Also, as a former commercial sales manager for a major auto parts retailer I can attest that MOOG had the FEWEST warranty or come back issues. Many of the retailers sell very cheap Chinese junk. MOOG is USA.

Great information, guys; thank you all! I shall invest in MOOG parts then. If I sell the truck one day it would be a nice selling point I reckon.

The tips on DIY toe setting are useful and the discount parts info as well.
I would wager that someone demonstrates the procedure on YouTube.

I've downloaded the article from Longacre Racing.

Cheers,
Troy

Use either Moog or Delco if you can't get a Moog piece.

quote:

Originally posted by chasracer:
Use either Moog or Delco if you can't get a Moog piece.

Will do; thank you.