Old Mustanger

I am fairly new to the forum, but I have owned over 30 mustangs over the past 35 years. I presently own a Pacific Green Metallic 1997 SVT Cobra, which I love; it has less than 50k miles on it, a real sweet ride.

I would like some opinions on a recent situation; I feel I got ripped off on some parts purchases and want opinions pro & con. Basically what do you guys think?

I am going through the front suspension on the Cobra, I like to drive a little hard & a front suspension/steering system is not to be taken lightly. I rolled a 65 notch-back in 1976 due to a front strut bar breaking at 110 mph…..

I ordered new Moog Ball joints & a small 6T press from Summit Racing. I used a mechanical press/tool to remove the Ball Joints to disassemble the whole front end before the parts arrived. I also ordered complete Energy Suspension Bushings for everything, lowering springs & adjustable Konis front & back.

When I tried to install the Ball joints, the little 6T press I purchased from Summit just made a funny noise & didn’t do much else. Since the press was made in China, I assumed it was crap out of the box (safe assumption). So I took the Control Arms to a 12T press and had the same result…. So I figured something was obviously wrong. I removed the ball joints & gauged everything and the Moog ball joints were .030in oversized, not enough to “see” without a micrometer. Obviously the wrong joints or they were faultily machined. Summit verified that I did have the correct part numbers.

The problem: The holes in the Control Arms are now so oversized they will not take replacement ball joints, they sit & spin in the holes.
So I had to order complete new Control Arm assemblies, the lowest price I found for in-stock parts was $365 + S&H.

Now, in my opinion I did nothing wrong and Summit Racing should do SOMETHING to partially reimburse me for the damaged parts? At first they said that I was totally at-fault and they would only take back the bad ball joints. After a couple emails….. They offered me 10% off on new aftermarket Control Arms, which required changing over to coil-overs and nylon bushings in front. Their solution would cost me over a grand (and scrap my $450 front Konis!), my solution cost me $400.

So tell me: who measures ball joints with a micrometer before installing them? That seems to be what Summit thought I should have done….. Or I should have “known” somehow that there was something wrong with them (???).
I feel that the Moog parts are totally at fault for the damage: how was I to know? I have replaced about 2 dozen sets of Ball Joints in the past, so I am not quite an amateur.

I feel that Summit Racing should have offered to do something to make things right, but they were adamant that I was supposedly 100% at fault.
What do you guys think? How do other companies respond when you had problems with parts? Any other stories? It seems to me that Summit is not the company I thought it was. I have spent wads of money there over the years & never had problems, but I never had a return, either.
Dan

TRUEBLUE3934

This one is tough and I'm sure you'll receive a full array of responses.

I tend to agree that most consumers would have no idea that the parts were a tad over-sized and were damaging the arms as they were pressed in. Nobody I know would measure the press in force and monitor it against some "normal" range(spec found where?). Some interference is required, or else there would be no need for a press. Most reasonable individuals would be in your shoes right now.

My personal opinion is that Summit should have replaced the damaged parts for you and taken this issue up with the manufacturer for reimbursement. However, that takes time and effort to pursue, and if the manufacturer refuses reimbursement then Summit would be out the money. With the risk of money lost for Summit, I would have hoped for them to at least call Moog and see if they would be open to reimbursement for the out of spec parts. If Moog was not cooperative, Summit could have then met you half way in a gesture of shared loss for an issue out of both of your control.

I too have purchased a bunch of products from Summit over the past 28 years and never had any issues, so I would not completely write them off as a bad retailer.

Chalk it up to experience and let it go. Nothing healthy comes from clinging to bad feelings.

Good luck with your Cobra project!

BLKSTANGER

Sounds like a lose/lose situation to me. I would have never thought to check the size of a ball joint before trying to press it in. The only ball joints I have ever done were a pain in my *** though so I probably wouldn't have known the difference.
I have used Summit plenty in the past with zero issues. I would have thought they would have gone to bat for you with Moog to at least try and get it resolved. Good luck.

AdderMk2

Think of this as a fantastic time to upgrade to 03-04 cobra control arms.... or do tubular with a coilover front suspension conversion.

sv650lex

Agreed. a new front setup would be nice.

If the little bit the control arm stretched is to much to put a stock one back in, can't you use a bigger press. Try a 20 ton. The other thing you could try is to heat up the control arm then press it in.

Old Mustanger

I did upgrade to the 03-04 cobra control arms, the end cost was the same.

Old Mustanger

I would like to hear some stories from guys with parts problems who dealt with companies who had CS and helped you out.
Where can you buy from and actually get good Customer Service when you have problems?

Syracuse315

Americanmuscle.com

TRUEBLUE3934

+1 on AMERICAN MUSCLE
Their customer service has always resolved challenges for me and I have heard several impressive stories from others as well.

Keep in mind that even very good companies are likely to have an occasional issue that cannot be or isn't resolved to the customer's full satisfaction.

Old Mustanger

Somebody at Summit is listening (watching?) it seems.
Got an email from Summit management.
They agreed with my position generally speaking and they offered me a gift card for about 40% of the damages I reported (replacement of the LCAs).
That is fair, I think.

When the gift card arrives, it will take me all of 3 minutes to spend it on additional Mustang parts!