Majestic Honda:Online OEM parts supplier?

[toycar]

Hey guys I have a question and thought it was more off topic than anything else.

Ive read about Majestic Honda on the forum being a source for parts and I am in the market for some OEM goodness. Long story short, I bought some moog shit from a different online vendor and it came as repackaged "national" brand stuff.

Anyways, I installed everything a year or so ago and its already showing age. Upper/lower ball joints and wheel bearings in particular. I also read about some knock off or cheap version of moog shit floating around and I think that is what I have.

You'd have to google it, but it has a brass cover on the ball joint and "sss" or "555" stamped on it somewhere. Thats how you identify the junk over the good.


Nothing has gone bad yet but 7,000 miles later its lost its new car feel and I feel like its because the parts were crap.


This time I want OEM and hopefully the nice tight feeling in the suspension will last longer. When I called my stealership(s) in town they were outrageous for parts. I couldn't believe they wanted $119 and some change for one ball joint. I had read on the forum about them being $16-$28 from the dealer.



I started looking around some more and read that Majestic was a quality supplier but when I looked up the ball joint in particular I thought it was too cheap and probably junk.


This is the link to the part;

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...tcgry5=KNUCKLE


It would be item #4, which is $15.90


Sounds like a nice price, and I read up on Musashi. They've been making Honda parts since the 50's.



What do you guys think? Too good to be true, or OEM as fuck?


Lol


For anyone interested in why my shit is showing its age, Im really not sure. I did a complete bushing kit, upper control arms and lower ball joints, lower control arms, wheel bearings, inner and outer tie rods, struts/oem springs and axles all in one shot.


Car drove like brand new when I was done for quite a while. Its still a very nice handling car, I can just feel the difference in the ball joints. When I pulled the castle nut off the ball joint is loose enough that I can spin it by hand and push it around with ease. The boot is good, but the joint itslef is very loose.


Thanks for any feedback on Majestic as a parts supplier or Musashi ball joints.

[4GAccordH22]

Majestic Honda sells OEM parts. Everything that I have purchased from them came in Honda packaging. I would trust them for ALL of my OEM parts requirements.

[wildBill83]

I have MOOG problem solvers, they are possibly better than OEM. I think the price you have from Majestic is correct.

OEM or MOOG would be my choice.

Just a few questions, when you installed did you use a press? Did you torque it to OEM specs?

Some notice early failure if they used the hammer out/hammer in method and over/under torqued the components.

If you had them professionally installed and they still failed early you can get a refund/replacement on warranty.

[H311RA151N]

I dont think you will find anyone who has had problems with Majestic Honda. I myself have spent around 1.5k this year with no problems what so ever. Everything has been in good condition and in Honda packaging.

For the price of Moog you might as well go with OEM stuff. Some members on here are just now replacing some of the original suspension componets. 20 something years and 200k+ later. That in its self is a testament to how good Honda OEM stuff is.

BTW Majestic Honda only ships from Honda parts dealers. Idk if many Honda parts dealers stock anything else other than just Honda OEM but I havent got anything wrong or bad from them in all the 40+ parts Ive bought.

[toycar]

I have MOOG problem solvers, they are possibly better than OEM. I think the price you have from Majestic is correct.

OEM or MOOG would be my choice.

Just a few questions, when you installed did you use a press? Did you torque it to OEM specs?

Some notice early failure if they used the hammer out/hammer in method and over/under torqued the components.

If you had them professionally installed and they still failed early you can get a refund/replacement on warranty.

Hydraulic 20-ton shop press with snap-on ball joint master kit and Honda adapter.


Torqued to spec. Honestly I don't even see how people hammer in ball joints on these knuckles. On some cars I think you can safely hammer in and out joints, with enough finess. Not on an Accord. Theres like 6" of clearance between the top of the ball joint and the knuckle.

I know how to install a ball joint correctly. Im probably being picky about the feel of the joint.

The problem solver(s) are the joints in question. They haven't lost any grease, boot looks new. Joint is installed correctly, but you can move the shaft around waaay to easy and its just not as tight as it once was. Im sure some of it is wear and tear, but christ the last ones lasted 200,000 miles. 7,000 miles later I think they should still feel new but when I took the castle nut off the shaft-the shaft was spinning in the boot. Its that loose. No in and out play, and its not clanking or anything. The ball joint just seems too loose too soon.

The "shaft spinning in the boot while taking the castle nut off" thing has always been an indication that its time to replace the joint. My entire life I've always replaced a joint after it did that to me. I know its not an emergency when the shaft spins, but I take it as a sign to get it done sooner than later.

The wheel bearings make a grindy noise with the wheels off the ground and turning the wheels by hand. After a long process of elimation, I realized the bearings themselves are making a grindy noise.


The bearings were purchased as moog, but when I got them in the mail and opened them up they were clearly stamped "National" and not "Moog"

[wildBill83]

Hydraulic 20-ton shop press with snap-on ball joint master kit and Honda adapter.


Torqued to spec. Honestly I don't even see how people hammer in ball joints on these knuckles. On some cars I think you can safely hammer in and out joints, with enough finess. Not on an Accord. Theres like 6" of clearance between the top of the ball joint and the knuckle.

I know how to install a ball joint correctly. Im probably being picky about the feel of the joint.

The problem solver(s) are the joints in question. They haven't lost any grease, boot looks new. Joint is installed correctly, but you can move the shaft around waaay to easy and its just not as tight as it once was. Im sure some of it is wear and tear, but christ the last ones lasted 200,000 miles. 7,000 miles later I think they should still feel new but when I took the castle nut off the shaft-the shaft was spinning in the boot. Its that loose. No in and out play, and its not clanking or anything. The ball joint just seems too loose too soon.

The "shaft spinning in the boot while taking the castle nut off" thing has always been an indication that its time to replace the joint. My entire life I've always replaced a joint after it did that to me. I know its not an emergency when the shaft spins, but I take it as a sign to get it done sooner than later.

The wheel bearings make a grindy noise with the wheels off the ground and turning the wheels by hand. After a long process of elimation, I realized the bearings themselves are making a grindy noise.


The bearings were purchased as moog, but when I got them in the mail and opened them up they were clearly stamped "National" and not "Moog"

Cool, thanks for answering the questions. I'll watch my MOOG parts for early wear as noted as well.

[toycar]

Cool, thanks for answering the questions. I'll watch my MOOG parts for early wear as noted as well.

Not knocking Moog as a brand at all. They have been my go to brand forever. And the thing is, the ball joints aren't BAD. They just aren't NEW like they were. I feel like the "new" feeling wore out too quick.


However, it is what it is. I think I got swindled by an online parts vendor, or the vendor got swindled by a wholesaler.

Either way, OEM this time. I dont want to do this again next year.

[deevergote]

Majestic Honda is a Honda dealership in CT. They SHOULD be selling Honda parts, no different than those you'd find at your local Honda parts counter. If they are selling cheap knockoff parts instead, they're going to find their online business going down the shitter... very quickly.

[toycar]

I wonder how stealerships get away with selling shit so much more expensive then others.


You would think Honda would want a level of consistancy between their suppliers.

[deevergote]

The dealership I go to, Burns Honda (www.burnshonda.com) was selling OEM lower ball joints for $25 last time my friend bought them there. They don't seem to have a fancy online ordering system like Majestic, but it looks like you can order from them. Might be worth checking out, if the prices are still the same. They always do right by me.

[Fleetw00d]

I have purchased thousands of dollars in parts from Majestic. All parts have been in Honda packaging. The vast majority of parts have been fine, but I have had some problems. Shipping is generally quick; sometimes is take a few days to accumulate odd parts. Best savings are achieved when you accumulate a large order so that shipping costs don't eat up all the discount (30% list prices).

Recently received a door protector that was damaged; they are sending another one.

Problems out of their control:
Door protector missing the adhesive strips; replacement they got also did not have them; indicates to me they are being made incorrectly.

Fender protector mispackaged, got 90-91 part labeled as 92-93 part, which is what I ordered. Replacement they got was also 90-91 part mislabeld. Indicates something wrong in the system or maybe they don't make the 92-93 part?

CB9 muffler received with the exit pipe at the wrong angle (angled about 20 degrees down from horizontal). Replacement muffler was the same way; indicates it is being manufactured incorrectly. Had the pipe cut off and rewelded in proper orientation.

[deevergote]

With cars as old as ours, it's likely that Honda has taken to having replacement parts manufactured by cheaper companies, as the sale of more expensive OEM replacement parts has likely drastically decreased in volume.

For example, you could pay $100 for a true OEM quality replacement part. $70 for a cheaper Honda-badged replacement part. Or perhaps $50 for a known "cheap" part.
At 50% off, many people with our old cars would elect to buy the known cheapie part. But for just $20 more, the "authentic" Honda part might attract some buyers.

The majority of the parts on our cars were never "made by Honda" in the first place. Most of the components were made by other companies that specialize in the production of such things... so all Honda has to do is change the company they purchase their "authentic" parts from.

[Granite CB7]

Regarding balljoints, I have this mindset that if it's not Honda, it's junk. I've had Moogs from Napa, Spicers from RockAuto, even SPC camber kits, all made in china and some did not last long @ all. The spicers did the worst, worn out 1 yr later, grease was toast, boot ring clamps were too loose letting water in. Moog replacements were the same way, clamp rings way too loose, had to fix that. SPC did the best out of all of them w/ approx. 90K miles. Stick to Honda balljoints and susp. parts, I've never had a problem w/ Majestic either.

[SOHC-FTW]

I wonder how stealerships get away with selling shit so much more expensive then others.


You would think Honda would want a level of consistancy between their suppliers.

I get my part's cheaper at a local'ish NC dealer. I have dealt with majestic's a few times, decent prices shipping is a bit slow and as it should be all part's are OEM.

[illinois_erik]

Regarding balljoints, I have this mindset that if it's not Honda, it's junk. I've had Moogs from Napa, Spicers from RockAuto, even SPC camber kits, all made in china and some did not last long @ all. The spicers did the worst, worn out 1 yr later, grease was toast, boot ring clamps were too loose letting water in. Moog replacements were the same way, clamp rings way too loose, had to fix that. SPC did the best out of all of them w/ approx. 90K miles. Stick to Honda balljoints and susp. parts, I've never had a problem w/ Majestic either.

Lots of things are made in china now, just look for a identifier if theyre so bold to put one on. Things you wouldnt even think of being made over there are. Was balancing some 2k12 Camaro wheels today..guess what..Chinese made Then did a flat repair on a new Challenger later on and checked the rim..Taiwan.. lmao. Pathetic. Whats even funnier is they are building new provinces in China named "America" and "Usa" (OOh Sah) so they can claim to be made in America or USA.. hilarious. Like it or not, thats where probably 90% of everything is coming from or will and that will increase as time goes on. One other thought just came to mind; how much of our tax money was used to "bail out" these fucking car manufacturers? A lot and we're repaid by them outsourcing simple items such as wheels that some good ole red blooded american could have made. Anyway love it or hate it China is the new powerhouse in the world. If they only had better quality control then everything from there wouldn't be labeled inferior
anyway sorry had to rant.