NOS. New old stock

[sprink88]

Lower ball joints are about 100 bucks.  I have seen NOS adjustable ones for 20-30 bucks on ebay.  Think they are ok?

[SkylinerRon]

NORS,  NOS will be in Ford boxes.

Ron.

[sprink88]

Thanks.  Didn't answer my question.  But I did see a couple in Ford boxes.  So yes.  NOS

I would rather trust a company still in business like Gird than a old repro company that is out of business

[RICH MUISE]

I see the problem in nos ball joints not being the joint itself, but more than likely the rubber grease boot. I don't know if the boots can be replaced independently, or where you could fing them.
edit:...or find them!

[sprink88]

True. 

[SkylinerRon]

Ok, I'll clarify. NOS is new Ford.  NORS is new aftermarket (can be good, Trw/Moog or bad, cheap chinese junk)
Ford didn't make adjustable ball joints only the aftermarket did.
The boots last a long time in the boxes away from light, heat and ozone.
New boots are available if needed, PST and others sell them. Also tierod boots.
Goodluck,
Ron.

[RICH MUISE]

Good info as usual Ron...thanks for the input. You've been a great addition to our forum with your incredible knowledge and willingness to share...THANKS!!

[SkylinerRon]

Rich,
I'm blushing!
Thanks,
Ron.

[Zapato]

Now, if we only knew who originally supplied a part to Ford would their own branded identical replacement part be considered NORS ? I wouldn't hesitate to buy a part just because it didn't come in a red/white Ford box. Or because the same identical part lacks a Ford logo.

Just recently bought some tie-down hooks for my F150. They're made by BULL. You can buy a pair from Ford ,with their logo, online and at the dealers for a ridiculous price. Ford even tells you on their website who builds them. a quick search online and I was able to buy 2 pairs with shipping for less than a pair directly from Ford. Of course some restorer in the future wouldn't want them as they arrived in a ''white'' box and are labeled BULL instead of Ford.

NOS may not always be the best choice. And not just from a price point. OEMs make hundreds of small changes during any production year. So if a part has failure issues it gets attention and replaced mid year. Now a NOS part could be from the original group in beautiful packaging but with a higher possibility of failure.

Had a friend back in my Navy days, worked on a Chrysler assembly line hanging fenders. According to him if a fender, door, hood etc... caused any issues on the line it got pushed to the side. Guess where they went? If you said scrap bin you would have lost that bet. Boxed up and  off to dealers as spare crash parts. Am guessing this would/could have been standard practice at most OEMs.

Anyway, I've driven this ''Rambler'' long enough its time to pass the keys on to the next driver.

Zap-

[SkylinerRon]

Ok, let me go a little deeper into this.
By definition NOS is OEM labeled. NORS is aftermarket labeled.
One reason is the OEM's set quality (metalurgy, ect.) standards on everything because of liability suits ect.
Aftermarket co's often sell lower quality parts to us than to the OEM's
Not saying all NORS is bad at all. Some co's make top notch parts, some don't. After working in dealers for a couple of decades i'll buy OEM for the cars i'm keeping and aftermarket for the dd's. Your car your choice.

On the superceded parts if a part is defective they will pull it from parts depts also.
Generally they start putting them on the assembly line as soon as they are available (can't stop the lines!).
Parts are superceded mainly by making a part more universal. Example, there were many Y-Block headgaskets back in the day. Now there is one number to fit all.  Cuts down on the massive inventories required.

Body parts pulled before paint are sent thru the parts stream if the damage is very minor (again, can't stop the line for body work no matter how minor) and because body parts get beat-up in transit anyhow.  Just practical.
Having worked in a bodyshop during school (in the 60's) I understand why they like used parts, much less prep time just scuff the old paint and shoot. Most customers want new though.

Side note, most Shelby hard parts were OEM Ford w/ a Shelby number sticker pasted on and a higher price.
So it can go both ways on price and quality. You have to do the research.

Ron.