Beware of Moser!

[97ramair]

I purchased a 9" from Moser about 5 months ago and have had nothing but problems both with customer service and quality! First, they sent me the rear without the ABS ring which I paid more for. Then after a couple of passes at the track the flange on the end of the axle bent! My car is only putting out about 450rwhp and I usually launch around 4000 rpm with drag radials. They told me that they do not warranty items that have been raced. Isn't that the reason we buy their rears? They do not back up their products and I have had better customer service from McDonalds! If another axle bends or breaks then I'm switchin over to Strange axles. Just a heads up to those who are considering buying one. I wouldn't!

[jetaws6]

what spline are you running or are you full spool?

[97ramair]

I'm running 31 spline w/ trutrac.

[Firebirdjones]

I purchased a 9" from Moser about 5 months ago and have had nothing but problems both with customer service and quality! First, they sent me the rear without the ABS ring which I paid more for. Then after a couple of passes at the track the flange on the end of the axle bent! My car is only putting out about 450rwhp and I usually launch around 4000 rpm with drag radials. They told me that they do not warranty items that have been raced. Isn't that the reason we buy their rears? They do not back up their products and I have had better customer service from McDonalds! If another axle bends or breaks then I'm switchin over to Strange axles. Just a heads up to those who are considering buying one. I wouldn't!

Ha, I could have told you they sucked 10 years ago before you plunked your hard earned money down. That's how long it's been since I quit dealing with them. Ever since the father died and the kids took over, it's all fell in the toilet.
They can't cast a 12 bolt housing straight, they don't know how to make a C-clip eliminator axle with seals on the bearings so they don't leak grease all over your brakes, are just a couple of things I've went round and round with them on. And the customer service,,,well that's an entirely new chapter to discuss in itself. Goodluck.....

I have dealt with Strange and Currie ever since and won't look back.

[97ramair]

I wish I read this before I ordered mine! It took me a very long time to set aside the $ for this unit and I'm so pissed and dissapointed at that company. Hopefully others will read this and think twice.

[pajeff02]

So far, the only problem with my Moser 12 bolt is that the drain plug in the aluminum cover pulled out all the threads when I attempted to remove it. I have a bit of whine at 1,500 rpm under light cruise conditions, but over the past few weeks it seems to be subsiding as the car is driven more.

[Firebirdjones]

I wish I read this before I ordered mine! It took me a very long time to set aside the $ for this unit and I'm so pissed and dissapointed at that company. Hopefully others will read this and think twice.

That's all you can do is let people know. You know the old saying,

You can lead a horse to water but...........

[Firebirdjones]

So far, the only problem with my Moser 12 bolt is that the drain plug in the aluminum cover pulled out all the threads when I attempted to remove it. I have a bit of whine at 1,500 rpm under light cruise conditions, but over the past few weeks it seems to be subsiding as the car is driven more.

It seems I've mentioned this stuff before in here somewhere but it's worth mentioning again.
My first hickup with Moser was years ago using one of their 4th gen Fbody 12 bolts. First I'll say, Moser casts all their own 12 bolt torque arm housings in house. All the other rearend companies like Strange and Currie use an outside supplier (I'll leave nameless) to cast all of their 12 bolt housings.

Now with that said, I had (for the first time) a Moser 12 bolt. Along with all new parts that I assemble myself. Been doing this stuff for 25+ years without an issue till this instance. I first set up the pinion using a pinion depth gauge per gear manufacture recomendations, and then set backlash. Only after I have that right, I check with gear marking compound just to double check my work. I was getting a weird pattern as I rotated, and couldn't figure out why. After several attempts I decided to install in the car. After proper break in, then driving, the first 5 miles were fine, then out of no where it sounded like a school bus. Just horrible whinning.

Round 2: I called Richmond and told them the situation. They agreed to send me another set of gears no charge. Went through the procedure again, still got this strange gear pattern. Tried it in the car, same thing, school bus sindrome. Called Richmond again, they agreed to send me another set no charge. (My hats off to Richmond for attempting to make this right, it turned out not to be their fault,,,,read further) I set this ring and pinion asside and decided to dig deeper.

Took the bare housing to a friend, set it up on a jig and started checking things. Turned out the center casting was not straight. The Posi unit would sit in the housing angled off to one side something like .003". Doesn't sound like much but it was enough to cause grief. So I called moser.

You can guess where that went. They wouldn't exchange for another housing, wouldn't warranty the housing,,,nothing. So I was stuck with a housing that was good for a door stop. Moser told me to ditch the Richmond gear set (ya right) and use Motive.
Now I've used Motive before, don't really care for the quality. It is said they tend to run quieter, and I believe that is due to a less hardened gear set that doesn't go through the same heat treating processes that Richmond uses. So in a sense you are getting a less inferior gear set. I won't go any further into that, but I knew Moser was wanting to put blame on someone else. To please them, I bought a Motive gear set. Set it up, still got a very strange gear pattern, I took pictures of the pattern and sent them to Moser along with our findings on the jig. Never got a response back about that one

I installed the rearend anyway and it also whinned like a school bus. I ended up pulling the rearend and selling to a racer that didn't care about noise.

I went and bought a Strange housing, set it up with the new Richmond gear set that I had set aside from the previous issues. The dial indicators didn't lie. I got a beautiful pattern the first try. This rearend has been quiet as a mouse in a low 11 second 4th gen for years.

Needless to say, it wasn't the gear set choice, it was the housing choice. Something else I don't like about Moser housings, is they use bracketry that they also make in house, and it shows. You can tell a Moser housing right away in any 4th gen just by looking at the brackets they weld on. They also don't bother to weld on any brake line tabs to the axle tubes. Would only take 5 minutes. I ended up making my own.

One thing I liked about the Strange housings right off the bat,,,they use GM brackets with the radius opened to fit the larger tubes. The GM brackets just give a more factory appearance that looks more professional. They also use brake line tabs for your brake lines. Once the rear is installed it looks like GM put it there. Not some cobbled up shit with homemade brackets. Sounds petty, but appearance is just as important as function to me.

So next time you guys go on a rearend hunt, give this some thought. You'll pay a little more for a Strange setup, but you get better quality, and a quiet rearend. I've used Strange and Currie ever since and have never had so much as a hickup in customer service or quality with either company.

[Firebirdjones]

Here is another Moser instance with quality and customer service....

Setup a factory GM 12 bolt for my fathers car. Needed to go with C-clip eliminators, so I modified the housing to do so.
I made the mistake of buying the axles and bearings from Moser. Wasn't quite sure at the time, but I noticed there wasn't any type of seal engineered into the bearing end between the bearing and the bolt on plate. I put it together to try it.

Dads car is 70% street car, 30% race car. So it sees street duty. After a few weeks he complained of mushy brakes. Thought of a leaking wheel cylinder but when I peaked under the car I saw gear oil on the backing plates. Pulled the wheels and found the brakes soaked with oil. I knew exactly what was going on so I picked up the phone to give Moser a jingle

Here is what he said.....

"Those C-clip eliminator axles aren't meant to run on the street, they are meant for racing where you only go in a straight line" Needless to say I lost it. What a lame excuse. I asked him what happens when you turn off the track to the return road,,,,or turn the car into the water box,,,do you honestly think the gear oil is going to stay in the center of the housing all the time?? Don't you guys think this MIGHT be a safety issue when someones brakes go out???
I just told him I wanted to send them back for a refund. He flat out refused. So I pulled a fast one. My credit card company told me that if I sent them back with a signature I would get a full refund on my card. Well you guys know how UPS deliveries go at a business like that. They get a pile of stuff off the truck, and you end up signing for it before looking at anything to get the UPS driver on his way. So I decided to give it a shot and ship them out.

Well that's exactly what happened, Moser signed for the returned axles before they knew what they had, and I got my full refund through my credit card company
What really made my day was getting a call back from Moser about 3 days later, complaining about the returned axles and the fact that my credit card company got my money back from them You can guess what I told Moser to do

I called up Strange, told them my dilema, they said no problem. We have a set of C-clip eliminator axles with the bearing seals engineered into the design. They cost $100 more but you know the saying.......
Installed those and the car has been perfect ever since.

I hope someone gets something out of all this,,,because my fingers are tired

[xmarkx]

I want to give a huge thanyou for all of you guys sharing your horror stories.
I am about 2 paychecks away from having enough money to get a new rear and I already had an online order sheet filled out on moser's website. no way in hell am I buying a moser rear now!

[MrKid]

Have had no problems with mine. 3000 hard miles on it now

[jetaws6]

Have had no problems with mine. 3000 hard miles on it now

Have you ever launched your hard such as 4,000+ rpms?

[Zboner]

I have yet to have any issues with mine, and a buddy runs the same set up, no issues with his either and he is constantly at the track. but im sure like everything you have good and bad examples.

[jetaws6]

I have yet to have any issues with mine, and a buddy runs the same set up, no issues with his either and he is constantly at the track. but im sure like everything you have good and bad examples.

What tires is he using, what does he launch it at, auto or manual.....

Can you elaborate a little bit?

[Zboner]

using et streets, launcehs anywhere from 3,500-4,000 depending on track conditions, a 6 speed, pushing 525rwhp.

[MrKid]

Have you ever launched your hard such as 4,000+ rpms?

I've got a 6 speed, and sticky Dunlop Direzzas. I've done numerous 3000 burn outs, had the car up to 160 a few times, and even got some wheel hop a few times. No noise, no problems. I have about 500 at the crank. You can't just dump on a product because YOU had problems. I'm sure you will find others with problems with Moser or Strange rear ends.

[Firebirdjones]

I have yet to have any issues with mine, and a buddy runs the same set up, no issues with his either and he is constantly at the track. but im sure like everything you have good and bad examples.

It's not so much that they break. It's the quality of the parts, their assembly techniques, and their customer service.

I'm willing to bet you are talking about 9 inchers too. That's an entirely different animal.
You don't have the completely redesigned casting like you do with a torque arm 12 bolt design. The 9 inch is a simple sheet metal housing and the center sections have been reproduced in the aftermarket for 40 years. So you really don't have alignment issues with gear sets. There was no need to recast them, the torque arm mounts are a simple add on bracket system for the 9 incher.
The whole problem with Mosers 12 bolt was the fact that the center housing (that Moser casts in house) was not cast properly, the bearing caps were out of alignment. Evidently their quality control is not up to snuff,,,,or they simply allow that much error in their casting process, I don't know. But it's simply not acceptable to me.

[Firebirdjones]

I've got a 6 speed, and sticky Dunlop Direzzas. I've done numerous 3000 burn outs, had the car up to 160 a few times, and even got some wheel hop a few times. No noise, no problems. I have about 500 at the crank. You can't just dump on a product because YOU had problems. I'm sure you will find others with problems with Moser or Strange rear ends.

Again, you guys need to clearify,,,,,12 bolt or 9 inch.

If you really want to deal with Moser, then you are better off with their 9 inch rears. Stay away from their 12 bolts. See post above.

[MrKid]

It's not so much that they break. It's the quality of the parts, their assembly techniques, and their customer service.

I'm willing to bet you are talking about 9 inchers too. That's an entirely different animal.
You don't have the completely redesigned casting like you do with a torque arm 12 bolt design. The 9 inch is a simple sheet metal housing and the center sections have been reproduced in the aftermarket for 40 years. So you really don't have alignment issues with gear sets. There was no need to recast them, the torque arm mounts are a simple add on bracket system for the 9 incher.
The whole problem with Mosers 12 bolt was the fact that the center housing (that Moser casts in house) was not cast properly, the bearing caps were out of alignment. Evidently their quality control is not up to snuff,,,,or they simply allow that much error in their casting process, I don't know. But it's simply not acceptable to me.

If their casting prcess is wrong, it should effect all 12 bolts. Again, many people have no problem at all with them.

[MrKid]

Again, you guys need to clearify,,,,,12 bolt or 9 inch.

If you really want to deal with Moser, then you are better off with their 9 inch rears. Stay away from their 12 bolts. See post above.

12 bolt...