I recently bought a 99 GMC Jimmy for my daughter. I had the car checked out by a mechanic I trust, and I was told that it needed new tires and that the pitman arm and idler arm would soon need to be replaced. I bought four tires last week and the tire shop independently told me that the lower ball joints and the inner tie rod ends were worn. They said the idler arm was bad but didn’t say anything about the pitman arm. I intend to get under the car and check things myself, but I wanted to ask (1) how difficult it is to replace these parts in a garage without a lift and (2) if Moog parts would be the better choice than AC/Delco or if it makes any difference.
This is kind of a non-responsive answer to your question, but I would get a third opinion since you don’t know 100% which mechanic to trust.
I don’t think the brand name of the parts is that important.