Ball Joint Replacement Question

[429CJ-3X2]

There are a number of valid reasons why people don't do their own work.

I have rarely taken my own vehicles to a shop, but I've been blessed that they haven't needed much for repairs. Thank God! When I have had work done at a shop, it seems to me they have a checklist of things they recommend you have done. I think they sometimes just look at the mileage and base their recommendations on that alone, often without actually doing any sort of inspection to see if you really need to have the work done. I would get a second opinion, whether you decide to do the work yourself or not.

 

[jo15765]

So I finally did the ball joint replacement and things went very well. The only question I have left is, when I took the ball joints to be greased they told me to get the explorer aligned.

Do I need to get my explorer aligned after doing this?

 

[Toucan]

It would be best, yes! Just for info. When I took mine in to align they damaged the grease boots. So make sure they are careful. It is difficult to get just the boots!

 

[jo15765]

Thanks for that info. I didn't realize that needed to be done, thank you for confirming their!


And thanks to all for the insight and assistance on what to do and how to perform this task.

 

[alohamonte]

I will suggest an alternative to doing it yourself.

I bought the uppers and lowers and paid someone off craigslist to do the work. I think I paid the guy $200 for everything. We were both happy with the arrangement.

 

[masospaghetti]

Kind of sick that a shop would charge 3x the rate for the parts. Amazon has a Moog UCA for $66 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Moog-K8708T-Control-Ball-Joint/dp/B000C5608O

Seems very typical of shops recently. Not only are they charging $100/hr labor rate, they charge double or triple the market price for parts. One place was getting parts from Advance Auto and using their list prices (ie, heavily inflated pre-discounted prices) and tacking 10% on top of THAT.

Anytime I go to a shop I remember why I got into wrenching in the first place.

Glad you got your truck sorted out.

 

[Toucan]

Kind of sick that a shop would charge 3x the rate for the parts. Amazon has a Moog UCA for $66 with free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Moog-K8708T-Control-Ball-Joint/dp/B000C5608O

Seems very typical of shops recently. Not only are they charging $100/hr labor rate, they charge double or triple the market price for parts. One place was getting parts from Advance Auto and using their list prices (ie, heavily inflated pre-discounted prices) and tacking 10% on top of THAT.

Anytime I go to a shop I remember why I got into wrenching in the first place.

Glad you got your truck sorted out.

I always wonder about costs in the USA. We in Belize have very low (appreciated) rates for labour on repairs. The cost of parts is very high in comparison to you all. I guess you cannot win all. The fee for replacing ball joints here is around $50.00 for all four.

 

[Flash]

Kind of sick that a shop would charge 3x the rate for the parts. Amazon has a Moog UCA for $66 with free shipping./QUOTE]

If I need a job done that I can't do myself, usually because of my back, and I don't think I'd be able to instruct my son; I shop around for the best price on decent quality parts and have an indy mechanic do the job.

Like the clutch on the Lancer and when the SAAB needs a clutch.