How hard is it to change uper ball joints, this is the main thing on my mav that didnt pass the saftey they wanted 370 dollars for labour and the part is only like 20 dollars, so i was wonder how hard is it to do and can i do it in my garage i know i will need a wheel alinement after but how much trouble is it to do.
You should be able to do it with the proper tools and a repair manual. They may be riveted on, in which case you would have to drill out/grind off the rivets and the replacments use bolts. A "pickle fork" may be necessary....
I am 17, Once i got the spindle knocked off i was done in 15 minutes each side all buttoned up. Really easy. -Todd
Yes i just found that out bout an hour ago i said the heck with it ran to autovalue pick up two upper ball joints pulled the tires off took a ball joint separater to them and droped the spindle and put the new ball joints on i dont know what the people at the repair shop were smoking when they told my 5 hours too change them it took me like an hour 15min and about 15 min of that i spent looking for my pickle fork
Greed is a good word for it. They also figure that you don't have the tools or place to do it. When it's a "safety" inspection issue, they figure you have to pay anyway.
It was 3 friggin bolts i wish i could get paid that much to undo and re tighten 3 bolts. other then a 2 dollar pickle fork i think any other tools you could find around the house.
You would probably be singing a different song if the original rivits were still in there. The side ones aint too bad but I've invented new words for that rear one.
I hear that! I had the A-arms out of the vehicle when I drilled the rivets out of mine and they were still a huge PITA.
Alignment is $40.00. Think I'll move to Colorado. Around here they charge $70. Yeah, the estimate sounds high for the work that needs done, but most garages estimate and charge by "the book". They have a rate book that gives a time for each kind of service they perform. The time the book gives is for the worst case ball joint replacement they may ever encounter. The less time it takes to actually do the job is just more profit for the garage. They seldom charge for the actual time required to do the job. Plus remember they always mark up any parts they supply, we used to automatically double the counter price of parts. It's always way better if you can buy the parts and do the work yourself.
Thats with out the wheel alinement they wanted like $70 to aline the toes, and $200 if they had to aline the camber or caster. I just left the A arms on and got the long compresser hose out and drill and drilled them on the car it works. (This was for the lower ball joints they were looking a little ratty so i replaced them as well mostly because i tore the boot when i was taking the pickle for to them.)
