cost of ball joints?

[imholte]

I went to Les Schwabs to see what it would cost to fix my truck from wondering all over the road, and they quoted me $505 for putting on new upper and lower ball joints on both fronts. They list the ball joints as $58 a piece, where as LMC lists them at $17. What is the big difference between these two parts?

I just think 500 is alot for new ball joints and I want my tie rod/drag links ends replaced too and might just buy the LMC parts and have a local mechanic replace them.

Any ideas on rebuilding the front suspension in relation to costs. Id do it myself but i live in an apartment complex right now and they dont allow people to work on their autos.

[70 beast]

a local napa shop quoted me ~20 per ball joint and ~20 for install.
id say ordering them and having a shop install would be a better idea

[turp mcspray]

The BEST ball joint for a 4wd (the truck in your pic looks 4wd) is a spicer. With big tires (36") they are the ONLY ones that wouldn't wear out in 6 months on my blazer.

[onlyifihadachevy]

You most likey will get a better price from napa than a local repair shop, because they are getting the part from the same place for around the same place unless they get a lot from the place.

The cost of replacing really depends on if they do actual time or reccommended time from alldata.

[special-K]

$500 sounds about right or a ball-joint job.I wouldn`t put $12 ball-joints on anything.The money you need to save would be in the labor.But,consider the time it takes and how much you`d want to do it.I put about $150 into my ball-joints,IIRC.

[Griffin]

There are basicazlly 5 different prices when it comes to car parts.

1. Manufacturer price - the price a wholesale place pay the original maker.
2. Wholesale price - the price the parts stor buys it for.
3. "Jobber" price- the price a parts store sells it to a repair shop for.
4. Retail price - the price you pay walking in off the street at a parts store.
5. "list price" - the price a repair shop charges you for it.

If you look in the LMC catalog you'll see that it has a retail price and a much higher "list price." A lot of shops won't install customer bought parts under the reasoning of "warranty issues," and there is a very little truth to that. Mainly, they usually have a mark up of 65 - 100 percent on the parts they install on your car and don't want you bringing your own parts because it cuts into their profit. The mechanic doing the work is still getting the "flag" hours for doing the install. If the book says it should take 3 hours for the job, they charge you three hours of labor, even if it takes 45 minutes. It's pretty much the industry standard. Buy quality ball joints, get an owners service manual, do it yourself and save the money.

[84 400]

Ball joints are a PITA to do so i would buy quality parts and do it right. Spicer or the MOOG ones are good. The MOOG brand makes one with a grease fitting on the side which makes greasing the joint so much easier.

I would buy the parts (not necessarily from lmc unless they are ACDELCO) and have your mechanic do it.

[OLDCHEV4X4]

Ive had the best luck with Spicer and the heavy duty NAPA ball joints.
The spicer ones don't have grease fittings, the HD NAPA ones do.
Moog, TRW and Auto Zone brand dont hold up to severe abuse.

[special-K]

Yeah,if you go to Napa ask for the better ones,or Precision brand.I just called in for an idler arm for my`92.I could get one or 1/2 the price of the Precision.But,you get what you pay for.Ball-joints isn`t something you want to do very often.