How big of a job to replace tie rod and ball joint?

[MTLFusion2010]

On my last trip to the service department they informed me that I will soon need to replace the front left tie-rod and lower left ball joint (part #s MEOE191 and MCF2263).

The parts on fordparts,.com are $200 but the dealer's estimate for parts and labour was ~$500, They charge a bit over $100 an hor for labour, so is this a 2.5 hour job?

Should I buy the parts off fordparts.com and take it to my corner mechanic instead?

 

[MTLFusion2010]

Thanks for all the responses ( all zero of them ). The lack of responses did make me do a better job researching before shooting my mouth. I found a Youtube video showing the steps involved in replacing the ball joint.

 

In the video it shows that it is necessary to drop the sub-frame in order to get better access. Add to that the fact that an alignment is needed ($80 job) I thought why not replace the ball joints on both ends at the same time.. I would hate to have to go through this again in few months should the other side decide it had enough of Montreal's pothole ridden streets.

 

When I called to make the appointment, the service representative objected and said "we only replace the parts that are defective". I did not push more, even though the car is out of warranty and I will be footing the bill.

 

So my question is (and I do hope to get some answers this time): Should I insist on doing the two sides at the same time or is ball-joint failure a random occurrence that the left side failure is not a predictor of an imminent right side one?

 

Happy holidays and a happy new year.

Cheers.

[drolds1]

I'd definitely do both sides. IMO, it doesn't make sense not to. I can't believe they'd refuse your request for non-warranty work. I'm sure there's another shop that'll be happy to take your money.

[MTLFusion2010]

I'd definitely do both sides. IMO, it doesn't make sense not to. I can't believe they'd refuse your request for non-warranty work. I'm sure there's another shop that'll be happy to take your money.

Thanks drolds1,

Thought so :-)

I'm sure if I insisted on the work they would do it, just wanted to see if there is was any sense in the answer I got.

[Big Jim]

Ask the service advisor if he wants the job or not and get his reaction.

 

It is very reasonable to replace them in pairs.

[thefoeyouknow]

The balljoint is a part of the lower control arm, there are 4 (not to be confused with the upper control arms). 2 attach to the struts, and 2 don't. you can replace any of those without dropping the subframe or requiring an alignment. They are all fixed parts, so replacing one doesn't alter the alignment in any way. The tie rod ends, on the other hand, ARE adjustable, and it's for the replacement of them, that you need an alignment afterward. The tie rod ends are extremely easy to replace, but the control arms depending on which, can be much more challenging.

[Waldo]

The balljoint is a part of the lower control arm, there are 4 (not to be confused with the upper control arms). 2 attach to the struts, and 2 don't. you can replace any of those without dropping the subframe or requiring an alignment. They are all fixed parts, so replacing one doesn't alter the alignment in any way. The tie rod ends, on the other hand, ARE adjustable, and it's for the replacement of them, that you need an alignment afterward. The tie rod ends are extremely easy to replace, but the control arms depending on which, can be much more challenging.

You're assuming the control arms are all built exactly the same, which is certainly not the case, especially if you go with aftermarket replacements. I certainly would get an alignment after changing any control arm.

 

As for replacing both sides, not only is it a good idea for the ball joints, but also because of the rubber bushing on the other end of the control arm. If you replace just once side you'll have nice fresh rubber on one side and hard stiff rubber on the other. The result will be asymmetric steering response.

 

And what the heck are you doing going to a dealer for a tie rod and ball joint repair anyway? Any good mechanic can do that job.

[MTLFusion2010]

...

 

And what the heck are you doing going to a dealer for a tie rod and ball joint repair anyway? Any good mechanic can do that job.

 

I didn't :-) I was just trying to size up the job so that I had a reference point when I went elsewhere, which I did. Bought the parts (motorcraft) from a major online store and went to a reputable local mechanic for installation (who was not too happy about missing up on the markup for the parts).

[drolds1]

 

I didn't :-) I was just trying to size up the job so that I had a reference point when I went elsewhere, which I did. Bought the parts (motorcraft) from a major online store and went to a reputable local mechanic for installation (who was not too happy about missing up on the markup for the parts).

Mechanics just love when you bring your own parts.

[thefoeyouknow]

It's not the mechanic you have to worry about if you bring good parts, he gets paid on labor. He'd be a little insulted, I think, if you showed up with garbage Duralast parts, but nobody I know would have a problem with Motorcraft or AC Delco, etc. It would be the Service Advisor giving you the sideways look. Most good aftermarket shops I know of don't mark up that much. For example, we buy at wholesale and sell at list, so if Napa (as an example) has a PCV valve for a Cabrio, we buy it for $63, which is the jobber price, now Napa lists that part for 99.95 as their list price, and THAT is the price we list it for on our invoice. There are a lot of undercar shops that have set markups at 300 to 350% and in my view, that's where the idea comes from that independents have a crazy mark up. Tuffy or Lentz or where ever does this because they have that insanely low hourly rate, like 50 or 60 bucks. Our hourly rate is the same as the dealers around us (the big three domestics, anyway), but we're not going nuts with parts. With a "normal" hourly rate* we don't have to.

 

*(I say Normal in that context, our costs are substantial, we have Ford's IDS, we have a GM tech2, and Chrysler WiTech, Volkswagen/Audi VCDS, among others, and they and their update subscriptions are extraordinarily expensive)