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lower ball joints

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Old 06-03-2003, 12:22 PM
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lower ball joints

I went to dealer today for oil change,
and they told me that the lower ball joints needs
to be changed for about 590$!!!!!!!!

What is it? do you think I should have them replaced? How long can I keep it unchanged?
Is this price ok or should I shop around?

My car drives fine right now, I didn't notice anything bad about the car. It has a lot of milage though, 96 maxima with 145000miles.

Thanks a lot for your help.....590$$$$$$$...
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Old 06-03-2003, 04:33 PM
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i think the best way i can put it, is if you like your wheels it's a good idea to get them replaced. if they are bad you will be able to rock the tire up and down while that wheel is in the air, it's an important joint seeing as though when they wear out they can ruin your tires, and i'm not too sure how likely it is, but one could break if it's worn out enough causing you wheel to fly out from under itself...which is probably alot more expensive....but 590 seems quite steep...if you know a mechanic personally you should see if they have a removal tool, that way you can do it yourself, or have him do it for cheaper...if not...then i guess it's up to you
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Old 06-03-2003, 07:03 PM
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Can you do lower ball joints without replacing the latteral link?

If new lower control arms come with the ball joint already pressed in them, you can probably save some money and buy a whole new assembly and install them yourself.

Then have the car aligned and you're all set for another 150,000 miles.
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Old 06-04-2003, 12:38 PM
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thanks

Thanks for your help, guys.
I asked several local repair stores, and I got the estimate about 350$ to replace the joints and do the alignment.

Is this a difficult job to do? do you think if I can trust a local store to do it for me instead of nissan dealers?
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Old 06-04-2003, 03:13 PM
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Were you experienceing any vibration at high speeds prior to the discovery of the bad ball joints?
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Old 06-04-2003, 06:43 PM
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ball joints are a fairly easy job given the right tools, so i think the local shop would be a good bet, especially if you're going to be paying that much less. just my 2 cents.

Later,

J
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Old 06-04-2003, 06:57 PM
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Originally posted by njmaxseltd
Can you do lower ball joints without replacing the latteral link?

If new lower control arms come with the ball joint already pressed in them, you can probably save some money and buy a whole new assembly and install them yourself.

Then have the car aligned and you're all set for another 150,000 miles.
The ball joints for the 4th gen Max come WITH the lower control arm. They are about $143 for the SE & GXE and about $168 for the GLE from www.nissanparts.cc

On the 3rd gen Max you can replace just the ball joint. Can't understand why they would go this way for the 4th gen Max.

Tim
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Old 06-04-2003, 08:07 PM
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Had this problem a couple of weeks ago. You can buy just the ball joint. I took the control arm off...more easily than I expected.. and had the ball joint pressed in by a local shop (Canadian Tire). It's quite a bit cheaper that way and more fun!!
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Old 06-23-2003, 11:21 AM
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Originally posted by klymkow


The ball joints for the 4th gen Max come WITH the lower control arm. They are about $143 for the SE & GXE and about $168 for the GLE from www.nissanparts.cc
anyone know the difference between the SE and the GLE part?
is one better than the other?

anyone know how difficult the install is?
I'd look in my Chilton's, but I lost it

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Old 06-23-2003, 10:18 PM
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Originally posted by FLO_BOY


anyone know the difference between the SE and the GLE part?
is one better than the other?

anyone know how difficult the install is?
I'd look in my Chilton's, but I lost it

FLO_BOY
BUMP

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