I had another thread talking about this job. My '03 GLE has 71k miles on bad Boston roads and one ball joint is bad, the other seems ok. But if the other goes say in another 15,000 miles, I would have to pay for alignment twice.

I know Boston labor and parts prices are high. The alignment shop says the ball joint prices are a lot higher than what he is used to.

He wants approximately $260 including alignment for one balljoint, and about $460 including alignment for two balljoints.

 

Thats absurd. You can get a Moog balljoint online for about $40. Taking the control arms off for both sides is a 2hr job max. Paying $300 should be more than enough then maybe $50 for an alignment. Shop the job around. The economy is affecting shops as well so find one that needs the money more than this shop.

 

^^ +1

While at it, I'd also have ES control arm bushings pressed in.

 

Or you can get the group deal for control arms (ball joints installed, sway bar end links, inner and outer tie rods for $140 shipped.

Unless you just need/want an alignment, balljoint or LCA does not require one.

 

Guys, thank you, good points. I think if you do the balljoint per the FSM (although Nissan does not recommend replacing ball joints (they do not sell ball joints, only control arms) you would release the tie rod, so you technically would need an alignment. I think you actually can do the job without fooling with the tie rod.

I can't do any suspension work myself because of back issues, so the only way buying the arm would work is if I can find someone who will install it.

Rock Auto has great prices on ball joints (Moog balljoint is $40 before shipping) as well as control arms. The issue is that the garages are not into mail ordering parts, they get things from local suppliers who also jack up the price on the part with their cut.

The problem I have with the group deal or any non OEM control arm is that I really don't know the history quality of the control arm and if its tolerances are the same as OEM and how it would hold up 70k miles down the road.

One shop I went to was trying to impress me by saying he warrantees everything for a year, but I just said, if I have to take time off to have him change something in a year than the warrantee is not worth very much.

The forum is littered with people replacing things cheaper, but rarely is a parts replacement followed up say 30-40k miles or a few years down the line.

 

If you replace just the ball joint, you don't loosen the tie rod adjusting nut and turn the thing, you don't touch that. You only take the castle nut off of the ball joint and disconnect the tie rod. A front end alignment is not required.

As far as the quality of a part is concerned, a brand like Moog is going to last probably as long as a Nissan part. If you buy the cheapest thing you can find on e-bay, you can't be serious about expecting it to last.

 

Why not? Do you buy one contact lense for one eye or 1 glass lense for one eye at a time?

 

Dennis,

Yeah. I agree. Finding a garage that will install your own parts is also hard because of liability issues and because a lot of places want to make at least their 20% discount on parts that they buy from a dealer or parts store.
If they buy it from a parts store and charge oem list price then they really make out.

 

Cmax, I was going on the assumption that an alignment is necessary.

If so, then if the other joint might go say in another 20k miles, it would be cheaper and more efficient to have both sides replaced and pay the alignment only once.

Boston roads are very very bad, so it is not like the other joint has had an easy life.

Even if you don't need an alignment then it still makes good sense to get the other side out of the way all at once.

 

Call around and find a shop that will install customer provided parts. Those places do exist. Or post up in the regional forums here asking for some help installing parts.

 

Some cases you use the "if it's not broken why fix it" but when it comes to the suspension and front end it would be recommended doing both at the same time because they got the same amount of abuse so it's a possibility it would go in a few weeks, months if you're lucky.

Because I know shops buy parts and sell it for a profit I try to eliminate that by buying my own parts and taking it to them and have them install it. Shop around you could find the whole front end for half the price i.e control arms, ball joints, inner/outter tie rods, and I think ends links, not sure.

 

+100 on this. I installed ES control arm bushings in my 5.5 gen...DRAMATIC difference in handling and steering feel!!!

 

With regards to the point about longevity, I've had Moog ball joints installed in my own Maxima for over 50k miles. I grease them every 5-8k miles. Still going strong.

I've installed the control arms available in the group deal. I've also replaced them for the same customer(s) the following year.

Most local (eg not chain) shops should be willing to install customer provided parts. They usually write it on the ticket for liability purposes but as long as it's installed properly there should be no issue using Moog ball joints. I install them pretty much exclusively for my customers.

+1 - an alignment is NOT needed as long as the tie rod end and lower strut mounting bolts are not touched. The entire arm can be removed by disconnecting the lower bolt of the sway bar link and removal of the castle nut, then the 6 large bolts holding the arm to the chassis.

 

Surely there are some members in Boston that would do it for a cheaper fee than that shop would. Go to the regional sections here and find another Boston member that's a shadetree mechanic, buy the part yourself and have a mod meet to install it.

But to answer the original question, yes do both at the same time to save a small headache in the future.

 

I will look for another Maxima.org member.

I priced another shop and they wanted more than the first shop.
I think a lot of members have trouble with the concept of living near a large city with one of the highest costs of living in the entire country. The average small house is around $400,000.

It plain sucks, but everything including repairs are much more expensive then elsewhere.

However, I need to get this done, I know there is a risk of breaking the ball joint if I let this go on too long and I need therefore to limit my driving in the meantime.

 

I actually live near a bunch of major cities, and definitely understand the concept of high costs and 'expensive' real estate. Yet I still feel the shop costs are absurdly high. Try a suburb.

I don't think the ball joint will break and cause dangerous driving conditions. It's designed and installed in such a way that it can't come apart into pieces. Driving quality however, will continue to deteriorate.

 

Are there grease stems on our ball joints, or is that an aftermarket thing?? I looked under the front of my 02' Max to grease whatever may need it and I didn't see a single thing with a grease stem.

 

Grease fittings are on certain aftermarket ball joints only. OEM are sealed and non-greasable.