| looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? | |
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+495brmw No Moa Cadet57 fatvet 8 posters |
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fatvet
Posts : 211 Join date : 2009-02-19 Age : 50 Location : Suffield, CT
| Subject: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sat May 28, 2011 10:25 am | |
| So, anyone wanna share what they payed to have these parts installed ?
Lower ball joints Upper ball joints Inner tie rod ends outer tire rod ends Adjusting sleeves for tire rods Idler arm Center link
I'm 300 deep in these parts, and wanna know how much more i need. forget about alignment price just interested in intstall labor
TIA -ALF out.. | |
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Cadet57
Posts : 4481 Join date : 2010-03-14 Age : 36 Location : Chicopee, MA
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sat May 28, 2011 10:54 am | |
| Just my two cents, but if you're looking to save money you could always have a vocational HS do the work. Thats what I did when I needed to do ball joints last winter. Cost me the parts plus $10 to the school. They did good work too. | |
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No Moa
Posts : 3893 Join date : 2009-02-21 Age : 51 Location : Midcoast Maine
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sat May 28, 2011 12:06 pm | |
| Did it myself, paid $70 for the alignment. Figure at least $250 for a garage to do it. and then $70 or so for alignment. | |
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95brmw
Posts : 1434 Join date : 2009-11-10 Age : 39 Location : Connecticut
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sat May 28, 2011 11:25 pm | |
| Did it myself. Rent the press from autozone to remove/install the lower ball joints. Install parts, get an alignment. | |
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mega
Posts : 907 Join date : 2011-03-01 Age : 43 Location : Hyannis, ma
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sun May 29, 2011 8:12 am | |
| you are looking at about 350 for labor on it. | |
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Matt Trakker
Posts : 5093 Join date : 2009-07-30 Age : 42 Location : Reading, MA
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Sun May 29, 2011 2:49 pm | |
| When I had my balljoints, idler, and a couple other front end things done, the labor was maybe 250 or 300, can't remember for sure but around there, and I bought all the Moog parts myself from Amazon (they were the cheapest most of the time). | |
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Machine-De-Zine
Posts : 512 Join date : 2010-11-16 Age : 67 Location : Wrentham
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Mon May 30, 2011 2:45 pm | |
| One way to avoid the full labor cost is to do as much of it yourself as possible.
The main thing that keeps most of us from doing the whole job at home is the lack of a press for LBJ & U/L control arm bushing replacement, so:
Take off all your parts yourself & clean them patiently (wire brush, paint scraper, Gunk, garden hose, etc.)
You can remove LBJ with a sharp hammer blow & UBL with a common drill, even if they have never been replaced.
Tie rods & center-links can be replaced with common tools, just carefully match assembled lengths, until the time of alignment.
The upper and lower cntrl arms should be brought to your local automotive machine shop to install lower ball joints and all pivot bushings. Minimal cost.
Bring them home to paint and install on your car, and then its off to the local alignment shop right away, to avoid unnecessary tyre wear.
Then, you will have saved a fair amount of money, and you will have a better job, not to mention the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
P.S. In the event that the frame has sagged, you may need to opt for the special "offset" upper control arm shafts, to allow you to get your camber correct.
You can also R&R all of the control arm bushings at home with a hammer, but that takes a bit of experiential "technique" to get done without frustration.
Also you may be able to rent a "ball joint press" (big C-clamp) and a tie-rod remover from your local tool rental location.
Once you've done it this way, having figured out all the sources of whats necessary, it will seem silly (IMHO) to take it to a shop to spend all that money.
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1984twodoor
Posts : 4068 Join date : 2010-03-30 Age : 30 Location : Wilmington/Wakefield/Andover
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Tue May 31, 2011 12:08 am | |
| Today I helped my friend do similar work to a merkur XR4Ti and that was a EFFING bitch, so I think it would be MUCH easier to do this on a caprice/impala and it would be worth it to at least give it a shot by yourself at first. Thats always my philosophy.
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Matt Trakker
Posts : 5093 Join date : 2009-07-30 Age : 42 Location : Reading, MA
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Tue May 31, 2011 5:06 pm | |
| - 1984twodoor wrote:
- Today I helped my friend do similar work to a merkur XR4Ti and that was a EFFING bitch, so I think it would be MUCH easier to do this on a caprice/impala and it would be worth it to at least give it a shot by yourself at first. Thats always my philosophy.
LOL MERKURRRRRRRR... My friend has a red one of those cars with like 23K original miles on it sitting on jackstands in his garage, some eccentric guy from Armenia owns it along with another one and has been storing them there for 5 years. | |
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Cadet57
Posts : 4481 Join date : 2010-03-14 Age : 36 Location : Chicopee, MA
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Tue May 31, 2011 5:17 pm | |
| - 1984twodoor wrote:
- Today I helped my friend do similar work to a merkur XR4Ti and that was a EFFING bitch, so I think it would be MUCH easier to do this on a caprice/impala and it would be worth it to at least give it a shot by yourself at first. Thats always my philosophy.
LOL, I was just thinking about those pieces of crap. Clarkson used one on a Top Gear challenge this past weekend. | |
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1984twodoor
Posts : 4068 Join date : 2010-03-30 Age : 30 Location : Wilmington/Wakefield/Andover
| Subject: Re: looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? Tue May 31, 2011 11:52 pm | |
| - Matt Trakker wrote:
- 1984twodoor wrote:
- Today I helped my friend do similar work to a merkur XR4Ti and that was a EFFING bitch, so I think it would be MUCH easier to do this on a caprice/impala and it would be worth it to at least give it a shot by yourself at first. Thats always my philosophy.
LOL MERKURRRRRRRR...
My friend has a red one of those cars with like 23K original miles on it sitting on jackstands in his garage, some eccentric guy from Armenia owns it along with another one and has been storing them there for 5 years. Seriously? Dont tell my friend he'll go grab everything on them lol - Cadet57 wrote:
- 1984twodoor wrote:
- Today I helped my friend do similar work to a merkur XR4Ti and that was a EFFING bitch, so I think it would be MUCH easier to do this on a caprice/impala and it would be worth it to at least give it a shot by yourself at first. Thats always my philosophy.
LOL, I was just thinking about those pieces of crap. Clarkson used one on a Top Gear challenge this past weekend. Don't say that until you've riden in one. Wayyyyy fun! | |
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| looking for what others payed for Labor on Front end parts install...? | |
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