Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
Wow I have to say some of you must have more money then brains! I have done ball joints in my garage for many people that can't afford a $600 bill let alone a $1000 bill! No freaking way should two ball joints cost a grand!
OP if the guy on CL has the abillity to do the job then let him do it. See if you can supply the parts or at least pick what parts are going on the truck. None of the OEM's make their own ball joints so why pay a steeler for their over priced TRW or Mooge ball joints! Pick them up at Auto Zone or wherever and have the guy install them.
Just because someone works out of their garage and not at a shop, does not mean they are incompetent. Most guys are off duty mechanics trying to make ends meet. Rent a car and go see what he has to offer and what tools he has. If he checks out let him do the work, if not find a shop that is not going to rip you off like the place your at now!
Don
:R
Really?
Not EVERYONE has the PROPER TOOLS OR TIME to putz around, not to mention an alignment system in their personal garage.
The first time I did my own truck ball joints I rented a ball joint press (absolutely required)for $50 for ONE DAY. That was a round trip of 35 miles and 1.5 hrs of my time. Got the press home and proceeded to tear things apart only to find the rented press was MISSING the very adapter I NEEDED. Needless to say pretty darn hard to drive back to the rental place when things are in pieces!
Managed to makeshift a adapter for the press (2 hrs lost there then spent the next 4hrs to get all the joints changed.
Then had to run the press back to the rental shop the next day (another 35 mile 1.5 hr round trip).
Then off to a alignment shop (another 35 mile 1.5hr round trip) and a couple of hrs waiting for the alignment shop to work their magic and $100 later..
Add it up and I had 10.5 hrs of time $200 in parts, $50 rental, 105 miles of driving (6 gallons of gas at $2.80 per gallon back then.
If I would have simply taken the truck to the shop they could have easily done the job in less than two hrs and I would have been on my way (they often put more than one mechanic on the job at the same time).
Did I "save" some money, sure but I lost nearly two days of my life and use of the truck in the process for those two days..
Sometimes you NEED to make a choice between paying someone to do some of the work or taking your own personal time to do the work..
Not many people are going to be willing to fork out the cost of a press for a one off job nor are they going to buy some of the bigger tools needed for trucks..
Many small shops do not have an alignment rack either so they will either NOT ALIGN the front end or will farm that out costing you more time and money (the shop marks up the cost of farming it out).
It is a trade off..
