Good day,
I'm hoping to get some help with a question. I just found out I need to replace all four ball joints on my 2000 excursion. (not bad considering this is the 1st replacement and I have over 200000 miles on it.) Question is this, I usually do my own work, but this seems a little too involved for a backyard mechanic so I brought it to a shop. 1st off they inform me its 300 for the parts (yikes) and then 5 hours of labor at 75.00 an hour. So i am wondering if they are shafting me or what. Does anyone know the labor time listed in chiltons for ball joint replacement? I know the parts price is high, auto zone has them for 1/2 that, but need to know about the labor time.

Thanks in advance
bob

 

I have a 2000 excursion with 105,000 miles and I have 1 upper joint going bad.
I got a quote from les schwab here in Spokane Wa. and it was $200.00 for the parts and $200.00 for labor. He told me it would take about 1 1/2 hrs. I'd get a second opinion. I haven't done it yet , but it seemed fair.

 

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I had 3 of the 4 changed last summer by the local Ford dealer ( warranty ) and th labor was about $400. I can check the receipt for the hours if that helps.

 

i'm a mechanic and that is about right. gotta pay to play. consider your self very luck i have done a number of super duties with under 80,000. and they needed one or more. i only replace them in pairs and generally by fours cause if one is gone the other are very likely to be soon.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. I know this is an involved job and ok ill go with the 4 hours of labor. but 300 for parts???? autozone has them for approx 30 for uppper and 45 for lower. Grand total parts 150.00. Where is the other 150 in parts comming from. I called the shop recently and asked if they are using dealer parts, thought maybe this was the reason for the hike, nope ordered from napa. Asked why the cost difference and i was told i dont know what i am talking about, I must have the wrong parts. So im thinking they are still trying to get over on me. I guess ill just find a different shop to goto, which sucks bec this one is right around the corner from my house. Well thanks again for the quick responses.

bob

 

parts are right on also.

 

ok just looked at napa online and the ball joints should be about $200 so maybe they are a bit off but i am not sure what their mark up is. i would show them the napa online prices and ask them whats up

 

Just did mine on my 02 F-250 cc. All 4 at NAPA for 165.00 These were the greaseable ones also. 68,000 miles

 

The first time might take longer, but you can easily do these in under 3 hours and that's including beverage consumption time. Remember that a lot of shops make money off of the parts also so that might be why there is a price difference.

 

It's not a bad job to do yourself. Here is a great write up. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=354091 . If you do it yourself, get good quality ball joints like Moog. I ordered mine online, but found out later that O'Reilly's carries them. You can get the rest of the seals etc. at dealership. The other parts (dust seals, knuckle seals, o rings etc.) aren't cheap, that's where the extra cost comes from. It's a good feeling to do a job like this yourself. It makes me sick how much money I've paid the dealership to work on my vehicles over the years. Now I try to do most everything myself.

 

OK. How can you tell ball joints need replacement?

I have 74K on my "Ex", and hear a light knocking sound from the front end when passing over a bump. I'm thinking either tie-rod ends or ball joints. Opinions?

 

You can check the ball joints by jacking up front end and grasping the top and bottom of the tire and lifting and pulling. If there is top to bottom play in the wheel, your ball joints may be bad. It may also be your sway bar bushings, mine did exactly the same thing. They only cost a few buck to replace. If you want to test them, unhook the sway bar at the bushings and tie it up so it won't hit the ground. Take it for a drive, if it stops making the noise, SB bushings are the culprit. Good luck!

 

neither more than likely. its your sway bar bushings not the links but the bushing that attaches the bar to the axle. very very common and pretty cheap fix.
to check ball joints you have to jack the front end up and then grab the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and try to move in and out or up and down. if there is movement you need a buddy to shack while you watch to see if its the bearing or the ball joints. if they are bad replace them in pairs. no sense in doing one then a month later doing the other!

 

hink10 your faster on the draw than i. Good advice. another easy way to check the bushing is just crawl under there and grap hold and try to move the bar up and down. if there is ANY movement it will clunk.