Hello community. I’m having difficulty locating a local shop for service work on my g35. I’ve searched the site and perhaps my search skills are lacking. I was referred to and contacted Hiro’s Auto in Costa Mesa for front lower ball joint replacement and they quoted me $600 for labor only. To me that seems excessive. Can anyone here recommend a shop near Newport Beach that has reasonable prices? Thanks!

 

That's crazy for a ball join replacement. Honestly you don't need a Z or G specialist, just a well received / well reviewed mom and pop shop to do this for you. It's generally a very easy replacement for someone with the right tools that knows what they are doing. That being said the easiest solution is just to remove the spindle, press the old ball joint out and press in a new one. If I had to guess, it'll be about 2-3 hrs worth of work. If you really want to save money, then remove the spindle(s) and bring them to someone who can just press out the old ball joints and press in new ones. That's an easy job for a mechanic with a press.

 

Thanks for the reply Row, much appreciated. Fortunately I do know what I’m doing but unfortunately I don’t have the time or tools to do it myself. Thanks again anyway.

 

Actually that sounds about right for the price of replacing a compression rod if they're using an OEM part which is about $200. They're only charging you 2-3 hours labor which is fair, labor is normally $150/hr

 

Im referring to the joints pressed in to the knuckle. I called one shop and they said they wouldn’t do it because the knuckle is aluminum. Either way, I’m just going to take it to the shop that quoted $600 being that it’s a safety issue then sell it in a couple months.

 

The lower ball joint is not replaceable on it's own. It's part of the compression rod and they are replaced as a complete unit.

 

Here's a good picture of it.

https://www.z1motorsports.com/front-...BoCJ4QQAvD_BwE

 

On the compression rod yes you are right and I’ve replaced this a few years back. The one I am referring to is seated in the knuckle in which the forward control arm attaches to. It can be pressed out of the knuckle and replaced on its own.

 

Gotcha, the transverse link ball joint. That one is super easy, use a ball joint separator and an impact wrench. Tell them to reuse the existing cone washer I've seen a couple aftermarket ones that actually didn't fit the transverse link correctly but the OEM one that's already there definitely will and it's not a wearable component so it's 100% safe to reuse. This is all done with the steering knuckle attached to the vehicle btw, it's not removed from the car, nothing else is removed except for the transverse link.

Use a wrench or ratchet on the ball joint separator when reinstalling the new one, you have to make sure the lower section is lined up correctly with the cup on the bottom and if it's not and you use an impact wrench it can damage that lower part of the ball joint where the snap ring fits on. You might have to use an impact wrench for the last 1/8 of an inch but by then it's already protruding out of the bottom and into the cup so it's not really an issue. I normally use a little spray lube on the ball joint and in the steering knuckle to help them go together so normally just a wrench is all that's needed.

Any shop that's afraid of using a ball joint separator shouldn't be in business, every modern car uses aluminum steering knuckles so I have no clue why they think that's an issue... it's actually just under a 2 hour job for the transverse link ball joint since there's nothing else to remove really.

Folks have made a lot of youtube videos for various G35 or 350Z (same suspension) repairs over the years, I bet you can find a video to watch if you want to see the process.

 

Thanks cleric.

Yeah I’ve seen videos and am familiar with the repair. If I had the time and space to do it I would rent the necessary tools and do it myself. Knowing how straight forward the repair is, is why I was shocked at the $600 quote I got. Maybe the shop thinks I’m talking about the rods? Who knows. I set an appointment up with them anyway and just maybe they misunderstood. Either way, I need to keep my car safe to drive for the next couple months then get rid of it.

I really appreciate your help though. Cheers!