Lower control arm and outer tie rod end replacement - Should I do this myself???
#1
Lower control arm and outer tie rod end replacement - Should I do this myself???
I took my 04 sedan to the shop today for a simple alignment because my car is pulling just slightly to the right.. After waiting for an hour they told me that they didn't do the alignment and that I needed the following items replaced before the car could be aligned.
-Left front lower control arm
-Right front lower control arm
-Right rear lower control arm
-Left outer tie rod end
Then they gave me a quote for $1600 for parts and labor. Needless to say, I wasn't happy... I'd gone in thinking I was getting a $59 alignment job done and leaving after an hour without my alignment done and a $1600 quote for work I didn't even know I needed.![Mad](https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif)
My first question is this... Should I just buy the parts online and do this myself? I've never replaced these things before but it doesn't look too difficult. I typically do minor repairs myself. I just replaced the pads and rotors on all four corners last weekend.
My second question is where should I buy the parts? Is partsgeek.com a decent place to pick up parts or is there somewhere else you'd recommend? Looking at these parts on partsgeek.com, it looks like I can buy all of the parts for less than $400 (The repair shop quoted me nearly $1000 just for parts), but is this a reputable site with quality parts??
Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated..
-Left front lower control arm
-Right front lower control arm
-Right rear lower control arm
-Left outer tie rod end
Then they gave me a quote for $1600 for parts and labor. Needless to say, I wasn't happy... I'd gone in thinking I was getting a $59 alignment job done and leaving after an hour without my alignment done and a $1600 quote for work I didn't even know I needed.
![Mad](https://g35driver.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.gif)
My first question is this... Should I just buy the parts online and do this myself? I've never replaced these things before but it doesn't look too difficult. I typically do minor repairs myself. I just replaced the pads and rotors on all four corners last weekend.
My second question is where should I buy the parts? Is partsgeek.com a decent place to pick up parts or is there somewhere else you'd recommend? Looking at these parts on partsgeek.com, it looks like I can buy all of the parts for less than $400 (The repair shop quoted me nearly $1000 just for parts), but is this a reputable site with quality parts??
Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated..
#2
Of course do it urself. Why not save 1200 smackers while further exploring ur car. Itll be a bit tuffer then brakes but with the right tools, Its cake. Ball joint puller is better then ah pickle fork. Impact makes quick work of any job. I havent done my G yet but looking forward to doing that and swappin in tein springs while its all apart...
#5
#6
Good to know.. I have all of those already.
#7
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I wish I had air tools.
Thanks for all of the input.. I'm definitely going to do this and save myself $1200.
I'm a little confused about the "Right rear lower control arm" though. Looking through the parts on various websites I see a few different options that the repair shop could be referring to in their quote.
Their exact wording was "Right rear lower control arm". Here are the parts options I see:
-"Right rear lower front"
-"Right rear lower rear"
-or maybe even "Right front lower rear".
??? Any suggestions on this?
Thanks for all of the input.. I'm definitely going to do this and save myself $1200.
I'm a little confused about the "Right rear lower control arm" though. Looking through the parts on various websites I see a few different options that the repair shop could be referring to in their quote.
Their exact wording was "Right rear lower control arm". Here are the parts options I see:
-"Right rear lower front"
-"Right rear lower rear"
-or maybe even "Right front lower rear".
??? Any suggestions on this?
#15