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Had a front end shop tell me I needed $2000 in ball joints last week
Took my '05 F-150 to a chain shop in Phoenix for a rattle. They said upper and lower ball joints on both sides plus control arms. I did it myself in my driveway for $320 in parts. The old joints had maybe 1/16" of play, nothing dangerous. Has anyone else had shops quote work that was way premature?
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alice_hart4d ago
Get under there and wiggle the wheel yourself next time. 1/16" of play on a 20 year old truck is barely worth any worry at all. I've seen people drive on way worse for years without issue, especially if you aren't hitting potholes hard every day. Chain shops love scaring people with ball joints because most folks don't know how to check them.
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hollyl454d ago
Man, I gotta say, @alice_hart has the right idea. That 1/16" play is basically the ball joint equivalent of a loose tooth - it's fine until it's not, but a chain shop will act like your wheel's about to launch into orbit. I'd bet my next paycheck that shop was just fishing for a fat ticket off a snowbird who doesn't know a wrench from a paint stirrer. For real, if you're comfortable enough to swap those parts yourself for 320 bucks, you already know more than half the shops out there. Good on you for calling their bluff, man.
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Whoa, hold on a sec. 1/16" of play on a 20 year old truck isn't "barely worth any worry" if you're checking it right. The issue is that 1/16" of vertical play (when you jack the wheel up and push at 12 and 6 o'clock) is actually a lot more than it sounds. Upper ball joints in particular are pretty sensitive to that kind of looseness, they can wear out fast if there's any slop. I'd say a 1/16" is really the borderline where you should start thinking about changing them, especially on a heavy truck like an F-150. Sure, it'll probably last another year, but it's not nothing like people think.
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