is 85 dollars alot

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slantscamp

slantscamp

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so i got my old suspension parts out of my control arms. i bought the tool kit from american tool. which came with the small ball joint socket, which is useless to me. i was able to get those ball joints out with a pipe wrench, but i couldnt get the new ones in. so i moved on to my lower control arms. i pulled the pivot and got the bushings out. i even put the new bushings in. but then i couldnt figure out how to get the pivot back in. so i took the lower control arms and upper control arms down to a local shop to get the upper ball joints and lower pivots put in. he said it would be an hour labor which is 85 dollars. i dont know if this is a good deal. but since i want my car to be done i said ok. i think i am mostly frustrated because i bought the tool kit thinking it had the tools so i could do everything myself. oh well. live and learn.
 
Nice Scamp.

I'm in the same boat. Just not done the labour to start rebuilding the suspension yet. Did the post about the Magnum HP tool kit. Concerned that I won't get the right socket for the ball joint for my car so will have to call them to be sure. Looks like the puller/installer for the top is fine to use, but the bottom is still a cut, chisel, mash down type deal by the sound of it once the pin is out. Was an article somewhere that I read that said how they put the suspension back together. Just can't find that magazine issue again in my collection. Oh well, gives me an excuse to read through them all again.

Labour wise I doubt it would physically take them an hour to screw in the ball joints and press in the pins. Rate by the hour sounds about typically here lately with some places I've dealt with. Guess depends on where you are also. Where we used to live the labour rate at a basic shop was $110 an hour. Toyota dealer here gets $90 or $95 an hour as just had some AC work done there.

Probably charging you a flat hour to make up for not getting the whole job so making it worth their while to do the quickie job. Only an opinion and you know what they say about those.....

Reminds me of when I installed an AC system in our house. Needed to get an AC tech to come out, joint the refrigerant lines and make sure the pressure etc. was okay as it was already a charged system. Called all the AC places and because they were not doing the AC install the quotes came in at anywhere from $500 to close to $1000 for labour! One of those things that they just did not want to be bothered with it and make the trip for a 5 minute job so quote me way out of the ball park and if I bit then woohoo they were in clover! Finally found an Electrical/AC chap that did the work and ran a new 4 wire connector to the thermostat for me for about $200.

Oh, just a matter of interest, on your slant, where does the power brake hose connect? Got a '71 /6 Dart that I'll be swapping brakes on and will end up putting the power brake system on from a '73 V8 car.

Cheers
 
The $85 may seem like alot but it is in par with what auto shops charge for labor.


Chuck
 
My shop is $98 per hour. I don't know how people can afford to repair their cars at times....


Drop the $85 and call it a day. Those lower bushings can be a bear to remove and install. Considering the importance and ride quality improvement it's money well invested. Just don't forget to have a GOOD alignment done afterwards.
 
It`s relative, but if that`s all that seperates you from getting your front end put back together then go for it.
 
My local shop charged me $75.00 Dollars to replace both Upper Control Arm bushings, and the LCA. I bought the MOOG Bushings at Autozone, the front end is not and tight now :)
 
Sorry, left out. I looked at the Tool set too, tried to make my own out of 2 1/2" pipe, and threaded rod from Home Depot. I think I spent $5.00 Dollars for materials, and after one bushing, that's when I decided to take the parts down the street and let someone with the tools, presses, and alot more air pressure then me :), take care of it.
 
It does seem a bit hi to me, I paid $50 and they did all my bushings and ball joints. But then that was about 7 years ago.
 
as far as a press, advance auto ( and otherautoparts places) have a press kit. at advance yoiu buy the kit, here was $149. you use it then return it for a full refund. that is how their loner tool program works. i did ball joints on friends truck. works well but there are lots of different head for the press and you will need to figure out which is the one you need. it had small enough heads that i could have used it for bushing too. hope this helps
 
its all demographics. my shop is $85/hr which is below standard around here. a dealership like fastback340 works at out here would be about $125/hr, maybe more. to do it right takes an hour or so. some times more if they get rusted in place. the upper bj needs to be put in and usualy taken out with the socket and an impact gun. the lca bushings should be put into the pivot first, then that need to be pressed into the arm. i use pieces of pipe or fencepost cut to size to slip over it and use my press to put it in. the $85 is well spent if you ask me. your paying for somebodys expertise and tools to do the job.
 
They probably have a one hour minimum charge. Alot of shops have that, probably to just to cover the setup and cleanup of the shop to.
 
HemiPar said:
as far as a press, advance auto ( and otherautoparts places) have a press kit. at advance yoiu buy the kit, here was $149. you use it then return it for a full refund. that is how their loner tool program works. i did ball joints on friends truck. works well but there are lots of different head for the press and you will need to figure out which is the one you need. it had small enough heads that i could have used it for bushing too. hope this helps
Click to expand...

O'reillys tool program works the exact same way.
 
hey guys, thanks for the comments. i got my parts back today. the guy only charged me 80 dollars which i didnt mind. i got them home and painted them. now i just need to box my lower control arms and i will be ready to put it all in.

after.JPG
 
i can't help but think the front end tool set i got from american muscle was money well spent. no press, no shop/shop guy, no hourly charge, always open and easy to use.
.02 worth
 
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