Ball joints are out!?!?!?

[tsi4ya]

Okay I took the car to go get looked at, at a nearby Firestone and they totaled out every thing for me, that needs to be changed.
THIS HAPPENS TO BE IN THE FRONT PASSANGER SIDE only(96 talon)
-Ball joints (both lower and front)
--151 a piece
*then to remove it (labor) 104
this comes out to 510!

-Ball joints (upper-front,right)
--2 x 56.61 + 128 in labor=241.22
-Tie rod ends(both left and right inner)
-- 77.06 a piece!need 2
*=250.12
*******it totals out to 1,167.22 with labor and parts********
My question is. . .how dangerous is it to drive the car around?
Do you guys think I can get a shop to do it cheaper if I buy the parts?
Should I get the parts froma junkyard?
your remarks would be a lot of help to me cause 1000 bucks is a lot to anyone. . .more so to a college kid.
and as always, thanks for reading.

 

[spyder97gs]

DO NOT go spending that kind of money for that. First of all your tie-rod ends can be had for $25 a piece. You could most likely call up Chrysler and tell them you are due for control arm recall to be done, as yours are failing and you know they will be held responsible if they were to go. The parts are just not that expensive, and the labor involved is next to none. Do NOT get these parts from a junk yard.

Overall, chances are they will last awhile longer, but you can never be sure how long.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Yes, tie-rod ends are around $20-30 and can be done in a half an hour.

You cannot just call the dealership and have them send you the parts, you need to take your car there to be inspected before the labor can be performed. It is free of cost, so take your car there and have them do it for free.

And for the love of god, don't take your car to Firestone for anything but tires or alignments.

 

[spyder97gs]

Yes, tie-rod ends are around $20-30 and can be done in a half an hour.

You cannot just call the dealership and have them send you the parts, you need to take your car there to be inspected before the labor can be performed. It is free of cost, so take your car there and have them do it for free.

And for the love of god, don't take your car to Firestone for anything but tires or alignments.

Even the tires are iffy

 

[kidwiththelaser]

If you end up having to replace the ball joint yourself, its is very easy!

I just did it about 2 days ago.


You can buy the ball joint itself from napa for about $40.

To remove the old ball joint is easy, take the bolt out that hols it to the knuckle, and then hammer it out.

To install a new one, all you have to do is put the new balljoint in the freezer for awhile, (I left mine in for a few days, since I bought the balljoint, and didnt have time to install it for a few days, but you shouldnt have to leave it in there that long), and then heat up the the hole that holds the balljoint in, and then slide it in place.

 

[wret]

how dangerous is it to drive the car around?

This depends on how badly things are worn. Does your car have symptoms of worn, wobbly steering components? It's highly unlikely that any of these parts will self destruct, but it has happened before.

None of these is particularly difficult or costly to repair. For a $200-$300 and a couple Saturdays you could can get it done. Maybe take them on one at a time. You will learn and get more confident after each repair. Most of these repairs and the potential difficulties have been discussed here and further help is always available.

 

[tsi4ya]

So u think it can be taken care of. . .because of a recall on the car? hmmm ill think ill try that first then think about doing it my self. the only problem doing it my self is that i live in a apt, and that kind of stuff is against the rules. Hmm You guys also say its not that hard to replace? well ill take you guys word on it and give it a wack if me taking it to Chrysler doesnt work. Do you all think i can get it looked at a Mist. dealership? oh and thanks for alll the tips

 

[blackGSX2g]

Do you all think i can get it looked at a Mist. dealership? oh and thanks for alll the tips

Since your car is a Talon, it will need to be a Chrysler dealership, but yes they will look at it for you. Call the service dept. and tell them you need the lower ball-joint recall performed on your car. They 'should' order all of the parts needed, and then call you to have your car come in.

A tech will inspect it and tell the service manager what needs to be replaced. If they ALL need to be replaced, it is YOUR job to bi*** and moan about getting them all replaced. I went through this last week and got them all replaced even though they were done about 10k ago. They tried to tell me they were fine, so I went back there and showed them that all 4 boots were torn, and that they needed to be replaced badly. About 8 hours later, I got my car back with new ball-joints and a car wash, all for free.

Even the tires are iffy

Well I've never purchased tires from there, so I figured I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Wpgdsm]

If you can help it try not to go to dodge for you're part since they have to buy them from Mitsubishi and add their minimum 20-30% on top of the 20-30% that Mitsu charged them. Just take you vin # ,make model and year to any mitsu dealer, and you should save a little $. espeacialy on those dealer only parts.

 

[blackGSX2g]

If you can help it try not to go to dodge for you're part since they have to buy them from Mitsubishi and add their minimum 20-30% on top of the 20-30% that Mitsu charged them. Just take you vin # ,make model and year to any mitsu dealer, and you should save a little $. espeacialy on those dealer only parts.

Mitsubishi will *kindly* redirect you to your nearest Chrysler dealership if you try to take your Eagle there. They claim to not even find your Eagle VIN # in their system.

As far as parts mark-up, they should be the same thing and the same price. They both use the same parts system. I checked prices for timing belt components from both dealerships and the prices, part numbers, and parts were exactly the same.

I have not cross checked ball joints as they should be free under the recall to those in need, but the Chrysler dealership supplied 2 Mitsubishi lower ball joints that were available for seperate purchase at ~$40 each.

 

[D_Eclipse9916]

Alright, I kinda got the same thing when I Came into a place to get my alignment done. They said I needed new tie rods (Wouldnt explain any further, so I dont know wether I needed inner or outer) they also might be bullshitting, and they also said I needed new swaybar endlinls (which is false, they said it was loose, duh cuz I hadnt tightened one up at all after I changed out my suspension (need new bolts for it as it is rusted)


IS that recall for all dsms? I would rather just go to a dealer and tell them I need ball joints done, because the bottom of my car is rather rusty (surface rust).

Also, how do I tell if my tie rods are bad and also if my swaybar endlinks are bad? Are there any aftermarket swaybar endlinks for my car? I have done a few on 240s and civics and they all have aftermarket endlinks, but I cant seem to find any for the DSM. I hate the goddamn ones on the dsm as they just swivel and have nothing to brace against to get them off easily. I am going to have to cut mine.

 

[D_Eclipse9916]

Sorry, I have so many questions. Wow I feel really stupid about this, and I dont know why I dont know this, but are tie rods all around the car or just the front. This is really gonna suck if I have to replace inner/outer all 4 tie rods and all 4 swaybar endlinks.

 

[spyder97gs]

Sorry, I have so many questions. Wow I feel really stupid about this, and I dont know why I dont know this, but are tie rods all around the car or just the front. This is really gonna suck if I have to replace inner/outer all 4 tie rods and all 4 swaybar endlinks.

Tie rods are in the front only. Considering you have over 100k on the car, chances are the tie-rods are all shot. I would go ahead and replace both inner and outter. They can be had for about $75 for all four. They are very easy to change out. Also, I know there are endlinks up front, that if I recall have to be bought from the Mitsubishi dealership. They are about $25 a set I do believe, or maybe per. You will have to check. None of this is hard to change out. Good luck.

Also, the recall affects 2G DSM's. Talons and Eclipses. I would consider having the recall done.

 

[D_Eclipse9916]

Tie rods are in the front only. Considering you have over 100k on the car, chances are the tie-rods are all shot. I would go ahead and replace both inner and outter. They can be had for about $75 for all four. They are very easy to change out. Also, I know there are endlinks up front, that if I recall have to be bought from the Mitsubishi dealership. They are about $25 a set I do believe, or maybe per. You will have to check. None of this is hard to change out. Good luck.

Also, the recall affects 2G DSM's. Talons and Eclipses. I would consider having the recall done.

I dont have over 100k on the car, actually I only have 65k. However, if they are only 75 bucks, ill suck it up and do em anyway. Ill wait to do the swaybar endlinks till either new endlinks come out or when I upgrade my sway bars. Thanks a lot!

 

[blackGSX2g]

Also, how do I tell if my tie rods are bad and also if my swaybar endlinks are bad?

Jack up the front of your car and grab the wheel at the 9 and 3 o'clock position and try to see if there is any play in it.

Its standard procedure when you take your car in for an alignment to check for this and they should tell you at least which side the problem was on.

Inner tie rods: $17 each from Autozone/AAP

outter tie rods: $22 each Autozone/AAP

 

[tsi4ya]

am pretty sure the car already had to recall done. If thats the case. . . can i still get it done?

 

[tsi4ya]

oh should i request the car to be looked at online? or should i just call?

 

[Wpgdsm]

Mitsubishi will *kindly* redirect you to your nearest Chrysler dealership if you try to take your Eagle there. They claim to not even find your Eagle VIN # in their system.

As far as parts mark-up, they should be the same thing and the same price. They both use the same parts system. I checked prices for timing belt components from both dealerships and the prices, part numbers, and parts were exactly the same.

I have not cross checked ball joints as they should be free under the recall to those in need, but the Chrysler dealership supplied 2 Mitsubishi lower ball joints that were available for seperate purchase at ~$40 each.

Sorry it must be different in the US, but I have a good freind who runs the parts department at a dodge dealer and he told me to do this because they buy their Mitu parts from the local Misu dealer, and have to mark them up accordingly. You won't find you're VIN at Mitsu, you have to cross reference to a same year Eclipse. I have to do this every few weeks when I do my parts shopping, it does work. If you buy enough they also put you on a prefered customer account and give you 10% off. Just for an example one U joint for my talon from dodge was (not bs'n ) $114 and from Mitsu $24 . This is also in Cnd dollars so adjust accordingly. Sorry for any confusion I'm only going from my own experience with dealing with these issues.