Front lower ball joints gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[[KW]Predator]

Took my Hoopdie in for an alignment yesterday morning. Got a phone call at work wanting to know if I wanted to pay $290.00 for them to replace the lower ball joints on the front end. I about stroked out! Had my son get my car and put it back into the garage without the $290.00 ball joint job. Removed the ball joints when I got home (took me about 1 hour). Going to NAPA this morning to get a set (at a total cost of $44.00).

I can not believe how easy it is to do these! This guy wanted that much to do a job like that. Have we really come to this? I have known the guy at the shop for 15 years, and he wanted to stick it to me that bad for a little job like this!

Remember to check around for the price of the parts, and se how bad it will be to actually do it yourself on your car. I never pay for any work on my cars. It was hard enough for me to let my 91 Pro go to the shop. I wouldn't have if I had the equipment to do the alignment.

[Turpro]

Prime example why I do all the mechanical work on my own cars. Glad to hear you saved so much.

[ivan15]

Here is a link on how to do your own alignment if you are intrested.

http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34866

[me109]

For some reason ball joints are a lot harder on 93-94 models. I was surprised. On my 92 Pro (rip) it took about 20 min. to change one side. On my 94 Pro it took me 23 hours. Then on the 90 Pro it was back to about 20 min.

[Mazda_Powered]

yea, the earlier style balljoints lasted me a while. they're fairly easy to change too, just remember, anti-seize is your friend!

my 94 hatch is actually getting switched over to some 90 spindles (and big brakes!)

JACK.

[Sockington]

yea, the earlier style balljoints lasted me a while. they're fairly easy to change too, just remember, anti-seize is your friend!

my 94 hatch is actually getting switched over to some 90 spindles (and big brakes!)

JACK.

So my 1991 323 hatch has 1995 Escort GT front spindles on it and big brakes.

What's this "earlier style balljoints" business all about? It would seem I've cross the line between the years with the new front spindles.

My parts catalogue lists the ball joints as the same? Or are we talking about the 17mm vs. 19mm 3rd Gen spindles?

[Jho]

Took my Hoopdie in for an alignment yesterday morning. Got a phone call at work wanting to know if I wanted to pay $290.00 for them to replace the lower ball joints on the front end. I about stroked out! Had my son get my car and put it back into the garage without the $290.00 ball joint job. Removed the ball joints when I got home (took me about 1 hour). Going to NAPA this morning to get a set (at a total cost of $44.00).

I can not believe how easy it is to do these! This guy wanted that much to do a job like that. Have we really come to this? I have known the guy at the shop for 15 years, and he wanted to stick it to me that bad for a little job like this!

Remember to check around for the price of the parts, and se how bad it will be to actually do it yourself on your car. I never pay for any work on my cars. It was hard enough for me to let my 91 Pro go to the shop. I wouldn't have if I had the equipment to do the alignment.

That's not really a rip off. The shop probably gets 1-1.5 hours per side, so figure 2-3 hours at what......$60-$90 an hour. So you've gotta estimate that $180 of that is in labor, which leaves $110-ish for parts. You'd be paying list price, sometimes more, so $55 each for the ball joints isn't bad. That's where you get your price from.

Does everyone want to get dirty and do their own ball joints? Does everyone have the time or tools or mechanical aptitude to do them? No. That's why there is good job security in being a mechanic.

If it was really that easy, everyone would be doing it.

[crazycanadian]

Took my Hoopdie in for an alignment yesterday morning. Got a phone call at work wanting to know if I wanted to pay $290.00 for them to replace the lower ball joints on the front end. I about stroked out! Had my son get my car and put it back into the garage without the $290.00 ball joint job. Removed the ball joints when I got home (took me about 1 hour). Going to NAPA this morning to get a set (at a total cost of $44.00).

I can not believe how easy it is to do these! This guy wanted that much to do a job like that. Have we really come to this? I have known the guy at the shop for 15 years, and he wanted to stick it to me that bad for a little job like this!

Remember to check around for the price of the parts, and se how bad it will be to actually do it yourself on your car. I never pay for any work on my cars. It was hard enough for me to let my 91 Pro go to the shop. I wouldn't have if I had the equipment to do the alignment.

Sounds like a big miss understanding between you and the shop..

First off parts stores are a bunch of assholes when it comes to shop and retail customers.. rarely will a parts store charge a retail customer retail price.. its crap.. shops will charge you retail because thats what they are suposed to do.. so parts prices get all screwed up their..

Second there is laubor.. I don't know what the garages shop rate is but the one I work for is on the lower end at $90 an hour.. its probley an hour laubor perside to do... and also I bet you the shop was also including the price of the wheel alignment as well... which is something you should be doing after replacing the ball joints..

[wheresthericego]

Ball joints on the 97-98 protege are easy as pie.

[Jho]

Pie on the 90-94 Proteges are easy as ball joints.

[bandman659]

wait...so what makes the 93-94 balljoints tougher? what's different between early and late BG spindles?

[SgtRauksauff]

from what I recall, from the post about the RX-7 balljoints to make the track wider, and my own experience seeing ZX2 balljoints, the shaft coming out of the ball is thicker, by about 1mm or so, possibly 2mm, but I've never actually measured. The housing for the ball, that bolts to the LCA, is basically the same, just bigger to hold the bigger ball and shaft.

Not really a huge deal, since most of the time we don't put enough strain on them to cause issue. However, with solid motormounts, better LCA bushings, forced induction, and lots of twisty roads, the balljoints take more abuse than normal. However, all balljoints are NOT created equal. you can get the cheap ones, where the cheapness describes both the price and the manufacture, or you can get the good ones, from MOOG.

Part number is K8619.

There's a notice on it, though:

The catalog listing may be incorrect. DO NOT install on 1993 Mazda Protege or Mazda 323 with the last six digits of the Vin# higher than 630911 or on ANY 1994 Mazda 323.

This would be the time when they moved to the spindles with the larger hole for the shaft to fit in.

holes and shafts and balls, oh my!

--sarge

[Sockington]

Part number is K8619.
--sarge

Are they greaseable? I've really been looking for a set that I can grease with every oil change. TRW units are sealed.

[Jho]

wait...so what makes the 93-94 balljoints tougher? what's different between early and late BG spindles?

I wouldn't say one is harder to replace than the other.

The shaft is just larger on the later ball joints.

[me109]

Moog makes greaseable 90-92 ball joints. Try them.