Lower Control Arm Ball Joint

F

Fife

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I believe I have a worn out lower ball joint on my 1994. Recently I replaced the upper control arm assemblies and tie rod end links.

I took it to my mechanic for an estimate and am considering replacing everything that hasn't been; except for the tie rod ends which seemed to be good to the mechanic and I know some have been replaced already.

He shocked me with a $750-800 estimate which breaks down as follows:

ball joints w/ lower control arm assy $202 x 2
cam bolt $54 (mechanic said not necessary)
bushing - arm to strut rod $37.90 (x 2...I think)
bushing - arm to machpherson $35.48 x 2
labor $100 per side

Question: Mechanic said he could only get the ball joints with the whole lower control arm assy. He was ok with me sourcing the parts myself. So I have been looking on ebay. I found a set of lower control arm ball joint assys. for around $100 including shipping (not sure what brand). My mechanic only uses Moog parts. Would I be making a mistake putting the above parts on?

I also found a Moog lower ball joint (only) for about $50 each.

Before the $800 estimate I was planning on replacing everything that hadn't. Now I am considering other options...doing part of the work, non Moog parts, etc. I probably will not do the work myself. Any suggestions or recommendations on how I should proceed? Note: car has 103K miles on it.

Thanks, Fife
 
Its likely that your best bet would be Ford Parts Network or NAPA. Just make sure you are getting MOOG or one of the other preferred name parts. Chineese parts are a no-no.
 
you can buy MOOG lower control arms with the ball joints, for a 97 t-bird from autozone for under 100 bucks each. the t-bird lowers and the mark VIII lowers are the same, but the ones for the bird are 20 to 30 bucks cheaper!
 
jamies98lsc said:
you can buy MOOG lower control arms with the ball joints, for a 97 t-bird from autozone for under 100 bucks each. the t-bird lowers and the mark VIII lowers are the same, but the ones for the bird are 20 to 30 bucks cheaper!
Click to expand...

They're ~$60 @ Rock Auto after the 5% discount....
 
If you are going to change out your lower control arms (which is a good plan as the complete assembly is priced right at Rock auto) you would be best advised to also change out the following as well:
Upper control arms, both strut rod bushing sets (there are two sets,one for each end of the rods), stabilizer link, and finally a four wheel alignment.
The results of all this will impress you beyond beliefe when you get back behind the wheel as the drive will be as new.
Just a note of caution on the cam bolts, I in the past ordered a set from Moog and installed them without relly comparing them to stock. They were not correct and allowed the lower arms to shift some as they were undersized from stock ones. I ordered a set of stock FOMOCO ones from Max and replaced the Moog ones, but it still cost me extra for the parts, time and another alignment.
 
Last edited:
Roadboss said:
If you are going to change out your lower control arms (which is a good plan as the complete assembly is priced right at Rock auto) you would be best advised to also change out the following as well:
Upper control arms, both strut rod bushing sets (there are two sets,one for each end of the rods), stabilizer link, and finally a four wheel alignment.
The results of all this will impress you beyond beliefe when you get back behind the wheel as the drive will be as new.
Just a note of caution on the cam bolts, I in the past ordered a set from Moog and installed them without relly comparing them to stock. They were not correct and allowed the lower arms to shift some as they were undersized from stock ones. I ordered a set of stock FOMOCO ones from Max and replaced the Moog ones, but it still cost me extra for the parts, time and another alignment.
Click to expand...

I thought the cam bolts were the ones at the fulcrum of the lower control arm...the ones with the tick marks on the head.
 
with about 15 dollars worth of tools and invest in the 20 dollar book, and a little common sence, its a very easy job to just do yourself, OR, if you just flat refuse to do it yourself, you can always "psst" a mechanic and usually get one to do it at your house for half the price of labor and pay them cash
ive done many "moon-light" jobs, alot of auto shops frown on it, so be discreet
 
Having just went to war with my own LCA / ball joint, that does sound expensive for those parts. I learned a lot about applying FORCE and SWEAR WORDS to auto parts so $100 bucks a side is not really too much IMHO it took me a lot longer than that but I'm not a very good mechanic LOL. Suspension work is not real high tech but some techniques and knowledge seem to really help ( and a 5 foot breaker bar).
 
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