Front Suspension rebuild

[paigeoliver]

I am forking this off my other thread, as the topic has changed.

My Suburban needs lower ball joint and lower control arm bushings.

The GRAND total for these parts from the auto parts store is $43.96 plus tax.

Firestone wants $193.36 for the parts. $357 for labor, and $22.62 for shop supplies.

With THAT kind of price difference I am just going to HAVE to do it myself. The price difference is like a month of my disposable income.

As long as I am tearing the front suspension apart, what else should I replace (shocks have already been done). I assume a lot of the other PITA items in there will be a lot easier to get at if I already have it ripped apart, so I might as well replace them NOW, so I never have to do it again.

[paigeoliver]

Also, I am gonna replace the radiator too. Autozone.com says my Suburban has either a 17" radiator or a 19" one. Anybody know which direction they are measuring to get that number? My luck is that I'll measure the sucker and it will be 17"x19".

[DrewKaree]

Paige, do both sizes list as having that transmission line hookup?  That may be what the size difference is for, and it shouldn't be a measurement thing, either they have it or they don't. 

[paigeoliver]

There were a bunch of things I had to select for (transmission, etc), the only one I was unsure of was the size. I'll measure it when it is light out again, hopefully it isn't 17"x19". 

I HOPE it is 19", the 19" ones are cheaper.

[DrewKaree]

It looks like this one.  The truck has A/C, and the 17" doesn't show A/C as an option they even have.

*edit*
that link may be just for me...forgot that.

I'm betting it'll be the 19"

Friend I'm on the phone with said check the uppers while you're mucking around in there.

[paigeoliver]

Probably is, looking through it again I don't see an AC version for 17".

Odd that they make you select the size first.

[DrewKaree]

Yeah, they do stuff like that in case you want to look for more parts.  I thought it odd that they wanted my engine size before they could find out what size lug nuts I needed for a car

[nostrebor]

Please, PLEASE!!!

Do not attempt to do this work without a proper spring compressor. I have been on the receiving side of an unloading coil spring, and there are no positive results.

The spring compressor should be about a $5 rental. Worth every penny.

As mentioned check the uppers also. And replace the rubber brake lines if they are in need, as you *might* have them loose anyway, depending on the way that truck went together.

[tommy]

Those ball joints dont come out easy, i doubt youll be able to do it without some heavy duty tools good luck, i would just have the shop do it, chances are youll have it all apart and wont be able to drive it to a pro if something goes wrong.

That price does sound very high though, check around you could get it done less expensive.

[shmokes]

I would have to have a shop do it.  I deliberately keep myself ignorant of how cars work as much as possible.  It's hard work as I really do have a good memory and tend to have a difficult time forgetting something once learned.

The thing is, I hate working on cars.  I never fail to cut myself while working on them, even if I'm just changing the battery.  And they're dirty and I have to lay down on pavement or concrete and slide around and turn end up punching solid pieces of metal when my wrench slips off a stubborn nut which is extraordinarily painful.

But I'm full aware that for the most parts a person gets raped every time he/she engages the services of an auto mechanic.  I know that I could never justify having a mechanic do the work if I knew that I could do it myself (much the same conclusion Paige seems to have come to here).  It's just so damned expensive.

If you know cars, Fredster, now is your chance.  You've finally found my weakness and I suggest capitalizing on it.  Cars, and the way they work, are things I cannot speak intelligently about.  I refuse to learn.  My advice to Paige is to pay the extortion and have it done.  It's worth every penny.   

[paigeoliver]

I am going to do it myself. I have never attempted anything automotive related and failed. I'll be able to do it. I have the book. I'll get whatever tools I need. I imagine the first side will take me AGES but the second side will go much quicker. I know when I pulled some junkyard fenders for the thing that the first one took over and hour and the second one took 10 minutes.

Also, I have been browsing the JC Whitney catalog and I can get cheap replacement panels to cover most of that lower body rust. Only area I didn't see a replacement for was rear wheel arch (I can buy a fender flare that is designed to cover this, but they are $100 EACH), and the very rear section behind the rear wheelwell.