TrailChaser Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 Well, I went to get my new pathy aligned today and found out that all 4 ball joints need to be replaced. I'm mainly not interested in paying a local shop $500 (that's the quote for parts, labor and alignment)... I can get all four MOOG ball joints for $186.14 at O-O-O-Oreilly's(E-Discount) and it's $112.54 for the cheapo's... That's a $73.60 difference... Is it worth the extra $$$ for MOOG? Is this something I can do in one day by myself? I need the experiance anyway, I just don't know what all I'm getting myself into. I mainly don't want to get it tore apart and then decide I'm in over my head. I've searched a little on the subject and found bits and pieces of knowledge but nuthin that's a step-by-step. Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 for step by step pick up a manual.. it's not a bad job but it may take a while... it's not really hard just quite a bit of nut turning.. i bit of pita here and there but nothing too bad... get a bj fork and a bfh.. those should help.. inner and outer seals... might want to repack the bearings.. maybe you ought to inspect cv boots/axles while you're there... might as well take the center link off and test it because if the bjs are gone i would imagine so is the CL... check the pitman and idler arms for excessive play.. and check your tie rod ends (TRE) if you do all the above i'd plan for the truck to be down the weekend the first time you are doing this.. as to moog or not... i'd get whatever has zerk potential.. they last longer if you can shoot some grease in them every oil change or so.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 2, 2005 Share Posted September 2, 2005 wheel off --> brake caliper off --> hub off --> undo and separate TRE --> yolke w/rotor loosen --> loosen bjs --> dis-assemble... assemble in reverse order Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 This right here is a prime example of how good online forums and some of the people on them are... That's the local forum that Big Mike and me are part of here in Texas. Just look at the times/dates and how fast I had 3 people willing to help me out. I got'em fixed today with skilled help. I can't thank those guys enough. True friends. I can't wait to hit the trails with those guys and do some good wheelin soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 (edited) Dude, I bought all 4 plus all new TRE's for $105 + shipping on eBay. I had shopped around, then checked eBay and went for it. Here is a set currently listed on eBay Good shipping time, and they seem to be very solid parts. Edited September 4, 2005 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 This right here is a prime example of how good online forums and some of the people on them are... That's the local forum that Big Mike and me are part of here in Texas. Just look at the times/dates and how fast I had 3 people willing to help me out. I got'em fixed today with skilled help. I can't thank those guys enough. True friends. I can't wait to hit the trails with those guys and do some good wheelin soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dowser Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 I need to get all 4 of my Ball joints changes as well. Driving them now and they are out of the parameters for a proper safety rating. I too was concerned about trying to tackle this job on my own and have been driving them for about 2 months when I know very well they need to be changed. Cash cash cash has been the issue. As you mentioned the Garages want way more then Im willing to pay for Labour. Mr. Pickle, As far as the Ebay listing is concerned, The sale is only in Toronto so thats only like an hour and a half from me. Wondering though. Is that a Decent Brand to purchase? I haven't added my Suspension lift yet and I read somewhere that later when adding one I might have complications possibly breaking a ball joint or something, so maybe something with a warranty might be better. I haven't done any research on Ball joint parts so really not sure whats out there in the Preformance ball joint area. Any Suggestions? Trail chaser, from your link to that other site It sounds like it could be done in a day without too much trouble. Anything You can through in to watch out for so I'm not Cursing up a storm when I try this? And if you can remember, What was the systematic order in which you did things. I'd appreciate any info. Dowser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted September 4, 2005 Author Share Posted September 4, 2005 wheel off --> brake caliper off --> hub off --> undo and separate TRE --> yolke w/rotor loosen --> loosen bjs --> dis-assemble... assemble in reverse order That's the order we did it in. There really wasn't anything hard about it, but it was kinda time consuming with all the bolts and nuts to twist on. The only problem we had was with the autohub... No real problem tho, we just broke one of the bolts on the passenger side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 4, 2005 Share Posted September 4, 2005 That eBay seller also has a set of upper and lower ball joints going for $59.99. I only replaced the upper ones so far, and they were a piece of cake since I was also replacing the UCA's as well. If you're thinking of upper control arms, I'd just do it all at once. The lower ones are a project being saved for another day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 wheel off --> brake caliper off --> hub off --> undo and separate TRE --> yolke w/rotor loosen --> loosen bjs --> dis-assemble... assemble in reverse order Damn, don't need to remove all that Just undo the TRE (just for easier access) and then replace each BJ one at a time. Just keep a jack under the LCA for the reinstall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted September 5, 2005 Share Posted September 5, 2005 well, i believe to check all that stuff when digging in there... can't repack the bearings with out disassembling all that.. cheap and quick fixes are just that quick and cheap.. then eventually you have to do it right.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted September 9, 2005 Share Posted September 9, 2005 That eBay seller also has a set of upper and lower ball joints going for $59.99. I only replaced the upper ones so far, and they were a piece of cake since I was also replacing the UCA's as well. If you're thinking of upper control arms, I'd just do it all at once. The lower ones are a project being saved for another day. Even despite the ludicrous $27 shipping charge :o , this is an attractive price. And I need. Rock Auto has full set of Moogs for about $150. My experience is that Moog is top shelf stuff. Mr Pickles - what brand were they? The seller says "OE replacements". That infers genuine Nissan OE parts, but I've seen enough creative use of the OE moniker to mean they could also be junk taiwanese "replacements for OE" parts... Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 The box says Chassis, and the label says MOOG. This is the box from my yet-to-be-installed lower ball joints, and is similar to the uppers and the TRE's. By the way, what is MOOG anyways? I've always wondered- is it a brand name, a style, ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 MOOG is a company name. I believe it's an un-dotted acronym for the owner's names or something. They make steering parts, different kinds of socketed joints and some different kinds of gearboxes and gear trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaritimeMan Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 YOU HAVE BEEN HIT WITH ANOTHER RANDOM PIECE OF KNOWLEDGE BY THE ONE AND ONLY 88!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 It burns... its burns...!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 (edited) The picture is quite helpful... What I think I see is a "Chassis 1" brand box with a label on the side listing the TRW, Moog, and Chassis Select PN's for cross reference? Where were they manufactured? Edited September 12, 2005 by mws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted September 12, 2005 Author Share Posted September 12, 2005 The picture is quite helpful... What I think I see is a "Chassis 1" brand box with a label on the side listing the TRW, Moog, and Chassis Select PN's for cross reference? Where were they manufactured? Ya, I don't think that's a MOOG part. MOOG is suppose to be one of the better companies. We have a couple of different parts that have other brands part #'s on the label. I guess it help cross reference them... The cheapo belts at O'Reillys have like 4 or 5 different belt brands and their part#'s on them... None of the "good" brands have those other PN's on them, it's only the cheaper "1yr warrenty" stuff. I put 2 upper BJ's on that were AutoDrive because the e-discount was sooo much better of a deal. I have 1 Autodrive lower BJ and 1 MOOG because the guy I work with ordered the wrong part. I'll report back in a couple of years if the cheapo fails before the MOOG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_RI Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Mr. Pickles, a question on that kit you bought off ebay (the Chassis 1 stuff). What components have grease fittings? It looks like the ball joints do, but I can't tell if the tie rods do. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red-finder Posted September 14, 2005 Share Posted September 14, 2005 I bought this same kit that Mr. Pickles has. I too am lazy and have not installed lower BJ's and the tie rod ends. They are very good quality and if I remember right all of the parts have grease fittings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 I just went through everything (I've only installed the upper BJ's so far) and everything has grease fittings except the lower BJ's. I looked all over and didn't see a place of manufacture. The only location given was that the box was printed in Canada. They feel and appear to be quite solid and substantial, even compared to the stock ones that were still in somewhat decent shape when I removed them. Hope that helps. Anyways, even with the shipping involved, when I was thinking about buying them, I compared them with the cheapest of cheap from NAPA's website, and these blew them away for price. Even if they die after 150K miles, I'd be at 300K and ball joints and such would be one of the least things on my mind. :X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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