Lower ball joints replacement cost

Hello! So I called up the toyota dealership today to ask for a quote on how much they would charge me to replace the lower ball joints on my 02 tundra. They quoted me $1100 out the door, including the alignment. I was wondering if that was a reasonable price for the whole thing? Since I was expecting a quote more around $700-$800. I live in northern VA, if that helps.

 

Has the recall work already been done once? If not, you can get that done for free, otherwise it’s relatively easy to do yourself if you have the time.

 

I looked up if there were any recalls still active for my vin, and none showed up.

 

$1200 sounds outrageous. They don't call them "stealerships" for nothing.

Any local shop that specializes in Toyota should be able to do it for half that.

Just make sure you use OEM parts. And use the Toyota Parts website to buy them, at a discount. If you need a dealership to get you the parts cheap, free shipping, and no tax, use zip code 35005 when adding to cart and pick Serra Toyota of Birmingham.

 

Thanks for the advice! Yeah I was baffled when they gave me that estimate, and the guy seemed to ignore my question about how much they were charging for the parts and kept repeating $1100 out the door.

 

It shouldn't take you more than 2 hours to leisurely replace them yourselves, and can be done with -at worst- tools you can take on loan from the auto parts store.

If you've ever done anything suspension related and you're on a hustle, there's no reason you can't knock lowers out in an hour.

 

Dealership labor is always more expensive. In general right now, there is major shortage of mechanics and body techs across the US so our wages and the cost of our skill set has increased significantly.
This would be a good “get your feet wet project” even if it requires buying some tools and renting a ball joint splitter from your local Autoparts store. Autozone and Oreillys should have em.

 

Another thing I didn't see previously mentioned is that you shouldn't need an alignment after replacing the lower ball joints unless your truck is already out of alignment.

You seem fairly knowledgeable. I would consider doing the repair yourself. It's not difficult.

 

I guess I might give it a shot myself! I was feeling hesitant since I’ve never done anything suspension related myself, its been mainly simpler things like fluids, spark plugs, serpentine belt and small electric stuff. I will see what tools I would need to buy/rent.

 

Plenty of information here and people to ask if you have questions.

 

Other than basic hand tools you will likely something like this.

 

LBJs were the first bit of work I did on my truck without the help of anyone else, and took me about 3.5 hours to do both sides. It is a simple process, just using a press or separator can be a tad bit scary as I had mine pop out into my face which left a bruise, but was far better than $1200! And the more little work you do like LBJs the more confident you get in pursuing other tedious maintenance issues yourself and get to skip out on ridiculous dealership/shop quotes.

 

Awesome! Love to see it. Don’t forget to checkout harbor freight. Snap on is a luxury not a necessity. I’ve found great deals on Craigslist and offer up as well. If you can spring for new bolts to go with your LBJ’s now’s a good time to replace old rusty hardware. Not a requirement tho if money is tight. Little anti seize and a can of grease is always good to have on hand when doing suspension work too.

 

Agreed. 4 bolts plus a ball joint nut per side. I never needed a puller, but my stuff isn’t rusted. But, letting the coilover push on the LCA doesn’t hurt matters. I run an impact to lossen and seat tapered studs. Hand tool to torque them back in. If the old one isn’t dropping, flip your castle nut and thread it 5 threads and whack it. I would order new bolts (8) when you order OEM LBJs.

 

I would order new outer tie rods also. I did my ball joints myself. It’s about a 5/10 difficulty level. Should take about 3 hours. Once you do one it’s a breeze to do the other side.

 

Thank you all! I will post my progress; I will probably start buying the parts this weekend.

 

That's a lot of dough for the stealership. They are not difficult to install. Here is some audio visual aids to assist you.

https://youtu.be/0YnxkhBIix8

 

Along with the above video, suggest adding Timmy the Toolman to your list of folks to follow as you dive into projects.

While the below video is his 2000 4 runner, the LBJ work for a 2002 Tundra would be same.



I've also attached the Lower Ball Joint removal/replacement pages from 2003 FSM which shows torque specs among other things.

 

thanks!

 

I'm a little late to this thread but if you need one more video to prove you can do it, here's the process on my 01 (I believe identical to your 02). Torque specs included.

https://youtu.be/aQt_3nxOtNs

 

I was hesitant, but just did mine last week and it was easy if you get the right tools. I used 208Tyler's video above and this video.
This is the kit I bought on Amazon:

$50 Orion Motor Tech OMT 5-in-1 Ball Joint Separator, Pitman Arm Puller, Tie Rod End Tool Set for Front End Service, Splitter Removal Kit (RD06)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A0AWELW?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

You only use 2 of the 5 pieces in there. The worst part for me was removing my rusted and old cotter pins. Now my brake dust shields sort of scrape so I gotta go investigate that a bit more.

 

Well since you are building out/have built out essentially the same truck as I own, you just got yourself a subscriber, sir.