Cv Boot - Ball Joint - Inner Tie Rods - Anti Roll Bar Links

[rds72]

I've had all of the above replaced over the last 2 years on my old Galaxy MK2 which I no longer have as it was scrapped but the jobs were all done at different times by the same garage. Rough numbers given.

J1. Replaced o/s front bottom ball joint - £50

J2. Replaced both front inner CV boot - £100 for both

J3. Replaced both front anti roll bar links - £50 for both

J4. Replaced both inner tie rods - £100 for both

J5. Replaced lower ball joint - £50

 

I now have another Galaxy MK2 diesel with lower mileage and had an advisory couple of months ago on my MOT from a different garage of 'Suspension arm ball joint dust cover damaged front and offside front' and quote of £120 for both sides including replacement of ball joints at they said you do both at the same time but not had it done yet.

 

In the meantime I've been back to the usual garage for two tyres and was advised that I will need at some point;

a - CV Boot front - £60

b - Both front and offside front lower ball joints - £120

 

I always use the same garage for repairs and don't do them myself. So I just wanted to check before I start down the same road of repairs on the newer MK2 vehicle to make sure;

Q1. If I've been looked after well in your opinion?

Q2. Should any of these jobs be done at the same time to avoid extra cost?

Q3. And therefore should I continue to treat them as separate jobs when I'm told they need doing?

 

Thanks.

Edited October 26, 2016 by rds72

[BrianH]

To change the cv boots you'd need to disassemble the balljoint so it would make sense to do both at the same time. It should work out lower overall, but they may have quoted them assuming they are doing them together.

 

With the CV boot job its mostly labour involved, cost of the parts is fairly low, Balljoint is a bit more but again is mostly labour. The prices sound fairly reasonable to me if you don't want to get your hands dirty doing it. (also both garages seem to be in the same price range for the jobs so neither sounds particularly unreasonable)

[rds72]

Thanks for your response. Ok its good to check now and then.

 

It did seem like you would do the CV Boot and Ball Joint at the same time so £240 for both, on both sides, would seem like a fair priced job? (60+120+60)

 

And the inner tie rods and anti roll bar links? For future, are they related jobs to each other or not?

Edited October 27, 2016 by rds72

[BrianH]

They are all in the same area - You'd usually want to remove the wheel for both of those jobs, but the rest of it would stay together (driveshafts and balljoints) so probabbly not much to be saved, not much point in changing them unless they have failed really either (the drop links do tend to go on Galaxies fairly frequently). Don't think the tie rods fail particularly frequently though, so maybe you just got unlucky there.

 

The overall price to me sounds reasonable if you don't want to do it yourself assuming thats with parts included. Is that including VAT though (garages frequently quote Ex-VAT prices I've found)

[sparky Paul]

Personally, I would only replace as necessary. The Galaxy suspension is relatively easy to dismantle, and everything except the anti-roll bar drop links are pretty robust. Droplinks and inner track rods are easy jobs to do in isolation, both jobs take no more than 10-15 minutes a side.

 

The prices sound reasonable, as BrianH says, but it often surprises me how many bits garages find to change on MOTs. We all know that drop links are an ongoing problem, but some of the other suspension stuff should only fail at big mileages... I've replaced springs, shockers, drop links, track rod ends, anti-roll bar bushes, wishbone bushes and one (n/s) inner track rod - the track rod only very recently. That said, mine has now done over 150K miles, and is still on the original balljoints, wheel bearings, driveshafts and CV boots, and the rural roads around here are diabolical.

 

In my experience, ball joint rubbers rarely fail unless they are very old or have been damaged by some someone being less than careful whilst splitting or checking for play. My MOT tester man seems to have managed for 13 years without poking holes in mine.

 

As for the droplinks, I found the answer to that - Delphi heavy duty ones last for years - part no. TC1901.

Edited October 28, 2016 by sparky Paul

[rds72]

The prices quoted are inclusive of vat for reference. I'll carry on then and change as needed if there's not much to be saved.

Ok thanks very much for the guidance to both of you.