F430 balljoint replacement...costs and questions !

[turboman786]

An indy has quoted me £1500 for replacing 3 balljponts on each side......

Now this sounds mighty expensive to me although Im not entirely clear as to the complexity or otherwise of the task

So Id like to know folks...

-how many balljoints are there are on side ?
- how much are the parts?
- how many hours of labour is involved

Im guessing the parts cant be more than £500 surely....and 1k buys a LOT of labour !!

[anonymous-user]

Three per corner - upper, lower, tie/track rod. Replacements from Hill Engineering. Probably 2 hours per corner. Unusual for all to be gone but £1500 is fair if so.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/aldousvoice.com/201...

[mbwoy84]

I did the same job on a 360 a few weeks back. Identical set-up.

About £800 in parts and consumables plus 3 hours labour.

[V8FGO]

Hill Engineering have them at £115 plus £18.5 for a boot so £800 for 6. Not sure if that includes VAT. Hourly rate then seems a bit high even if they quote 4 hrs. Might be they are including curing time for the adhesive.
Have tried for a quote from a main dealer to compare.

[andrew]

V8FGO said:

Hill Engineering have them at £115 plus £18.5 for a boot so £800 for 6. Not sure if that includes VAT. Hourly rate then seems a bit high even if they quote 4 hrs. Might be they are including curing time for the adhesive.
Have tried for a quote from a main dealer to compare.

i wish that i could charge for watching glue dry

[voicey]

6x HE Balljoints @ £115 = £690
12x HE Boots @ £18.50 = £222
6x Adhesive@ £3 = £18
VAT = £186
Total Parts = £1,116

Labour depends on if you're doing the upper or lowers (the latter require the removal of the drop link and shock bolt, which is usually stuck in place). There are synergies in doing more than one at a time but it's difficult to do the upper and lower from the same corner at the same time (as you need a way of supporting the hub). Cleaning the old glue off properly can take time.

Overall, if your £1,500 includes VAT I'd say it's fair.

[turboman786]

Thanks for the replies guys....very helpful

The price quoted is 1500 plus vat which I think is excessive from what I gather above...so £1800 in total

Does this rask require any specialised knowledge or tools ?....id prefer to give it to my regular mechanic who is a M car specilaist but thoroughly competent in most things

[kev b]

£160 plus fitting for a balljoint!

They don't even last very long either, all part of the ownership experience I suppose.

Enzo's contempt for road car buyers carries on.

[mbwoy84]

Nope, not particularly specialised at all really.

The HE joints will last just fine. It’s the OE ones that are inferior.

[zexel]

I watched this last week. To give you some idea.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuEO4mjfPig

[red_slr]

I was just going to say watch Dans video.

IIRC he did make a mistake somewhere in the process though and did a follow up video IIRC?

[mike01606]

red_slr said:

I was just going to say watch Dans video.

IIRC he did make a mistake somewhere in the process though and did a follow up video IIRC?

He said he forgot to grease them so took them off again and greased them in a follow up video.
I’m not sure that is needed as the HE ones are PTFE lined so should be self lubricating. I can’t imagine it does any harm though apart from maybe attracting dirt.