Do I have to replace UCAÂ’s when doing LBJs?

[psyduck]

So it’s time to change my lower ball joints. My mechanic stated that he recommends doing the upper control arms too. Is this something that is typically done when replacing LBJs? The quote they gave me was $750 for just the LBJs and an included alignment which I am not sure if I really need it after just changing the LBJs.

 

[RandyBobandy]

$750 for lower ball joints is ridiculous, they take like an hour to change, probably less for a professional shop. Go to a different shop and insist they use oem ball joints and new bolts

An alignment isn’t necessary

 

[FD7683]

No need to replace the upper control arm although I do recommend swapping out the UBJ so all joints are fresh. I see you live in Florida so the cam bolts shouldn't be an issue but like Randy said, you don't need an alignment.

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

This is REALLY the time to learn it yourself. Imagine freeing up your budget for parts with no labor involved.


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[psyduck]

This is REALLY the time to learn it yourself. Imagine freeing up your budget for parts with no labor involved.


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I saw the Timthetoolman video and I just cannot trust myself to do that and not royally mess up my ride or not be able to put it back together. I can do things like brakes and basic maintenance but that’s about it for me.

 

[repo]

No.

Why they think they can still pull these stunts in the day and age of being able to see the work and costs involved for yourself by watching a 15 min youtube vid on your phone is beyond me.

BTW I got about 250k out of my UCA and abused the crap out of them to be frank.

 

[psyduck]

No.

Why they think they can still pull these stunts in the day and age of being able to see the work and costs involved for yourself by watching a 15 min youtube vid on your phone is beyond me.

BTW I got about 250k out of my UCA and abused the crap out of them to be frank.

I’m currently at 215k fwiw…

 

[fatherohenry]

I saw the Timthetoolman video and I just cannot trust myself to do that and not royally mess up my ride or not be able to put it back together. I can do things like brakes and basic maintenance but that’s about it for me.

I was in the same boat a year ago when I did my LBJs. Zero confidence.

I read everything I could find here and watched Tim's video I don't know how many times. I moved very slowly, taking pictures and checking my notes. Driver side took me an hour. Passenger side took maybe 25 minutes. Seriously no more difficult than changing plugs and wires. And it gave me the confidence to tackle bigger jobs like valve cover gaskets and timing belt.

That $500 you'll save doing it yourself will more than take care of all the tools you might need.

 

[Devbot]

Gonna chime in and beat this dead horse :deadhorse:
It's not required but if you're looking to do it, I would knock both out at the same time and save an alignment. But like others said, $750 is highway robbery and it really is nothing to do them yourself - my first time doing LBJs on this vehicle, with no prior experience whatsoever, the most basic tools (sockets, impact, pitman puller and a hammer) AND working comfortably slow, it took me like 2 hours to get both sides done. Having half an idea and preparing your tools before-hand, you could probably cut that down to an hour. UCAs would be in the same ballpark for certain for what it's worth. If you were looking to replace the upper ball joint and not necessarily the entire UCA it shouldn't take that much longer.

 

[repo]

I’m currently at 215k fwiw…

I suppose you could suggest they could be replaced at that age, but that doesn't mean they need to be replaced. They aren't involved in the LBJ process other than the truck already being on the lift with the front wheels off. And they probably want to replace the whole arms with cheap chinese parts rather than replace the upper ball joints themself in the original arms.

But thinking about things and giving the benefit of the doubt maybe could be how things are going to be from now on with inflation? If you live in some yuppy hive full of people willing to pay that and this is a dealership using OE parts and $200/hr labor it could be normal. Who the hell knows anymore. I mean browsing the 5th gen 'prices paid' thread people are paying $1000s over msrp just to get the latest paint color and other dumb stuff.

All the more reason to nut up and give the DIY thing a whirl if that's the case, or get a quote from another shop at least.

 

[mtbtim]

I saw the Timthetoolman video and I just cannot trust myself to do that and not royally mess up my ride or not be able to put it back together. I can do things like brakes and basic maintenance but that’s about it for me.

Dude, you are selling yourself short. You can do this job no problem. You can rent pullers for free from an auto parts store like O'Reillys. With the money you save, you could buy some tools you might need like torque wrenches. Please don't pay a shop over $500 to do this job for you. That is an incredible ripoff. You can get the LBJs for around a couple hundred bucks.

You do not need an alignment after replacing LBJs. That right there either tells me they are dishonest or they don't know what the hell they are doing.

And no, you don't need to replace your UCAs. That's a ridiculous recommendation. If they are rusted out, sure replace them. If the bushings are bad, you can replace the bushings if you have the right tools. When the bushings go bad, that's when you might consider replacing them if you don't want to invest in the tools to do it.

Don't let auto mechanics intimidate you. Take on the challenge and don't look back. The money savings and the knowledge you gain is well worth it.

By the way, I'm Timmy the Toolman.

 

[repo]

Looking back personally, LBJs was actually the first "major" job I did. It was indeed intimidating and I didnt have the benefit of youtube or even the FSM. I used an old how-to thread from this forum. Turned out much simpler that I thought and gave me confidence to tackle other stuff. I do it for fun now (not always). You money saved on labor pays for the tools you buy. You also know how to it works if you need to do trail repairs in the middle of nowhere ir help out a friend.

I get that not everyone had the space and time for it but youre only going to have more repairs as the miles add up so it's kind of the only way to go with vehicles this age IMO.

 

[psyduck]

Dude, you are selling yourself short. You can do this job no problem. You can rent pullers for free from an auto parts store like O'Reillys. With the money you save, you could buy some tools you might need like torque wrenches. Please don't pay a shop over $500 to do this job for you. That is an incredible ripoff. You can get the LBJs for around a couple hundred bucks.

You do not need an alignment after replacing LBJs. That right there either tells me they are dishonest or they don't know what the hell they are doing.

And no, you don't need to replace your UCAs. That's a ridiculous recommendation. If they are rusted out, sure replace them. If the bushings are bad, you can replace the bushings if you have the right tools. When the bushings go bad, that's when you might consider replacing them if you don't want to invest in the tools to do it.

Don't let auto mechanics intimidate you. Take on the challenge and don't look back. The money savings and the knowledge you gain is well worth it.

By the way, I'm Timmy the Toolman.

You’ve convinced me. Would be a disservice to take it to a shop now. Off to watch your video another 20 times! Thanks!

 

[brillo_76]

You can do it. Just take your time and double check yourself. As you can save a pile of money doing all.your vehicle maintenance yourself..

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