Fair Price?? Front suspension work

[Army97]

Okay so normally I would do all my own work, but I don't have a free weekend for the next month at least. I have 97 4runner, and I just hit 150K and the front suspension is loose, creaky, and I can feel things give and the wheel shake when I hit bumps or rough roads. I already did the Struts and springs, sway bar links and bushings, and the steering rack bushings (not the guide bushing, that will come in the spring by me). I am considering paying for the following because time is short, think this is a fair price?

New LBJ's, inner and outer TRE's, LCA bushings, Upper Ball Joints. Parts and Labor for 800 bucks.

Should I do the upper control arm bushings as well? I have not found many threads about replacing them... do they rot and start creaking? i know my LCA's are rotting and creaking like a bastard right now.

You're thoughts? How much time do you think this would take on my own? I have done a fair bit of work on my runner and my previous jeep so I am mechanically inclined and own tools, but I also always seem to be able to make a project take longer than expected...

 

[Army97]

Anything else I should consider while doing this work? Any other parts should replace or look at?

 

[BrianSD_42]

New LBJ's, inner and outer TRE's, LCA bushings, Upper Ball Joints. Parts and Labor for 800 bucks.

Should I do the upper control arm bushings as well?

Does it feel like your steering is loose when you go over bumps? Does the vehicle drift?

You may be throwing money at the wrong problem. A steering rack will have similar symptoms and if yours has not been replaced yet then it is definitely time.

Take it to a mechanic that knows Toyotas well and ask them to inspect the steering rack and LOWER ball joints. The upper ball joints rarely fail and are not viewed as a danger on this forum BUT the lower are a major issue for T4R owners.

Based on your question here, I don't think you have the know-how to determine whether the LBJ, TRE or steering rack is the issue. You should REALLY find an honest quality mechanic. I don't mean MIDAS or Firestone, I am referring to an independent all Japanese or all Toyota mechanic ---- find one
If you were in SoCAL I could help suggest one.

Things I have NEVER replaced on my 97 with 217k miles ...
* inner TRE
* outer TRE's
* LCA bushings
* Upper Ball Joints
* upper control arm bushings
* transmission (still going strong)

My steering is very tight ... Things I HAVE replaced:
* LOWER ball joints (OEM only)
* Steering Rack (OEM refurb)
* Steering rack bushings (with POLY ones)
* Radiator (do it now)
* Water Pump & Timing (OEM water pump ONLY dammmit)
* Spark Plug Wires (again OEM only, get the part #)
* Spark Plugs (every 30k miles, OEM only not Bosche .....!!!!)
* Rear axle seals - pretty much a right of passage around here
* entire top end of engine

That is a good start.

BTW, I have owned my vehicle for 11 years now. I am not the most knowledgeable guy here but I have owned my truck for > 150,000 miles and I've seen a good deal of the maintenance issues people encounter with these trucks.

 

[Army97]

When I go over bumps you can feel it in the wheel. For example in my parking garage, if I have the wheel turned and I hit the speed bump I can feel the hit in the wheel, and it feels like it is loose. It shakes a little on bumps overall. When I drive on a dirt road it shakes a bit as well, and you can feel that the wheel is a little loose, going straight or turning. Same thing for bumps or potholes on the highway, you can feel them in the wheel. Overall, something is loose in the front end, and you can feel it in the wheel that something gives somewhere.

There is no drifting, and it holds an alignment well...

The creaking is coming from the front right, and it coincides with spring compression, regardless of the wheel being turned on straight. If I crawl over a speed bump, when the car comes down and there are a few slight compression's and extensions of the spring or rocking of the car, you can hear it creak each time.

This would be the second mechanic that has diagnosed this as LCA bushings. Also both have said the LBJ's and UBJ's look fine. I would be replacing them and the TRE's just because everything is already taken apart so we might as well.

Thoughts?

 

[BrianSD_42]

I just edited / updated my post.

 

[BrianSD_42]

This would be the second mechanic that has diagnosed this as LCA bushings. Also both have said the LBJ's and UBJ's look fine. I would be replacing them and the TRE's just because everything is already taken apart so we might as well.

Thoughts?

They could be right ... I'm not a mechanic and if you have it all apart the smart thing is to just replace it all since you save on the labor.

A lot of mechanics try use non-OEM Toyota parts. Just be sure all those parts are OEM. You can always request they use Toyota parts or yOu can even buy your own online (do a search) and carry them in if you want to save money. Although the shop won't honor the 12 mo warranty.

Good luck.

 

[Army97]

They could be right ... I'm not a mechanic and if you have it all apart the smart thing is to just replace it all since you save on the labor.

A lot of mechanics try use non-OEM Toyota parts. Just be sure all those parts are OEM. You can always request they use Toyota parts or yOu can even buy your own online (do a search) and carry them in if you want to save money. Although the shop won't honor the 12 mo warranty.

Good luck.

Thanks alot for the feed back you gave, that is really helpful. I am planning on doing the radiator, water pump/timing, valve cover gasket, fuel filter, spark plugs & wires in a month or two when it gets warm again. This job is kind of out of necessity... Stuff is loose, its getting looser, I drive alot, and work and travel entirely to much for the next few months to get anything done myself. The shop I am working with has a great reputation, they are not a big corporate brand (i HATE those), they specialize in Toyota's and the owner is just a good guy to know. I have spoken with him a lot, he knows that I know my stuff (at least enough to garner some respect) and I trust him. they only use OEM parts, and he really put a lot of work in diagnosing the sound as the LCA's.

I think I will try to find a way to get a stethiscope on some parts and maybe jack up the tire to see if i can hear the LCA creak myself.

If I do get this done, do you think 800 is a fair price for that amount of work and parts??