I took my 2003 Ford Ranger Edge (V6 3Liter 72,000miles) to the dealer today to get my oil changed and have him look at why my truck is making a lot of noise when it idel.
I thought it was the catalytic converter, but it turns out it was the Throw out bearing. The rep said since it's the same labor, they usually replace the entire assembly and replace the clutch.
The also found other items wrong, but it sounds like an upsell. He said the upper control arms are ok now, but should be replaced because of the mileage of the truck.
Also the front shocks are bad (per rep) and i need an alignment.
I'm holding off on the shocks and the alignment because i have not noticed any problems, i'm also holding off on the upper control arms.

Are the prices he quoted me the norm, or is he trying overcharge me?
Upper control Arms $299.00 (parts) $449 (labor)
Front shocks $122.00 (parts) $92 (labor)
Alignment $70.00 (labor)
Clutch kit $381 (parts, inc new clutch) $525 (labor)
Total of $1773, i went in for an oil change and tire rotation.

How do i tell if the upper control arms are actually bad?
The shocks seem a bit worn, but not to where they affect handling.

Thanks for any help or input you guys got...

 

Wow, have you priced this stuff from an auto parts store? Or gone to a local mechanic? I would much rather go to my mechanic friends than a dealership

 

No surprise here...

A dealership will ALWAYS be more expensive... they have higher overhead to consider. If you want some place cheaper, find a local garage that you trust.

 

you should seriously invest in a 150 piece craftsman tool set, and a Hanes Shop manual for your truck.

While at sears, get yourself a small air compressor, and a decent impact gun...

You can get all this, for about $600.

Then, on a nice day off, do the work yourself. The Hanes Manual has neat little pictures for retards like us, that makes fixing this crap alot easier. Plus, as an added bonus, any questions can be directed at the forum.

Ofcourse the alignment should be done at a shop...

Now with that out of the way, my truck has 70K miles on it aswell. a 2004. while my front shocks squeak, i wouldnt call them 'worn' just yet. I have more pressing issues to contend with, like my W shaped leafs

 

Definitely do the front shocks yourself. I changed mine with no lift or air tools in my driveway on jack stands. In under an hour. $92 is nuts for that.

 

Of course your getting taken, your at the dealership.
Go to a local shop and get a quote. or if your not too shabby with a wrench, do some of the work yourself, parts are easy to come by and some of the stuff you need to do isn't hard at all.

 

Would love to do the upper control arms and front shocks myself, but i don't really have any place to work on that right now.
I don't think i would want to do the thowout bearing myself.
I called around, found a shop (AAMCO) that will do it for $350 for the parts (OEM, not aftermarket) and $375 for the labor. Is that still too high? That includes the bearing, the clutch and sending the flywheel out.
Found another shop that will do it for $250 parts & $340 labor. Since cash is in short supply, i'm going with the cheape option. (the 2nd shop does some work for the company i work for)

 

Gotta remember that the reason this stuff is so expensive is because its al OE Ford parts. I would like to think that the control arms arent bad, esp. at 72K. Shocks you can do yourself in your backyard.

 

FWIW, I last rebuilt my front suspension around 100k Everything was shot.

The thing is you can align these trucks much as when the alignment is off its because wheel bearings or ball joints are worn out. You replace them and all of a sudden you don't need one anymore.

There is no doubt in my mind you need all that work. The front suspension can be a PITA without some knowledge and tools.

This one being my time saver.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...&blockType=G43

You will also need 21 and 22 mm wrenches for the stock lowers and tie rod ends, and what ever bigger size the new ones come in. These tools don't usually come in the basic sets.


At those prices you can do the uppers, you will just need a few tools, 15mm 13 and the 21mm IIRC. Then the hammer to pop the UCAs up out of the spindles. Save you about 400 bucks.

Also shop around if this doesn't sound like your thing.

 

do it at what price is in your budget but please do not cheap out big time. Your investing into your transportation i always get the best or nothing. But if you cant to that get a quality part but not some hunk of crap part that'll fail soon

 

SCAM!!!!!!!!!! control arms don't wear out! Ball joints and bushings do.

Shocks are easy, I just changed mine in a parking lot in about an hour with basic tools and a strap wrench. The throwout bearing would be a pain.

 

IIRC, You can't press the ball joints out of stock UCA's

 

If you knew HALF what you think you know about your truck, you would know that the OE upper control arms and balljoints are one piece units, and it's a GREAT idea to replace them with Moog ones so in the future you can just replace the balljoint (when that wears out)

 

A friend just had his upper ball joints (just the ball joints) replaced and it was less than $200 for both sides. Are they not all the same?

and save it with the "what you think you know" bs

 

I know the Upper Control Arms from the factory have ball joints that can't be pressed out.
I checked.
Ford designed them to be that way, so you had to buy the whole thing when they went bad. however several companies started making new UCA's to fill that market gap, ones with replaceable Ball Joints. Moog for example happens to be one of the best.


If you don't wish to (or can't) do the work yourself, i HIGHLY recommend going to a repair shop and getting a quote for everything you listed above. I can almost guarantee it will be cheaper than the dealer's price.

 

When I did my uppers i got moog arms, let's me swap the ball joints with moot joInts for 35 a side. These arms are more expensive but serviceable.

Also the uppers are different from side to side, making pass side easier to swap.