darnell moore

The dealer just told me my rear lower ball joints need replacing at a cost of nearly 800.00 dollars. I've changed front joints before but did not know ball joints were onthe rear. Is that something I can do and is there a diy for it. Thanks for your help.

toyota2bmw

It's only $150 for both ball joints so do the math. It's not an easy DIY but you can do it. You will need a ball joint replacement tool kit (~$250 for a good one) to do the work. Even if you purchse the kit you will still come out ahead $400. Your local auto parts store may have kits for rent as well. good luck.

AchtungE60

Ball joint tool? I'm looking at me rear suspension parts this weekend. Just replace the whole part. I have a press and I would still replace the whole part because usually with the ball joint there is a bushing as well and replacing them both at the same time is ideal.


Is this what you're talking about? I bought two of these for like $100. Arrived in 3 days. This isn't the exact one but by glance looks the same. Cheap enough to replace every few years to keep things OEM feeling.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-R...#ht_1476wt_936

AchtungE60

Here. Good stuff man. Great quality and fast shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-REA...#ht_2202wt_939

Krisbiker2

May be wrong, but both previous posts are showing what I believe is traction strut, ball joint according to TIS is below driveshaft, on wishbone. I have been told by my stealer req replacing- reason for high cost is BMW say suspension must be realigned after. Im going to see if someone else who doesnt insist on this can do. The ball joints are available on Ebay for £30 per pair-see item number: 220541493717, come with 20K mile warrenty, dont know how they compare quality wise to OEM, hope this helps

banglenot

Guess I'd be leery of Ebay parts -- don't know where they came from (China knock off?). Especially steering or suspension components.

I'd go with a known outfit like Autohauz AZ or other that can prove the make of the part, whether it's the OEM mfgr or not and so on.

Just my 2 Cents.

Good luck.

AchtungE60

I've had no problems for years with aftermarket parts from Taiwan. Funny but you have no idea the MADE IN GERMANY parts are actually German materials produced and put together in Taiwan and sent back to Germany. Here's point in case......German electronics suck ass as we can all agree on that. Perhaps they should leave them to the Asian masters as well. To each his own but in a decade of owning and WORKING on BMW/Porsche autos, I'll stick with what I know and what works.

banglenot

Sure. Just to note that I don't care where they're made; I only care whose name is on them. If a control arm is Lemfoerder or Pex, sold by AutohausAZ, I'm confident it's QC'd, whether made in Germany, Taiwan, or China. But, your call for your car, and what works for you is fine with me.

AchtungE60

Ok, i have some spare Lemfoerder arms with BMW on them and i'll press in some ball joints and bushings and resell them to people like you and they'll be QA'd because they have BMW stamped on them with the part #. You sound like you're advertising. let me know when you're ready for those parts.