Could I perform these repairs myself?

Got quoted a pretty crazy amount for upper and lower ball joints for my 99 3.4 with manual tranny... also leaking pretty bad transfer case- how difficult would those repairs be if I took them on myself?

They also said the repair kit for the transfer case no longer exists so quoted me over $1800 for new parts and things- come on---- hellpppppp

 

Lower ball joints, do it yourself. Easy.

Buy OEM and buy new bolts.

Upper ball joints, I'll let others chime in. Easy job as well, just a bit awkward pressing out the upper ball joint if you keep the spindle installed in the truck.

Transfer case, I'd drop it and check it yourself. I've yet to drop the transmission in my truck but will once I need to do a swap. Transmission jack is extremely handy for this ordeal.

 

definitely do lbj's yourself. I just did the upper ball joints and they were a little tricky with the autozone bj press, but i got it done. I got the ubj's for 90 bucks from camelback, and I think i spend 180 on the lbj's. I am not sure for the transfer case

 

If you have the space and time to do your own repairs, do it yourself to learn a lot and save a bunch of money. Don't let the expense of tools deter you. You have to look at it as an investment and also realize the money you are saving doing your own work will pay for the tools. Turning your own wrenches is a win on many levels. If you're intimidated by auto mechanics, don't be. With the Right Information, Right Tools and Right Level of Patience, you can turn wrenches just as good as anyone else. This is a skill worth learning and you can pass it on to others like your son(s), daughter(s), friends, and like in my case and many others on this forum, to total strangers.

I doubt you need a rebuild kit for your transfer case. Your transfer case is probably leaking from 3 possible area. From either companion flange that the driveshafts connect to, or it might be spilling out of the top due to a worn out and deteriorated shifter seat. If you watch our Clutch Replacement video series, we show how to remove the shifters to access the top of the transfer case.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfLvtEnX9qk

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sY2azyLBuI

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YuY6rv1hkE

https://www.youtube.com/embed/5PJPZ5-AK-I

 

For the lowers, just buy a pitman arm puller (like $14 form Harbor Freight) to pop off the lower BJ form the spindle and the tie rod end. Make sure you use new bolts. I got mine form Ace hardware (grade 10.9 metric, flange head bolts identical to stock) for less than a buck a piece.

For the upper BJs, you can rent a balljoint press from just about any auto parts store for free. It's the kind that looks like an oversized C-clamp. I've tried a few different shade-tree mechanic methods, and they all pretty much suck, especially when proper tool rental is FREE!

If you put the upper BJ in the freezer overnight, then pull it out when you're ready to press it in, it'll go in like butter..

If you have a torque wrench, definitely use it here. I don't recall the specs on the castle nuts, but the 4 bolts on the LBJ is 59 ft lbs, which is deceptively low. Pretty easy to over torque them. If you don't have one, I suggest getting a decent one, especially if you're planning to do more DIY maintenance. I have a Craftsman that goes up to 250 ft lbs.

 

Good call on the torque wrench.

@little bear if you do buy one, make sure you stow it with the built-in spring uncompressed.

 

wow.... impressive info yall- thank you kindly

 

Be careful though and measure out the dimensions of the ball joints' diameter before going out to autozone/oreily/nappa to borrow a ball joint kit. I had the luck of going to two different places that had ball joint kits that were not small enough to properly remove the ball joints on my truck.

 

Just a comment here. All the stuff Tim said is true. Been wrenching on my own stuff for 25+ years. Got a lot to show for all the savings..... It was worth it.
A method that may be useful for replacing some seals, if the location and situation is right - Dent puller (slide bar type) with sheet metal screw can be used to pop out some seals very easily.

 

was that quote from a dealer service or a jack-of-all trucks type of place?

 

Did balljoints last week. LBJs were easy and I went Moogs all around. The uppers were harder as there isnt a lot of room for the press to push them out. I removed the spindle and used a hydraulic press on the uppers

 

Uppers were hard. I saw a video of a guy just hammering them out, and did the same lol

 

Dealership

 

a quote I got from a jack-of-all places was $580 + tax/fees for the LBJs using moogs
I did not bother with the dealer but did check with an indie Toyota/Lexus only shop using OEM and was very similar in price for just LBJs!!

 

Excessive man

 

I never did a taco, but last time I did uppers on a truck I just replaced the entire arm. Price was similar and took no time at all. Get an alignment when you're done.

 

what if I went with new UCA's ..... would that make it a lot easier?

 

I was just reading thru the whole thread and about to tell you to do this. New upper control arms are worth the saved hassle of pressing BJ’s in my opinion

 

was thinking about doing my ball joints too, but didn't realize new uca could skip that portion since i already planned on getting them anyways

 

Make what easier?

There are two issues people tend to run into with the upper BJs. One is separating the UCA from the BJ. The other is pressing the BJ out from the spindle. If you've got corrosion, that makes it harder, but sometimes the UCA is just seized onto the BJ post, and it's difficult to remove. In that case, people will tend to cut the BJ post and remove the entire UCA, then use a hydraulic press to pop the BJ post out of the UCA. So getting a new UCA I guess would be easier in the sense that you wouldn't have to press the post out. In this case, I don't think it's worth it. If your UCA is absolutely seized on the BJ, then you probably don't have much of a choice to replace the UCA, but I wouldn't buy a UCA just to try and make things "easier".


Some people can just whack it with a hammer a few times and the BJ pops free from the UCA. I prefer using a puller, as the hammer is a little too caveman-like for me (plus it didn't work), so I had to use a 3-arm puller wrapped in bailing wire (so the 3 arms wouldn't slip off the UCA) to pop the UCA free.

When I upgraded my UCAs to uniballs, I just hacked off the BJ post and tossed the UCA. I didn't need to bother pressing off the BJ this time. But of course I was still left with the BJ that's pressed in the spindle.

I've used this method before to remove the upper BJ form the spindle. But do NOT try and re-install the BJ with this guy's method, it's absolutely horrible. This is where renting the proper BJ press tool (the C-clamp looking one) is VERY beneficial. I believe you can easily use this same tool to remove the BJ, although I didn't use it in my case.use that
http://www.bajataco.com/tech/control_arms_03.html

When I installed my uniball UCAs, they come with a plug adapter that gets pressed in (it now uses a large bolt to attach to the UCA), in place of the BJ. I just put it in the freezer overnight and it went in like butter. Almost didn't need the press, lol.