Cost of replacing corroded control arms

New member. This forum has been a wealth of knowledge from basic oil changes to swapping out the ac compressor. Hope to contribute as long as my 15 Tacoma puts on another 180000 miles.

Went to the dealership to have front shocks replaced. Was advised the bolts on control arms were fused to the sleeves and would need to be cut out. Price to replace control arms and additional work for removal was quoted at $2700 for arms and 7-8 hours of labor. Just curious if anyone has experience with this and what the local mom and pop shop would charge

 

Welcome!

this is exactly the situation I was in with my 2015. I was quoted something similar in parts expenses plus close to the same in labor and that was for stock replacements. I chose to spend more and get beefy upgrades for the suspension all around. Long travel is so tempting when already doing that much to the truck but it is still a whole nother ballgame from there with costs wildly more than you would expect. I’m super satisfied with my decision and the truck handles so good now on and off road and is so much more capable.

Good luck in figuring out your situation.

 

Get a quote from an independent mechanic. Those numbers are out of control (as is often the case) from the dealer. I've seen this job done in a driveway in less than half those labor hours, and you (or your independent mechanic) can order OEM parts yourself from other dealerships. Olathe has 'em for 300 bucks each.

https://parts.olathetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-suspension-control-arm-right-front-lower-4806804040

https://parts.olathetoyota.com/oem-parts/toyota-suspension-control-arm-left-front-lower-4806904040

 

Got to find a mechanic that will be ok with installing parts brought in by the customer. Some mechanics will not do that.

 

Or ask if they will order OEM for you. My local indie was glad to, and even gladder to see the prices at Olathe - they'd been ordering dealer parts, when customers wanted them, from the local at significant extra cost.

I totally get why a lot of mechanics don't use customer parts - customers bring in a lot of garbage and complain when it fails.

 

$2700. Is that for LCA only?

 

One thing to consider when it comes to a shop is their ability to handle the frozen bolts. It can be a brutal, demanding job to cut out and remove the control arms and coilovers when the pivot bolts are locked up. That was definitely the case with mine.

 

The other reason mechanics source their own parts is that's where they can actually make a profit to stay in business. Hourly labor costs are typically competitive in a market if you work on regular/civilian type makes/models so you can't just jack up your rate there.