Ball joint replacement

KillerWatt

mikey72 wrote: »

If you do check it, how do you adjust the castor angle on a skoda octavia?

I don't have the Autodata proggy installed on this particular lappy, so can't tell you whether it is adjustable or not.
However if it is not adjustable and is subsequently outside of the manufacturer defined parameters after the new balljoints are fitted, that simply means there is wear elsewhere within the suspension setup.

joanne_d wrote: »

he tells us hes "legally obligated" to check the car over to look for faults ????

He's blagging.

mikey72

KillerWatt wrote: »

I don't have the Autodata proggy installed on this particular lappy, so can't tell you whether it is adjustable or not.
However if it is not adjustable and is subsequently outside of the manufacturer defined parameters after the new balljoints are fitted, that simply means there is wear elsewhere within the suspension setup.


He's blagging.

The old ones may wear and may put the castor angle out, but the new ones will put it back. If it's elsewhere in the setup it'll still be the same with or without checking.
One hour to change the balljoints, no point in checking the geometry, unless you feel the need to check it anyway.

Back to the op, what does he charge per hour?

joanne_d_3

mikey72 wrote: »

The old ones may wear and may put the castor angle out, but the new ones will put it back. If it's elsewhere in the setup it'll still be the same with or without checking.
One hour to change the balljoints, no point in checking the geometry, unless you feel the need to check it anyway.

Back to the op, what does he charge per hour?

Hi.

To be totally honest i dont have a clue how much his hourly rate is lol.

He fitted (we supplied all the parts) timing belt , fan belt and front shock absorbers to this car a couple of weeks ago and charged us £185 , he had the car for around 4hrs?

Then...whilst he had the car doing this work , he checked it over (which he says he always does) and discovered that the passenger side cv boot was on its way out and the fan belt tensioner was on its way out too.

We left the car with him again and he charged us £55 to FIT these two things , again WE supplied the parts.

It was whilst he had the car doing these two things that he noticed that the front ball joints were "on their way out" and he also says that 3 of our tyres need replacing ?

It just seems to me that he is taking the p-i-s-s , i mean , is this how he gets business ? Personally i wont be letting my husband use him again !

*IF* as he says the ball joints ARE going , HE wont be getting the job of doing it lol.

Joanne

somech

so things he disconnects doing other work are on the way out sounds fishy

i mean whilst replacing the aux belt if the tensioner is on its way then it should be replaced there and then not at extra cost later.

ball joints on their way (disconnected replacing shocks)
cv boot cheaper to replace when doing shocks hes taking the !!!! a liitle bit
probably trying to make more money as he underpriced the original work

joanne_d_3

somech wrote: »

so things he disconnects doing other work are on the way out sounds fishy

i mean whilst replacing the aux belt if the tensioner is on its way then it should be replaced there and then not at extra cost later.

ball joints on their way (disconnected replacing shocks)
cv boot cheaper to replace when doing shocks hes taking the !!!! a liitle bit
probably trying to make more money as he underpriced the original work

Hey...actually i never thought of it that way....surely if the ball joint were as bad as he says they are then he would have noticed it when he was doing the shocks.....

I think you are right , i think hes taking the p-i-s-s !

Trading standards time i think lol .

Joanne

somech

in the trade you report items to the customer as you go along (saves you money in the long run and makes the garage money)
as i said if he spotted these items whilst doing other work im sure you would have said thanks for spotting that and got it all done at once thinking what a nice helpful fellow

mikey72

That's the problem with supplying the parts yourself though.
If my local garage had done the job, he would have got everything in, fitted what was needed, and sent back what he didn't use.
So shocks, ball joints, and gaiter would have been done in one go.
Same with the fan belt and tensioner. The garage wouldn't have even though of fitting one without the other.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

this mechanic is trying his best to get constant work from you i'd try a different mechanic. you pay him to do a job not to search the car for other possible faults or cause them. aux tensioners are pretty sturdy and would take allot of years to wear to the point of needing a change! plus he would of been rocking it back and forth to do the belts he probably knackered it himself!
when he disconnected the shocks he would of used a balljoint spillter to remove the joint from the hub well i hope he used a splitter! i'd say he's creating work for himself, dont use him and ask around for a decent mechanic.

mikey72

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

this mechanic is trying his best to get constant work from you i'd try a different mechanic. you pay him to do a job not to search the car for other possible faults or cause them. aux tensioners are pretty sturdy and would take allot of years to wear to the point of needing a change! plus he would of been rocking it back and forth to do the belts he probably knackered it himself!
when he disconnected the shocks he would of used a balljoint spillter to remove the joint from the hub well i hope he used a splitter! i'd say he's creating work for himself, dont use him and ask around for a decent mechanic.

My aux belt is supposed to last ten years or 100,000 miles, and has the engine mount through the middle. I'll change the tensioner as well for that much work.
I'm just about to change the gaiter on my wife's 106, doesn't need a ball joint splitter to drop the suspension arm, just a (big) hammer and a bar. (supposedly)

atrixblue.-MFR-.

mikey72 wrote: »

My aux belt is supposed to last ten years or 100,000 miles, and has the engine mount through the middle. I'll change the tensioner as well for that much work.
I'm just about to change the gaiter on my wife's 106, doesn't need a ball joint splitter to drop the suspension arm, just a (big) hammer and a bar. (supposedly)

ive been there with bar and hammer job in the end i went out and bought a splitter was just plain and simple easy just a couple of little taps and out its coms without splitting the rubber around the joint. and save me about 20 mins trying to whack the joint off the hard way!