Front Lower Control Arm Ball Joint Bad

[Jostudly]

Hi I had my 09 Rogue S in for an oil change at the dealer the other day and they told me for me to pass my safety inspection I am going to need to replace the front passenger control arm and ball joint and both front sway bar links. My vehicle has only 75000kms on it and drives fine with no noise or shaking. Are these parts common to break on a Rogue with this amount of mileage because the dealer want $700 to replace and install these parts?

[oldengineer]

I live in PA and based on many years of driving experience I have never and will never get my car inspected at a dealership. Around here they are even worse than national repair places for wanting to replace suspension and steering components. I use a locally owned garage for all of my inspections and non warranty work.

[Jostudly]

I will be getting my safety for sure at another garage just would like to know if anyone has replaced these parts and how much labor time and if I will need a wheel alignment afterwards?

[TrevorK]

I will be getting my safety for sure at another garage just would like to know if anyone has replaced these parts and how much labor time and if I will need a wheel alignment afterwards?

I believe the Rogue has a ball joint that is replaced with the control arm, so that would be why they are recommending you replace both. Not because the control arm is bad, but because Nissan decided not to make the ball joint replacable. I could be wrong, but I couldn't find a ball joint part for sale and the repair manual has no procedure for replacing it. They are $100 USD on rockauto.com (control arm and ball joint).

You would be advised to get an alignment after all this. Especially if your ball joint is actually bad this early, it probably means the alignment will also be out.

As with anything, if something seems off I would get a second opinion. If you want things done at a lower cost there are always suspension - specific shops (at least where I live) that have a much lower hourly rate.


For reference, to replace one control arm is 1.7 hours and the sway bar links are 0.9 hours (both sides). If you can find a shop that charges an hourly rate (not book rate) you may save some money because both those rates would take into account raising the vehicle and such. But you may pay more if you have rusted bolts, etc that are difficult to get off.

[Jostudly]

Okay thanks I will get a second opinion to see what my options are.

[ImStricken06]

nissan (like most now a days) does in fact have a ball joints & control arm as one unit. its much cheaper & easier to just swap the control arm, than to try and fix what you have. (it IS possible).

personally, myself: i'd buy this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009S2 ... V5KBKMBIMD
and show up at a local shop and see how much they would charge to isntall it. you'd be surprised how much of a markup shops have on parts they order from their supplier.
and if you really do need the sway bar link, here it is for $20 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QZ ... WAQZ4GFJPK
the part number breaks down to fit your car

[elmo14226]

For reference, IIRC I paid my local shop about $70 a piece to replace similar sway bar links on a Honda. I would have replaced them myself if I could have gotten the old ones off. I don't think he would of been too happy if I had shown up with the parts and ask him to install them. He would say that it was a liability issue but I'm sure he makes at least a 100% profit on parts since he charges twice what the parts cost a NAPA (which is where he gets the parts).

[ImStricken06]

For reference, IIRC I paid my local shop about $70 a piece to replace similar sway bar links on a Honda. I would have replaced them myself if I could have gotten the old ones off. I don't think he would of been too happy if I had shown up with the parts and ask him to install them. He would say that it was a liability issue but I'm sure he makes at least a 100% profit on parts since he charges twice what the parts cost a NAPA (which is where he gets the parts).

i dont care if he wouldn't be happy. then i'd find another 'hungry' mechanic would do it.
plenty mechanics have people coming in and asking for aftermarket parts to be installed. asking to have an aftermarket suspension part installed is nothing new.

[TrevorK]

For reference, IIRC I paid my local shop about $70 a piece to replace similar sway bar links on a Honda. I would have replaced them myself if I could have gotten the old ones off. I don't think he would of been too happy if I had shown up with the parts and ask him to install them. He would say that it was a liability issue but I'm sure he makes at least a 100% profit on parts since he charges twice what the parts cost a NAPA (which is where he gets the parts).

One valid reason that mechanics do not like customers supplying parts the mechanic did not pick out themselves is that, when there are problems with the part (faulty, incorrect part, old part, etc.), the customer most often expects the mechanic to deal with it themselves free of charge. This is a giant pain in the butt for the mechanic, and why some will refuse to deal with it because most customers will not pay for their time if there is a problem.

Many trades are like this, and I think it is getting even worse now with the internet because everyone thinks they can pick out the appropriate parts, and everyone thinks that it will always bolt right up. As evidenced by the serpantine belt thread a couple spots below this one, NAPA themselves offers two different ones and one is actually a different length (I believe that's what was concluded in the thread).

Talk to someone in any trade that deals with people directly (in a residential or personal property setting), I am sure they can tell you horror stories about "stupid parts" the customer supplied.

[ImStricken06]

For reference, IIRC I paid my local shop about $70 a piece to replace similar sway bar links on a Honda. I would have replaced them myself if I could have gotten the old ones off. I don't think he would of been too happy if I had shown up with the parts and ask him to install them. He would say that it was a liability issue but I'm sure he makes at least a 100% profit on parts since he charges twice what the parts cost a NAPA (which is where he gets the parts).

One valid reason that mechanics do not like customers supplying parts the mechanic did not pick out themselves is that, when there are problems with the part (faulty, incorrect part, old part, etc.), the customer most often expects the mechanic to deal with it themselves free of charge. This is a giant pain in the butt for the mechanic, and why some will refuse to deal with it because most customers will not pay for their time if there is a problem.

Many trades are like this, and I think it is getting even worse now with the internet because everyone thinks they can pick out the appropriate parts, and everyone thinks that it will always bolt right up. As evidenced by the serpantine belt thread a couple spots below this one, NAPA themselves offers two different ones and one is actually a different length (I believe that's what was concluded in the thread).

Talk to someone in any trade that deals with people directly (in a residential or personal property setting), I am sure they can tell you horror stories about "stupid parts" the customer supplied.

again, its not as rampant as you might think. many-many people order aftermarket parts, and go to a mechanic to have install it. an agreement is made that the mechanic only guarantees the install, not the part. no court or judge would even spend a minute on such a case (if it came to it).

this also happens in the home improvement world: you go to the store to buy flooring, windows, doors, etc - and a 3rd party installs it.

[Rogue Jarhead]

Those parts are simple enough to replace by yourself. Is there no you tube video some one has made that would show you how? Spend the $100 in parts and keep the $600 in your pocket.

[TrevorK]

One valid reason that mechanics do not like customers supplying parts the mechanic did not pick out themselves is that, when there are problems with the part (faulty, incorrect part, old part, etc.), the customer most often expects the mechanic to deal with it themselves free of charge. This is a giant pain in the butt for the mechanic, and why some will refuse to deal with it because most customers will not pay for their time if there is a problem.

Many trades are like this, and I think it is getting even worse now with the internet because everyone thinks they can pick out the appropriate parts, and everyone thinks that it will always bolt right up. As evidenced by the serpantine belt thread a couple spots below this one, NAPA themselves offers two different ones and one is actually a different length (I believe that's what was concluded in the thread).

Talk to someone in any trade that deals with people directly (in a residential or personal property setting), I am sure they can tell you horror stories about "stupid parts" the customer supplied.

again, its not as rampant as you might think. many-many people order aftermarket parts, and go to a mechanic to have install it. an agreement is made that the mechanic only guarantees the install, not the part. no court or judge would even spend a minute on such a case (if it came to it).

this also happens in the home improvement world: you go to the store to buy flooring, windows, doors, etc - and a 3rd party installs it.

Many mechanics and other tradespeople will refuse or charge more to install parts they do not supply. It is quite common, and even more so amongst the reputable places that do not need to fight for business. They do not want to deal with the hassle of a customer saying "My problem still isn't fixed" when it turns out to be a faulty part.

Of course there are people that don't care and will install whatever parts for money. But the reason they are doing that is because they do not have the business to sustain themselves otherwise. As a tradesperson, it is much easier to install parts you are familiar with and parts you can deal with immediately if there is a problem (defective, etc.).

[ImStricken06]

i guess, its all area depending.
i know many shops in my area, that will simply write in the receipt that the bill of sale is for an install of customer supplied aftermarket parts, and no warranty is expressed. as soon as the customer signs the service contract, its all said & done.

[di_gent]

I am not sure if this will help but i had to replace both of my front lower control arms on my 2008 Rogue SL at 95000km. It cost me $1082.19 including taxes it also inculed an Alignment. Parts were $252.11/each, 129.99 for aligment, $43.60 for shop supplies, and $306 for labour all plus 10% tax. I also had to get this work done inorder to registor my car it was consider as mandatory as part of the inspection.

[joesera]

I believe the Rogue has a ball joint that is replaced with the control arm, so that would be why they are recommending you replace both. Not because the control arm is bad, but because Nissan decided not to make the ball joint replacable. I could be wrong, but I couldn't find a ball joint part for sale and the repair manual has no procedure for replacing it.

In case anyone else is cheap like me, I just replaced the lower left ball joint on my '08 Rogue. The control arm bushings looked OK, so I decided not to replace the whole thing. Autozone sells a replacement ball joint--part # BJL150--for $39.99. See http://www.autozone.com/suspension-stee ... 835_11395/. And they'll also loan you a ball-joint press kit to press the old one out and the new one in. Don't forget to take off the snap ring first though...You can do this without removing the control arm, just like jsmart showed on his Murano here (scroll down to post #25): http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/82-1 ... ent-2.html

[ImStricken06]

add me to this list as well. FML

[ImStricken06]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mbutSwQCc[/youtube]

[ImStricken06]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpCbtbjWCk[/youtube]

got my control arm!

[ImStricken06]

i installed it while installing the new hub-bearing & cv axle. so far so good. i cant certainly feel a little tighter steering with all the new parts.

[ImStricken06]

WARNING: TIGHTEN THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BOLTS, WITH THE WHEEL OFF AND DOUBLE CHECK. AFTER ABOUT A 30MILE TEST DRIVE, GO BACK AND RECHECK THE TORQUE ON THE BOLTS (all of them). Also make sure to use thread lock gel on all threaded hardware.

Today, after about 20miles, I noticed the car surging LEFT upon acceleration, and correcting itself to the right when the throttle was released. I came home and crawled under the car, and noticed the 2 bolts going through the "dog bone" looking mount = not even hand tight!! I applied thread lock & torqued them down to 130ft pounds. My mistake was to trust my impact tool to run down those bolts. I absolutely should have used my torque wrench. Lesson learned!

[Jellybean]

Hey!! What are the torque specs for lower control arms? I can't find them anywhere!

08 rogue awd 143k, currently replacing my control arms.

[ImStricken06]

Hey!! What are the torque specs for lower control arms? I can't find them anywhere!

08 rogue awd 143k, currently replacing my control arms.

according to the FSM (field serice manual) they are:
126ft lbs for the 2 bolts going through the "dog bone"
104ft lbs for the 1 bolt going through the large bushing
50ft lbs for the ball joint