Saved up some money, need recommendations for what I should get fixed or replaced

[Freeze Time]

The first thing I am going to take care of is the death sway. I found this link
https://www.4x4parts.com/i-18914447-pat ... -pack.html
but I am not sure how many need replacing so I will ask my mechanic to take a look at them. I will order them and give them to my mechanic to keep cost down. I have a 98 QX4 with around 133,000 miles. I just noticed that the car kind of jumps/stutters while driving sometimes and the rpms go a little higher so I hope that's nothing too serious. I was also planning on getting a radiator flush and new brakes and maybe tires. The brakes and tires can wait but if I am getting the death sway fixed, I figured I might as well get the brakes done too. I have a friend that wants to fix 2 of the brakes cuz he says it's easy but he can't do the other ones. I am also thinking about upgrading the CD player since it's old and doesn't have a mp3 jack.

Any recommendations as to what I should get fixed or replaced? The stuttering thing that just started happening seems like the most serious thing and doing some google suggests it's a cheap fix. My brake light comes on randomly too so not sure if that is something to worry about. Thanks in advance.

[atraudes]

Make sure you get the bushing kit that includes new nuts and bolts as well, and make sure your mechanic uses plenty of polyurethane lubricant. The kit comes with some, but buy more if he doesn't have more onhand.

Get your timing belt replaced if you haven't already, and replace any fluids, greases, or filters that are due. Other than that, definitely get those brake light and stuttering issues addressed! Cleaning the MAF sensor may help with the stuttering. Be sure to get spray that's made specifically for that though. Other sprays will do more harm than good.

[Freeze Time]

Thanks. I have been going to my mechanic for 20 years and he always gives me great deals and will fix something rather than replace it if he can. I had to get a new distributor 4 months ago and he only charged me a total of $390(initial check to see what the problem was, parts and labor) when other places were a minimum of $100 higher. Is that link not all that I need? Can you link me to what I need exactly? The timing belt was already replaced before I bought the car and I will have any filters etc replaced.

[atraudes]

This is the kit I bought. It includes all of the bushings needed for upper and lower arms plus the bolts. They also sell a set that has enough parts for one arm. Another option is to buy the new bolts from the dealership.

Check out my writeup on the procedure if you haven't seen it yet; there's some good discussion on needed parts.

[Freeze Time]

$185.00?? I was under the impression that I just needed the 4 for 78.50 and not replace all 8 if they don't need it. Even if I bought 2 sets for a total of 8, it would still be cheaper. Why should I spend the extra money in the $185.00 set?

Your writeup is impressive but I will not be installing it. I will ask my mechanic if he does that. Do you know anyone in Southern California that can fix it? haha What would be a good price for labor to fix the death sway? If I have to spend $185.00 for the parts, I would hope the labor involved would be less or equal to the parts. I hope I'm not looking at a $500 job here. I would rather just rock back and forth if that's the case.

[atraudes]

That kit includes the nuts and bolts. You can buy them from the dealership, but you're looking at $5 per nut/bolt. Yeah, the polys are pretty spendy compared to the rubber alternatives, but I've heard the rubber can wear out pretty quickly, whereas the polys are for life. Maybe your mechanic can get the nuts and bolts for cheaper?

Replacing the bushings on just the lowers will fix the sway in a big way, but if the lowers are degraded, the uppers are likely to be as well. If money's an issue you could always do the uppers later. A number of folks here have only done the lowers and have no complaints. I prefer the peace of mind and just did all of them at once.

I have no idea what labor would be like, but I would throw out a guess of 2-3 hours a set at the standard rate of $100 an hour. If you want to shop it around a bit to get a better idea, I do actually know two great shops in SoCal. Marlen Motors in Monrovia and Scott's in Rancho Cucamonga (10013 8th St # E2) both do top-notch work. If you were up here, I'd say bring over some beers one weekend and we can do it ourselves

I don't know how much of a safety hazard it would to leave them as-is, but I would highly recommend addressing them in some capacity.

[Freeze Time]

I stopped by my mechanic earlier. He said I was low on brake fluid so he put some in. He suggested I order the kit that you did and if he only has to replace a few of them, he will. He will take a look at everything next week so I am going to go ahead and order the parts. Is 4x4 parts the best place? How long did shipping take?

Those places in Socal are a little far for me but thank you for the suggestion. I realize the polys are the way to go I was just hoping not to spend that much but if it's worth it in the long run, I will go ahead and do it. I looked into the new CD player and since it's bose, I will have to get new speakers too so I will just try to clean the cassette deck and play my music that way. Hopefully it only needs a cleaning. He couldn't give me an estimate but told me he would look at the maf and brakes and let me know.

[zach7685]

Why do you have to get new speakers? are they blown?

[Freeze Time]

No they work fine. I was told that I would need to get new speakers if I got a new head unit because Bose only works with the factory CD player. There was some kind of kit I could get but I only found one thread about that and it was like 8 years old so not sure.

[nimonery]

I have a '99 QX4 that has a new head unit and I had that hooked up to the stock bose speakers for a while and they worked fine (I ended up replacing the speakers just cause I wanted better sound quality). I didn't install the stereo myself (Bought the car used with the stereo already installed) but the aftermarket deck worked fine with the stock speakers. It also was hooked up so that the antenna would extend when the radio was turned on and retract when it was turned off.

[Freeze Time]

Interesting. A trusted source of mine that sells head units for a living told me a new unit would blow my speakers. I guess he was confused. That is down the road anyway. My main concern is fixing the death sway.

[rgk]

4x4 parts for the bolts, rockauto for Moog control arms. My total came out to about $260 for all four + bolts, and I didn't have to mess with pressing/removing the bushings.

My control arms also looked a little bent, so I didn't at all feel bad about replacing them.

If you're going to get in there and get it done, do all four.

[Freeze Time]

I bought the $185 from 4x4. I didn't order arms. Am I supposed to? I thought just the bushings needed to be replaced.

[atraudes]

New arms aren't required. If you do it yourself it makes prep a lot easier since you can get the rubber bushings pressed out of the new ones and install the poly bushings and have them ready to go before you put wrench to truck. You're having a mechanic do the work, so it's not necessary for you.

[Freeze Time]

Okay good to know.

[Freeze Time]

I have the truck back. I was charged $343 for labor for putting on the new bushings and then I had to have a new air flow meter installed and with labor and diagnostics, the total came to $640. I spent $210 for the parts to get shipped to me and I had spent $390 on a differential a couple months ago and so I have spent over a grand on this car so far. I am starting to question my purchase. My last 2 cars cost only have of what the QX4 has cost me and I had one of those cars for 2 years. I am pretty bummed right now. I was told I need to get new brakes soon. This car is turning into a money pit...

[Freeze Time]

So.....any comments? I have spent over $1000 to fix my truck in the last couple of months. I am feeling buyers remorse.

[zach7685]

I feel like once you do the brakes you wont have to turn a wrench for a while. These are very reliable cars.

[rgk]

All cars are money pits. That's why sites like this exist, and it's why most of us do the work ourselves.

[ipeelscats]

Honestly you could have done the MAF yourself and saved a lot of money. There are only 2 phillips head screws holding it on and the part is super easy to get to. The OEM part only cost $85. Also keep in mind that you purchased a 17 year old suv, there will be some maintenance issues. You can save a lot of money by performing the easier things yourself rather than paying markup on a part and ~$75 an hour to install something that only takes 5 minutes.

[Freeze Time]

Honestly you could have done the MAF yourself and saved a lot of money. There are only 2 phillips head screws holding it on and the part is super easy to get to. The OEM part only cost $85. Also keep in mind that you purchased a 17 year old suv, there will be some maintenance issues. You can save a lot of money by performing the easier things yourself rather than paying markup on a part and ~$75 an hour to install something that only takes 5 minutes.

I take it you only read my original post and not the update. I had to have a new air flow meter installed. It wasn't the maf sensor.