Need advice on repair

[DanniSimone]

Hey everyone. Was hoping I could get some feedback on a recent repair I had done on my 2010 6.2 with 97000 miles.

In short, I had a ton of squeaking and clunking coming from the rear. Had the rear shocks rebuilt which at that point, was told if I replace the rear shackles, problem will be solved as I still persisted. Fast forward I bring the truck in for the shackle replacement to a different shop and ask them to look around ane let me know if something else may be causing this in the rear.

Shop calls me and says my front end needs a bunch of work. I heard them say upper and lower control arms, ball joints. I did not hear them say struts and I heard the wrong cost. I heard something much lower So I was shocked when I picked it up and owed $5000 for the front end work. That said, all the squeaking and clunking is still in the rear. Teuck is back and they say they’ll handle it.

Today I questioned why we did any of this work when my problem is still there. They said joints were leaking. I then asked why they replaced the LCA + UCA and not just the ball joints or bushings. I may be wrong these come with bushings so my bad if so. They said after labor it would only be about $60-$70 cheaper to do just that and replacing everything makes more sense. Is this correct? Is this just a Raptor thing if it is? I’ve been told by friends they should have just done the joints not the upper and lower control arms.

Any feedback here on if this was all correct or not, and if not, what I need to say to them, would be really appreciated.

Lastly, I have the lower control arms and the struts. What could I ask for these to try to recoup some of the cost?

Thank you for any feedback.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

The upper control arms are cheap to replace, the lowers are not and most members rebuild those, so they are wrong to replace the lower control arms. By struts are you talking about the front shocks? If you look on Rockauto you will find all the parts you need for this truck and the prices. Is your bum sore? No lube will leave burn marks. If you are selling the lower control arms and front shocks, they are both rebuildable, so they will usually sell quick. At least 500 bucks. The noise in the back: try jacking up the truck so the rear end hangs down (the rear springs), then pressure wash them really well and let dry, that should help with your squeak. Hey, just noticed you're in the bay area, umm, Forged offroad isnt far from you, you should of went there, they rebuild shocks and everything and are Raptor guys!!!

 

[CoronaRaptor]

What shop did you go to?

 

[DanniSimone]

I took it to forged for the rear shock rebuild twice now. It was in for the front about 15k miles ago.

Yes, I meant front shocks. Had I known they needed work I would have brought back to forged but I didn’t know this was part of the work they were doing.

In short, I’m really just trying to clarify if in fact, they should have replaced the LCAs as a whole unit or could have just replaced the joints. They told me it made more sense to do it all as one. I didn’t know you could rebuild those , I don’t work on trucks.

 

[DanniSimone]

I’d rather hold off on disclosing who for now until I fully understand if there was a better way to adrress this.

 

[FordTechOne]

I took it to forged for the rear shock rebuild twice now. It was in for the front about 15k miles ago.

Yes, I meant front shocks. Had I known they needed work I would have brought back to forged but I didn’t know this was part of the work they were doing.

In short, I’m really just trying to clarify if in fact, they should have replaced the LCAs as a whole unit or could have just replaced the joints. They told me it made more sense to do it all as one. I didn’t know you could rebuild those , I don’t work on trucks.

The lower ball joints are fully serviceable and do not require removal of the lower control arm to replace. However, the bushings are not listed as a serviceable item in the Workshop Manual, and being that they were 11 or 12 years old with 100k miles, they may have had some wear. That is probably why they recommended replacement of the LCAs.

I know the Bay Area is expensive, but $5k seems a little crazy. Did they itemize the parts/labor on the invoice?

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

I had my entire rear axle rebuilt gears and bearings , and front end work, lower ball joints , upper delta joints , iwe , aftermarket tie rod end , alignmet . Just a tad over $5000.00 total . A lot of labor and good shops are charging a premium . I do know motorcraft lower ball joint are pricey as well as the icon delta joints want to say $600 just in joints.

Moog lower control arms are 350ish each includes bushings and ball joint on rock auto .
If they used all motorcraft parts can get pricey fast .

 

[Squad21]

I was quoted $2300 to do uppers and lowers (ball joints) UCAs parts and labor at $2300 using Ford parts and $1300 using aftermarket here in South FL.