" he ilder arm on my 93 Dakota 4x4 is also shot at 97,000 miles. I am
going to
replace it myself, I called around and found out that the parts are not
really
expensive, but shops charge alot to put them on. I would say yes this is
a
part you can do yourself. The ball joints you can do yourself also and
save
alot of money. When I put a new idler arm on and new ball joints I will
save
about $250-$300 dollars doing the job myself. Be sure though to get an
aligment after you replace these front end steering parts, because the
geometry will change. "
Do not take the idea of installing front end parts yourself lightly.
This type of work a lot of times is a real pain in the neck, takes a lot
longer to do than you ever plan for, and if you've never installed ball
joints before and dont know about the safety hazards, it can be a
dangerous endeavor. Dont do this yourself to save a couple of hundred
dollars unless you know what you are doing, have the proper tools, or
have someone helping you that is skilled. Save $250 or save your life
when a coil spring comes flying out? Just be careful.
Patrick
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:22 EDT