Took a depressing trip to the shop today..

[GetSlideways]

Had my step brother put my car up on his lift today to take a look at it with me, I just bought the car from a member here for a pretty good price and noticed after the first snowfall the awd wasn't working it was pretty much just a RWD 325ix.. so we took a look at the front axle and the half shaft on one side is broken, the lower front control arm needs replacing cause the joints are bad but the whole things gotta come out, and the bearing needs replacing since i've been hearing it whine while driving it.

My reason for posting this isn't to complain about the car its just that i need to try to find a better price on parts.. the only person he could find a control arm for the ix for gave him a price of 342.00 just for the part at his shops price... i think i can do better than that otherwise it's gunna have to wait.. the rest of it i can afford to get done relatively soon but i just thought id see if anyone here can help locate me a cheaper part?

thanks ahead of time.

Tony

[abepark]

Take a look at the front strut tube prices for an IX, if the spring perch breaks you will be hurting, and you'll be lucky to find a used one.

[Farbin Kaiber]

LOL @ someone thinking cheap e30 + iX go together.

For your information, if you may have not been told, The e30 you own is second in parts replacement costs only to an m3. Probably moreso an evo m3. You are gonna cry.

[GetSlideways]

You are gonna cry.

or just sell it and buy a ford again lol, didn't see this coming.

[NC325iC]

cause a 5.0 mustang is gonna do well in that snow and all.

the 325ix is badass but it is fairly complex and relatively few were produced which means expensive

[GetSlideways]

the reason i sold my 5.0 is cause it can't be driven in the snow so in reality i won't get to own another mustang till i move south or get a second car.. sarcasm aside i kinda wish i woulda paid more attention to details like this before diving into owning one, i love the ix to death already but if maintenance is gunna be this expensive i might have to let someone with a bit more coin enjoy owning it.

[Kovs]

My reason for posting this isn't to complain about the car its just that i need to try to find a better price on parts.. the only person he could find a control arm for the ix for gave him a price of 342.00 just for the part at his shops price... i think i can do better than that otherwise it's gunna have to wait.. the rest of it i can afford to get done relatively soon but i just thought id see if anyone here can help locate me a cheaper part?

You won't find cheaper than that price. Not for an iX. I'm surprised prices haven't gone up in the 3+ years since I priced out mine when I still had my iX.

LOL @ someone thinking cheap e30 + iX go together.

For your information, if you may have not been told, The e30 you own is second in parts replacement costs only to an m3. Probably moreso an evo m3. You are gonna cry.

iXs aren't that expensive to own as long as the t-case, control arms, and front splines are all in good order. I've had more than a few, and they were no less reliable than any other E30 I've owned... still wish I kept my last one (Lazure blau and glass moonroof).

[GetSlideways]

the whole arm isn't bad but the joints that are bad are bolted into it so you need replace the entire arm..

[fiftytakedowns]

Ball joints are pressed into the control arm, ususally if they go bad, you have ot replace the whole arm.

[Blacksedan]

Ball joints are pressed into the control arm, ususally if they go bad, you have ot replace the whole arm.

You can buy new ball joints and press them into your old arms. They are less than $20 apiece from bmaparts.com. Pressing the old ones out can be a bit of a bitch, i found it helps to cut the studs off before i started pressing them out.

[woodisgood]

http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/pts/1611597383.html

Here is a guy parting one out.....


Edit: Uhhh....it says he is not parting it out...my bad.

[Kershaw]

$750 plus shipping and then you have replacement parts for life.

seems like a good deal to me if you can find storage for it.

[Adrian_Visser]

Having pressed balljoints into control arms before or should I say having attempted and paid a shop to do it. I can say that it is a major PITA. I used a 5 ton hydraulic press and a heat gun and couldn't get them to budge, you have to set up a good arbor to hold them in place while pressing them. It ended up costing $150 plus the four balljoints to have it done at a machine shop. For a 2WD that is more than buying the complete control arm.

[Blacksedan]

Having pressed balljoints into control arms before or should I say having attempted and paid a shop to do it. I can say that it is a major PITA. I used a 5 ton hydraulic press and a heat gun and couldn't get them to budge, you have to set up a good arbor to hold them in place while pressing them. It ended up costing $150 plus the four balljoints to have it done at a machine shop. For a 2WD that is more than buying the complete control arm.

A 5 ton press is pretty small, and a heat gun seems kinda weaksauce for big metal parts. I used a 20 ton press and a small torch to heat the arm a bit. Chopping off the studs makes it a little easier to work with too. I agree, it is a PITA but its far from impossible for anyone with appropriate tools, and it will save you alot of money. For someone trying not to spend $270 or w/e it was on a new control arm (which i believe was the point of the thread), buying new joints and pressing them in yourself is by far the best option. Since i dont think the arms themselves wear out, it seems a waste of money to me to buy a whole new arm...

[87-325ic]

i know someone local here with iX front struts and the "halfshafts" i believe. he wants them gone cheap... want me to check on it for you? PM me?