HELP!!! My suspension might be shot HELP!!! Options

[k-weaver]

Ok so here is the story...

I took my car to meineke for the "free brake inspection", i just did this because i wanted to have my tires rotated and i didnt want to do it myself. Anyway, turns out that my car has got some major problems. Only thing is, I am not sure if this guy just wanted me to cough up some funds, or if he was legit.

Problem #1

The guy brought me over with my car on the lift and my front left CV joint was busted. All the grease poured out into the inside of my rim. So the joint is not being lubricated at all right now. The guy told me that he would have to replace the whole axel and total it would be 255.00 out the door. Do I need a new axel? Can the joint be replaced by itself? and is this a legit price?

Problem #2

The guy told me that the joint went bad because all four of my struts are bad and need to be replaced. So he said that he can do all four struts for $1,062. YIKES!!! That seems a little high to me??? So could this be a cause of my joint going out? and do all four need to be replaced?

Problem #3

This isn't really a BIG concern of mine, of course it needs to be fixed, it just does not have top priority. Turns out my rear brake rotors are bad, and my pads are just about to be bare metal. So I need new rotors and pads, he quoted me $260. This is probably something that I would end up doing though...Plus it gives me an excuse to buy drilled rotors

Problem #4

Guy told me that I was leaking oil. He said that he would need to replace the Valve cover gasket. As far as I know the car isn't leaking from there. Seems like if it were I would be able to see it dripping? If he needs to replace this, what could it possible be? He also said that I need a new oil pressure sending unit? I don't see why I would need one? Everytime I start my car the little oil light turns on, then shuts off in like 3 seconds. He quoted me $185 for this...

Grand total for everything on my car from this guy was $1,800 out the door. Seems like this is a little much to me? AND on top of this....the guy that put my rims back on over tightend the caps on the rims and I lost one. Im gonna go down there tommorrow, already called him, he said to come down and well see what we can do...

By the way, my car is a 1996 GT Hatch with 150,000 miles. Any help or insight would be great. I'm thinking of doing everything myself, just worried that something will go wrong, it always does...

[GriffGirl]

Here's my take on it:


•CV joint: unfortunately, I've shopped around to have this job quoted too, that sounds about right. I never had it done, sold the car the quote was for, but am about to have it done for my celi, will probably do it myself though to save on the labor. Cost: about $100 parts. You can get the kit, but you have to get the axle off anyway, might as well replace it if you're gonna go that far.

•I got a quote from Brake Team for labor on all 4 shocks/struts: $60. I'm gonna buy KYB GR-2s off eBay; total estimated cost for parts: $160. Total job: about $220

•Get a second opinion on the rear rotors. If they're out of spec then they can't be turned any more; you'll have to replace them. Unfortunately brake jobs are SPENDY, so that sounds about right for parts/labor. Go somewhere else though, these guys are already trying to rip you off and it sounds like their technicians aren't so great.

•Get 2nd opinion on valve cover gasket too. If your CV boots are torn, they're spraying grease everywhere. Could LOOK like it's coming from the engine when in fact it's actually from your CV joint. Same thing happened to me. Get the engine steam cleaned if need be, that'll be a sure-fire way to identify the source of your oil leak. If it IS your valve cover, shop around. $185 sounds EXCEEDINGLY high for this job, it's not a difficult one. You could do it yourself if you're handy.


Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.

This post has been edited by GriffGirl: Oct 15, 2007 - 6:29 PM