Pricing to replace idler arm
Asked by lomee Sep 24, 2014 at 10:44 PM about the 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis 4 Dr GS Sedan
Question type: Shopping & Pricing
Hi. I went in to the shop to get four new tires put on my 1999 grand marquis because I
had one fail and being on the safe side I replaced them all because they were starting
to look worn. I asked the shop to do an alignment as well because I have been noticing
some play in the steering and a tendency to pull to one side. The mechanic said he
was unable to do the alignment because there was too much play in the idler arm. He
said I would need to replace both the idler arm and the center link. Does this sound
reasonable given the symptoms? What price range should I be looking at this to get it
fixed?
5 Answers
Yes that sounds right. But shop rates are going to be very expensive compared to the back yard mechanic rates. If you want to save some money. Buy the parts yourself and fund a mechanic you can save half! If you are interested, let me know. I will tell you how I did it when I lived in the states.
Its not a hard job. And it's not technical. Just time consuming.
On a 15 year old car- you are lucky if he can align it with only an idler arm and center link- most likely, all the parts are worn- it probably needs new Everything- tie rod ends, shocks, ball joints, wheel bearings- you have an old car- it will not be cheap-
Yes thats true if you change just the idler arm and center link then probably a short down the road other parts will start to fail and whenever you do ANY kind of front end work you need an alignment done so your best bet is to replace it all and align it and you will be all set, also you said you bought new tires if you DON"T replace front end parts and align it it will wear out your new tires REAL fast and tires aren't cheap
Trippmeister answered 10 years ago
I did the idler arm on my 93, didn't need center link. Drove it 6 more years with no alignment problems.
