Ok, went to go get my wheels aligned and the shop said I need all new front end parts. Ball Joints, Tie Rod Link, Ilder, Pitman, and wheel bearings. So instead of paying them $2300 for everything including parts and labor I went on ebay and bought everything I need for a total of $450 (all front end). And yes I know eBay can be a bad place to buy parts but I bought from a company I have been using for many years and I have had great luck with them and their products.

Here is the question. Now that I have all the parts I am curious on what someone thingk the total labor install hours are. Because according to one shop they wanted $1100 to install everything and said it is 16 hours total for labor. Two other shops said around 5 hours labor and wanted around the $400-$600 range. Does anyone know from experience how much work this really is? I am just curious.

 

Sorry but from my side I don't know the answer on reasonable labor hours to do this.

How many miles do you have on your H2? Could you tell the tie rod ends and other components were worn before the shop told you? Do you take your H2 off road often?

I have heard that the tie rod ends are a week link in the suspension. Your's looks to need a complete overhaul based on what you descibed and some history on the truck would be helpful for others who may be facing the same thing at some point.

Thanks!

 

I just purchased this hummer a few weeks ago for a pretty good deal. Has high highway miles 142,000 and its a 2003. The previous owner was a pretty well off guy and went through a divorce so I took it off his hands for a decent deal. He has paperwork from all the recent fixes (about $7500 worth including a new transmission 30,000 miles ago with a 100,000 mile warranty from hummer on it). When I inspected underneath there wasn't really signs of much off road use except the exhaust was banged up a bit. He told me that he used it 90% of the time on the highway traveling for business and I believe him because the condition is near flawless on the inside and outside but who really knows. He was the second owner, the first owner was the dealership using it for 35,000 miles. I could not tell about the parts being warn, they look good in my opinion but then again I am a vinyl graphics and audio/video system guy not a mechanic. I had a few other opinions from other places and they said the same thing the first shop said, looks like it needs a little work. So I am guessing after 140,000 miles it is time to replace a few things.

 

Here is some information of what has been done to my hummer in the last 30,000 miles before I purchased it. This may or may not be useful to anyone but I will list it anyway just in case.

At 110,000 miles
- Throttle bottle and combustion chamber service for $232 total. (1.5 hour labor)
- Tune up for $519 total (3 hour labor)
- Front axle seal leaking, fixed for $155 (1.5 hour labor)
- Ignition switch loose and replaced for $134 total (1.5 hour labor)
- K5 4WD Service for $333 (2.5 hour labor)
- KITAC01 AC Kit $194 (1.5 hour labor)
- A/C service $135 (1.5 hour labor)
- Waterpump leaking and belts worn $514 (2.1 hour labor)
- Exhaust manifolds broken $1082 (4.7 hour labor)
- Transmission slipping, 2-4 band failure, replaced transmission $2997 (didnt say labor hours)

At 133,000 miles
- Top clearance lights are INOP. $44 to fix
- Service suspension light comes on, customer can lower and raise and light clears. Didnt find problem and didnt fix (can anyone help me on this, still says the warning)
- Shifter lock button does not lock and is damaged. Needs new shift handle. Anyone know how I can fix this??

 

Thanks for posting. This is a helpful history of repairs and cost. I will be looking for an extended warrenty when my H2 hits the 4 year / 50k mile mark.

 

Depends on the mechanic... but 5-6 hours seems right theres alot to take off to get to the hub. if your replacing all those pieces replace the CV shafts too. no point leaving one wore component in there with all those tight new ones. it will feel like a new truck once everythings installed.

 

thanks HMH2SUT, I will look into getting the CV shafts replaced now too. Unfortunately I made the mistake and ordered off Ebay for my parts and half where the wrong part and the rest where junk quality, ended up buying everything from a local auto parts store afterwards. Now I can't seem to get past why my ABS light comes on, replaced the wire from the new hub assembly and still no go.

 

hmm.. about $450-$650. Maybe it will take 8-10 hours of labor in installing. If it's not right, get a new estimation price from your dealer.

 

$600 Is a pretty fair deal. I have personally done all of the above work to my truck. It is time consuming hard work... 6 hours sounds about right.