j
ust been told to change both lower arms because my ball joints have gone

Well first off either buy em off shop4parts or buypartsbuy cannot remember which as they are only £18 a side but you will have to phone as they are not listed on there site.
Try this link for changing them on an Alfa 155 very very similar

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/arocderbyshire/alfaromeo155/index_page/05_Technical/wishbones.htm

I wouldnt buy them from buypartsbuy if I were you, some of their branded stuff is ok, like KYB shocks etc but wishbones tend to be of rubbish quality with bushes made from reclaimed indian rubber and wont last 5 minutes.

Better off with a motor factor IMHO.

I have just purchased my wishbone suspension lower arms from a very well recommended site on ebay (has 99.2% feedback on 14441 items sold). I have looked at the links kindly provided by other forum members. I am wondering, has anyone on this forum actually done this and if so, is it a lengthy job as a fiat garage said they would charge me 2 hours labour (@£100 per hour).

It LOOKS simple enough, and am confident i could do it, but as someone once said, its not as easy as it looks, is this the sinario with this???
Thanks

ashleymadden7 said:

I have just purchased my wishbone suspension lower arms from a very well recommended site on ebay (has 99.2% feedback on 14441 items sold). I have looked at the links kindly provided by other forum members. I am wondering, has anyone on this forum actually done this and if so, is it a lengthy job as a fiat garage said they would charge me 2 hours labour (@£100 per hour).

It LOOKS simple enough, and am confident i could do it, but as someone once said, its not as easy as it looks, is this the sinario with this???
Thanks

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If they are charging 1 hour to replace the lower arms and then 1 hour to carry out wheel alignment (recommended) then thats about right.

It's a ok job to do, just remember to place the vehicle on the ground before tightening the bolts fully - otherwise they twist the rubber bushes and wear prematurely.

Hello again, i wouldnt worry about buyparts buy ones i fitted them to an Alfa 155 q4 which is a 4wd turbo and trust me a year later they were still fine and ive been running them on the multi for about a year now with no problems.
The Fiat/Alfa ones are better quality but cost about £75 an arm i know which ones ill allways use there is also a guy calls himself alfaman services (google it) he supplies wishbones fitted with powerflex bushes so no issues there but would cost more and the ball joints are no replaceable so there is no point spending lots when you cannot replace balljoints.

And yes do it yourself and as mentioned dont tighten the bolts till its on the floor and get it tracked, its so much more satisfying doing it yourself but id replace the droplinks as well as they are soooo cheap about £15 a pair off ebay.

As with the alfa 155 from JTD mans link are the bushes integral to the wishbone lower arms on the multipla?

Pretty much but seperate ones can be sourced from ebay germany i believe.

JTDman said:

Pretty much but seperate ones can be sourced from ebay germany i believe.

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Thanks but not an issue just needed to know whats involved. I have to change front pads and discs but mechanic who recently changed the clutch noticed at least one side has gone and MOT is due. So I might as well do it all at the same time. It looks doable for a complete novice ( I Hope)

I did mine, having had heart attack at price quoted by Fiat. Bought a pair off ebay (be careful, as cheapest ones are pressed steel, spend a little more for quality forged). Followed instructions in Bravo Haynes (most stuff underneath is same) which I bought from Ebay for £1.50. Only issue I had was getting chassis end of wishbone low enough to put bolts in once ball joint connected. Got over this by putting block of wood under balljoint and jacking up, but be sure to insert retaining bolt before you do this or you'll drive ball joint too high. my 17 year old son was "helping" me and having seen me do one side did just this on other. Took an extra 30 mins to push it back down and just hoping boot not damaged.

Also had a couple of problems with seazed nuts so whole job took about 4 hours, but still way cheaper than dealer.

Well done that man