Ball joint replacement estimate?

For some reason my regular source doesn't list the time for the front lower ball joint, but yours is of a very common design. Chrysler uses a similar design so I looked up the time for one of my vehicles. For a '94 Caravan, they list 1.3 hours when it's in warranty and 1.8 hours when the customer pays for the job. From experience, I can say both of those seem too long. Warranty times take into account the parts aren't rusty or full of dirt yet, and the manufacturer that's paying the bill has already supplied the special tools.

I've done this job on one of my Caravans in my dirt driveway in about an hour. Like mine, your part is a round ball that sits centered in a round socket, in a round housing that sits in a round hole in the lower control arm. That's an elaborate way of saying the stud is going to end up in the same orientation as the old one, so if there are no other problems and no other parts are replaced, the vehicle can get away without an alignment. If any part is replaced or loosened that affects the position of that ball joint, it will cause a shift in other parts, and you will see that as an off-center steering wheel and / or a pull to one side when you let go of the steering wheel.

This type of ball joint usually requires a special, very large and beefy C-clamp with special adapters to press the joint out and back in. Sometimes they still fight us and take much longer to replace, but under the "flat rate" system, you don't get charged for the added time. Similarly, when the mechanic is very experienced or has invested in a lot of special tools for this job, he can get it done in less than the time listed. He can move on to the next job sooner, but you still pay the same amount.

I did find an online reference for your vehicle to replace the entire lower control arm with the ball joint for 1.7 hours. That would be my less-preferred method, because no two control arms are ever exactly alike, so this procedure would definitely require an alignment at an additional cost. Most shops have a set charge for a four-wheel alignment, but when it comes to flat-rate items, shops go by that time so they can quote the same time as any other shop. That insures fairness to you, the mechanic, and the shop owner. If you can find a time listed for just the ball joint, you multiply that by the shop's hourly labor rate. That hourly rate should be the only variable.