Anyone know off hand how to replace the ball joint and about how much they costs and/or a repair shop should charge? My drivers side has some play in it. Should I just change them both.

I would also like to know how big of a job these are. Would bad ball joints be causing my front end shimmy at 65 MPH?

Depends on which one you need. The lower control arm are about $30 each. The tie rod ends are about $10 from www.rockauto.com

Sloppy front end pieces and struts can give the shimmy as well as tire issues. Are your tires road force balanced?

I would check the tire balance first. Rotate the tires, then tear into the front end.

Replacing the ball joints is not too complicated, but they can be stubborn buggers to pop off at times.

I was in a bind to get my car back on the road a few months back so instead of taking it to the shop for front end work I ran up to Auto Zone and bought a tie rod end. I jacked it up and put it on a sturdy jack stand so the car was really stable. Then I removed the wheel. Next I got a piece of wood approx 3/4"by 2" and 3'-0"' long and drilled a couple holes in it and bolted it to the rotor with the lug nuts so that it stuck out toward the front of the car (beyond the front bumper). Then I took an accurate measurement from a fixed point on the oposite side of the car to the end of the stick. This way I could measure axactly which direction the wheel was pointed. The ball joint was a snap to replace. Take out the cotter key. Remove the nut. It practically fell out. After istalling the new ball joint I simply ajusted the tie rod end so that the end of the stick measured the same as the base line dimension before I took it apart. Snugged up the jamb nut, put the wheel back on, done! Took it out on the highway at 75 mph and let go of the wheel. It tracked right down the middle of the road. Didn't pull at all to the right or left.

SSEI,

Nice tip/ trick!! Thanks for posting it.