should it stay or should it go now?

[kronkonn]

i have a 91 corolla dx with 200,000 miles on it. its time for work on it. i need quite a bit of work and its not easy work eithe ri may have to take it to a garage (aka ripoff city) to get some of it done. it needs all new motor mounts and tranny mounts. i think it needs a new ball joint ( the guy who did my tires at firestone said that) {it pops when i hit a bump while turning either direction} it also needs a new distributor and cap and plugs/wires.(i can do that no problem) the firestone quoted me nearly 1000 dollars for everything. what is easy to do myself and what isn't. i have done some difficult jobs before i can prolly do the mounts myself i guess as long as they are standard prybar and jack jobs i haven't seen them yet but it is bad i can tell when i am shifting the car that its not always properly aligned. what is the "ball joint" he's refering to. i ve done the inner/outer tierods before is it near those? but is it worth keeping or should i just sell it for low retail value? i'm 22 and poor as hell and could use some advice from someone who has experience.
i am planning on moving from nebraska to arizona in about a month and need this car to make it all the way there and the ball joint and mounts *should* be fixed before a long 24 hour drive right?

[sparkeykev]

the mounts can be changed with a prybar and jack they are a littly fiddley
the ball joint isnt that hard either
go to the parts shop and have a look at one not sure if they press out or are bolted in so check that out first by looking at one in parts shop
the ball joint is the bottom joint on the outside right under the hub

[KimMG]

Things to consider

cost of replacement vehicle plus transportation costs to Arizona verses fixing what you already have

Look at a repair manual and see if you are up to the various repair jobs. Manuals are available at your local library or online at www.autozone.com

[johnholl]

For safety's sake,....yours, I wouldn't chance it on a long trip. Once you get in there and start replacing things that you've metioned,You will find it's probibaly the tip of the iceburg. 200K is a lot of mileage...and if your front end goes on the highway..your toast. I wouldn't attempt ball joints as a DYI, without having done them prior.. just my opinion...you need the tools to do ball joints...plus an alignment afterwards. John

[wraydeeoh]

I'll second John's opinion. I'm in the process of changing ball joints on my son's '90 DX with 165,000 miles, but that's not all. We decided to pull the driver's side wheel and check suspension because he was hearing a groaning sound around curves and over some small rises in the roads. Turned out the struts were shot as well as the ball joints which had torn boots and rusting guts. And while I was under there, I noticed cracked brake hoses which led to a bad caliper. I should probably change the tie rod ends, too. The axles were changed by someone esle about 50,000 miles ago. So, yes, the bad ball joint was just the tip of the iceberg. And, even with the tools, you'll run into problems. Someone tightend a hubnut beyond torque specs, I'm pretty sure because I broke 2 breaker bars trying to loosen it. Impact wrench is next. Anyway, it's quite a job if you've never done it before, especially if you're counting on the car to go a long way soon. But when you've got the time and luxury of keeping the car off the road long enough so you can do a safe a thorough job, it's a project worth doing.