Two tracking rod ball joints in 6 months?

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Joined
18 Feb 2010
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2,149
Location
Glasgow, UK
Had an mot fail on the Volvo in November last year for:

  • Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint has excessive play (2.1.3 (b) (i))

Got it fixed, car needed tracking done though because that guy doesn't have a machine. Didn't have much time and didn't get round to it for a while assuming the tracking wouldn't be too bad and could wait.

2 weeks ago finally got round to doing the tracking because one day I saw I'd got through the front tyres in 10k miles, tracking was pretty bad (I could see the offside front tyre toeing out enough to tell by eye). Went to ATS euromaster, to do both at the same time. They said the rods were seized and they didn't have any blowtorches or anything, all they could do was replace both pairs (they wanted £380+VAT). I cancelled that and took it to a third garage.

Third garage took a look and say the rods move fine, but there's play (I didn't catch if it was the ball joint or some other part again). It'll be fixed by changing the rods in any case which they'd ordered in just in case they couldn't free the existing rod ends. £220 for the two pairs which I've agreed to get done, I just remembered after the call that "wasn't that what the first garage were meant to have just done last year?".

My questions are:
Is it feasible to go through 2 sets of ends in 6 months?
Is someone having me on? Obviously euromaster decided to take advantage of Mrs shroomz who dropped the car off with them, but what would ocuk do? Owner of the third garage lives in my village so I can't very delivery poop but it does seem a bit sus if they usually all get changed out together, and they didn't seem to need this done before 6 months ago, but now I'm apparently getting through whole sets of them in 6 months.
 
Yeah so the first place did the rod ends (or at least the ball joints) together with a shock absorber seal on the mot, they just didn't do the tracking because, as I think you note, the tracking itself doesn't seem to be a requirement, just that theres no play
 
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