How Labor intensive is it to replace the drivers side lower control arm? I had a shop tell me that the engine has to be removed, and 15 hours of labor are involved

what make and model and year vehicle
if it is a suzuki grand vitara , $120.00 a side gets complete lower control arms complete with new bushes and 1 hour to do both sides
it is always best to get the replacement cost for the assembly as well as the bushing prices because the labor cost to remove , replace the bushes and then replace could be more that the assembly
go after market as the parts are still oem without the hefty price tag

remove the suspension arms and press in the new bushes
however check around auto spares shops as it may be cheaper to get new suspension arms complete with bushes cheaper that bushes and labor to replace them
example suzuki lower arms bushes per arm $120.00 = 1 1/2 hours time @ $120.00 / hr compared to new arms $130.00 each
it doesn't cost to ask first

sometimes it can end up cheaper replacing the whole lower control arm rather than just the bushing due to the labor/time it takes to remove and replace just the bushing get a second opinion to be sure

Here's what I found on Yahoo answers:
For the driver's side: yes, you will have to raise the motor.
On all models, remove the front motor mount, Mark the position of the right engine mount, remove 3 right engine to mount bolts. remove one right engine mount to body nut. On all models hold the strut shaft with an 8 mm allen wrench, loosen top retaining nut 5 turns. Raise vehicle, remove ball joint to steering knuckle pinch bolt. seperate control arm ball joints from steering knuckle. Do NOT damage ball joint seal. Remove pinch bolt attaching steering knuckle to strut. Slide steering knuckle up on strut, Move transaxle to gain access to control arm nuts and bolts. remove 2 nuts and bolts and attaching control arm to subframe. Lifting up control arm remove.
Now this to mark the motor mount because you are supposed to use a powertrain alignment guage when putting back together. if not you can bind the motor in the unibody and make for a shaky ride.
that drivers side lower control arm calls for 4.3 hours where as the passenger side calls for 1.3 hours. So you can see what your in for.
BTW these instructions are taken straight from the Ford repair manual.

Source(s):

http://mysite.verizon.net/t2bedlam/fr.jp...

Control arms are the parts that hold the ball joints (upper and lower) and attach to the vehicle frame. Look in back of the tires. The lower control arm, in your case, will have a torsion bar (a bar that serves as a spring)making the repair more labor intensive. Cost will vary based on labor rates, parts cost/mark up. Sorry I can't give you a figure but hope it helps at least to identify the parts.

As per Motor Professional Edition Labor Guide the allotted time is 7.4 hours.

To replace the lower control are you need to unbolt it from the subframe, airmatic strut, sway bar link and from the lower ball joint. The lower ball joint is separate from the lower control arm. The ball joint actually gets pressed into the steering knuckle. Then the lower control arm sits on top of the ball joint and gets bolted down. The lower control arms list price are about $330 each and the ball joints are around $78 each for oem mercedes parts. The total labor for both to be replaced is somewhere between 6-8 flag hours. The thrust arms are also part of the front suspension and those arms are one piece that have a ball joint as part of the arm. The lower control arm usually doesn't need to be replaced unless its damaged since the control arm bushings are available separately and are around $73 each side for the kit.

Dear Balljoint Replacer.....
This is a very labor intensive repair.The specialty tools that you need will be an air (or electric) die grinder, and an air hammer.If you already have these then GREAT!!! If not then be prepared to invest in a good $500 purchase for these tools.Once you get the vehicle up in the air and the wheels off then place jackstands underneath the frame and the lower control arms on both sides.Keep in mind to keep the jack stands underneath the lower control arms at all times because your suspension will be under load.Remove the brake calipers from both sides and swing them around and out of the way.....no need to break open the brake system....just swing the caliper and whole hose assy out of the way. Once tis is done its time to loosen and remove both upper and lower balljoint nuts...after that is performed then it's time to shock the spindle with a hammer to release the balljoints from the spindle.Your balljoints will then be ready to be removed.Now you have to take your grinder and score your rivets that hold your balljoints in on both the upper and lower so the top of the rivets are ground down to the control arm.Next take a punch and hammer the rivets in a downward movement to release the rivets and you can remove each balljoint like that.
The new balljoints install with nuts and bolts.Install is reverse of disassembly If you have any questions get back to me...HOPE I COULD HELP!!

about $200.00

Hey Julia - regardless of which idea I suggested is the problem (provided one of them IS the issue) you shouldn't be looking at a lot. If it's the swaybar end link, I'm betting the part is less than $25 to buy at a parts store, and anyone with a jack and a couple of properly-sized wrenches and/or sockets could change it. I'd think an hour's labor at a shop, tops.

If it's a control arm bushing, you're looking at a little longer time, since it's usually a more labor-intensive job to remove the arms, then remove and replace the bushings, and reinstall the arms. Depending on which arms are affected, you may need an alignment when the job is done, but the mechanic doing the work should tell you this (I'd ask up front anyhow, so you're not unfairly surprised).

One thing you could do would be to put a little engine oil onto the bushings in the wheel well, one set at a time, and go for a drive after you do each one. If you oil a bushing, drive 10 miles or so and still hear the noise, that probably wasn't the one. If you oil one and go for a drive, and the noise is gone under conditions that used to produce the noise, you may well have found which bushing caused the noise in the first place.