ball joint broke

[dummass]

here i am rolling down the highway in my 86 lx rust bucket when the rear upper ball joint decides to come apart. how expensive is that upper control arm and how difficult is it to change? I popped the dustcap off of the nut end and it is just a rusty mass of crap. anyone experienced this?

[DBMaster]

A few members have had that happen. When it does, you're lucky to avoid major damage or an accident. You should probably replace both of them at this point as the other one is most likely not in terrific shape. I got a pair of Moog rear UCA's on clearance at Rock Auto, but normally they seem to range between $40 each (for the crappy ones) and close to $100 each (for the good ones).

With a ball joint separator or pittman arm puller the replacement process is straightforward and easy. Less than an hour for me - both sides.

I replaced mine a few years ago with the crappy ones (not knowing they were crappy) and the ball joints had play in them after just two years. There really IS a difference in ball joint quality.

[car6289]

http://www.autopartsway.ca/partlist.cfm?Honda/1986/Accord/LX/2.0L_L4/allB/Suspension/Suspension,_Springs_and_Related_Components/Suspension_Control_Arm/

$27.69 each from Autopartsway + tax and shipping.
OEM ones are over $100.

[vteckiller]

What you'll need is some PB Blaster(bolt penetrator) a hammer, and a floor jack if you got one doesnt really matter. then with the nut busted loose, and it being soaked in the PB blaster and the floor jack on the disc(rotor) lift it up a lil bit to take a lil weight off.. not much. and smack the nut tell it busts loose. then unbolt the bolts from under the hood. assuming your doing front, and the rears are pretty much the same, only there mounted all on the outside so there ya go.

[Dr_Snooz]

If the ball joints are going to be thrown away, I use a pickle fork. It is by far the easiest method. It damages the boots, but they are being thrown away anyway.

[DBMaster]

OK, I see the post about cheapos. Those are fine if you are ditching the car in two years, or if you enjoy changing the things really often. There is a REASON that the OEM ones are so expensive. The non-OEM ones have CRAPPY ball joints.

Pay now or pay later!

[dummass]

thanx for the advice. i put a $50 rear upper control arm on to replace the oem one that failed(oreilly's). I ended up cutting the old nut off and damaged the part that holds the cap over the nut so it has no cap over it. since that is not the part that failed on the original one I am not too worried about it. I was 6 hrs from home so I had a limited tool selection. I just ordered another one on ebay so i can replace the other side before it leaves me on the side of the road.
cheers
dummass

[Buzo]

What would be the correct method to inspect these ball joints? raise the car and check for play? Then how much is too much?

[2drSE-i]

OK, I see the post about cheapos. Those are fine if you are ditching the car in two years, or if you enjoy changing the things really often. There is a REASON that the OEM ones are so expensive. The non-OEM ones have CRAPPY ball joints.

Pay now or pay later!

Buy once, Cry once.

[Oldblueaccord]

What would be the correct method to inspect these ball joints? raise the car and check for play? Then how much is too much?


With the tire off the ground hands at 12 o clock and 6 o clock position you will feel play when rocking the tire back and forth. A new one you should feel nothing.


EDIT: also when the rear starts to go bad your tire will wear funny. It will be chopped on the outside edge.


wp

[senor honda]

I never tried OEM, but have had VERY good luck with MOOG.

Buzo, I don't do the grab and shake test.
My test for a good ball joint is to try to move it with my bare hands.
If the ball joint will not move, it's good. A really bad one is when you can
wobble it/move it in a circle with one finger! LOL There are plenty of
bad ball joints around Tampa Bay.

I use a Sears gear puller to pop the ball joints out of the verticle hub carrier.

I tossed the small caps and 10mm bolts as they seem to retain water and cause rust.
I would rather allow it to dry.-Bob

[import racer]

Just cut it off with a cutoff disk between the arm and ball joint,then knock the piece out.Then just unbolt the arm.

[DBMaster]

If we're talking upper control arms I have found that the Moog brand is actually made by "Three Five" (sorry if got the spelling of the name wrong). My Moog front UCA's had that brand name stamped on them. That is the actual OEM part used by Honda. My rear UCA's are TRW which also had the Three-Five name stamped on them. My lower ball joints, now 15 years old are TRW as well.

I guess the trick here is to buy the most expensive version of these parts you can afford. Based upon my experience it makes a HUGE difference in durability. My $40 front UCA's lasted about two years. Same for the cheap ones in the back. Lesson learned.

Bob, I use a Pittman arm puller to separate my ball joints. Same concept as the gear puller. It allows you to do the job without messing up the rubber boots.