Front end work- ball joints and CV axles

[cbolyard]

My 89 accord needs a little love in the form of new upper and lower ball joints up front, and at least the left CV axle. I've worked on pickups plenty but never a car so I have a few questions-

CV axle- simple unbolt the old, bolt the new one in swap?
Upper ball joints- can I buy just the ball joints or am I stuck with replacing the entire UCA?

Any advice or input would be appreciated.

[Legend_master]

Upper ball joints will have to be purchased with the UCA. The transmission side of the axle is the most difficult part to remove, it uses a snap ring at the tip to hold it in place. You must evenly pull the axle strait out of the transmission to prevent binding and such. I've found a ball joint separating fork to work perfect for breaking the axle loose from the transmission. Click the link in my sig to get a copy of the shop manual, it has detailed information about repairing everything on our cars.