new balljoints, do i need alighnment

[Mantis88LX]

ok im getting my new front balljoints this weekend, after i get them installed will i need a new alighnment?

thanx

[njpeter]

you spend on your tires, and how much you trust the shop. drive the car..if it pulls, get it done, if not, watch the tires. I'd get it done. Better to spend money on wheel balancing then alignment, specially if the shops cannot be trusted ( besides in NJ, an alignment has the shelf life of milk). I wacked a huge pothole today...ouch..got rid of that nasty squeakin strut however!

If you didn't do the bushings, you may need to before they can even align the car..how bad were the b/j?s

now that I think about I'd say an alignment is a must , you can't change the balljoints with the control arms on the car.

suspension gurus please chime in

[Mantis88LX]

i know im getting the whole assembly, arms and bjoints

[AZmike]

No, you won't need one. The control arms use tapered bolts that are self-centering. That assumes that the control arms have the same dimensions as the ones you have now (they should). Keep an eye on tire wear anyway, it's a good way to catch problems early.

[ACCORD EX]

changin the tire rod ends mess with the alignment but not the ball joints !

MIKE

[njpeter]

my 87 with the 250k + miles is still on the original stuff...90% highway and a good eye for potholes is the key. I'm doing a rear control arm next weekend..never had the fronts off. Is alignment on an accord tie rods only?

[AZmike]

On the front the caster can also be adjusted by changing the length of the radius rods with an easy adjustment.

[DBMaster]

If you haven't had one in several years I would do it just for good measure, but just replacing those parts should not impact the alignment significantly.

P.S. The same goes for struts. But, almost any shop just says, "Uh, we replace suspension parts, you need alignment." Not always true!

[1987HondaAccord]

I went to get my wheels aligned after I got new tires and they said they couldn't give me the free alignment because the lower ball joints were so bad. :lol

[AccordEpicenter]

if your mechanic is good then you prolly shouldnt have to get an alignment. The ball joints shouldnt affect it, its the tie rod ends that might, but if your mechanic puts them on the same way he got them off, you should be ok.

[1987HondaAccord]

can i do them myself?

[SQ is the SQUAD]

i like sears alignements, i need to bring my civic and my accord to get one since i changed the suspenshion on both. my car was hit on the passengerside and the wheel bent in, kinda like a bad camber, the tie rod was bent, anyways i canged over to sei suspenshion and wheni make turns the wheel still looks funny, nothing i can see is vent and it looks goo when straight, what should i look for?