On the rear upper control arm - can the ball joints be replaced individually, or does the entire arm have to be replaced with the joint?
On the rear upper control arm - can the ball joints be replaced individually, or does the entire arm have to be replaced with the joint?
They can be replaced individually but you must have a press to put the new ball joint in. Typically it is easier to do this if you have the tools, otherwise, yes you must replace the entire arm.
When I was looking into this I was unable to find a separate part number for the rear upper control arm ball joint, only the complete control arm with ball joint.
www.hondaautomotiveparts.com (Majestic) lists the part for my car at $71.55. What's your labor worth?
If you replace the control arm, follow the torque instructions very carefully and DO NOT over tighten.
Guess how I learned that one.
I bought the ball joint seperate, and took the arm/old ball joint in to a machine shop with the new ball joint, and i had them do the pressing for me. Then I put the old arm with the new ball joint back on the car. It rides so much better.
then I had to do the front uppper ball joints. Those were fun/way expensive. but the difference in ride quality/stiffness is incredible compared to what it used to be. definately worth the cash and labor.
I only questimated the torque when I put it all back together, but so far it seems to be fine. hopefully i guessed right.
My question on this is can't you do this yourself if you've got a vise and 2 pieces of pipe or big sockets? This is how the Haynes manual says to do the front lower joints but I didn't see anything about the back.
No projects. Life consumes my time and money.
On the front you need a vise and a little lube oil to press in the bushings. That one is easy.
But on the rear I don't think that you could do it yourself because the arm and ball joint are not flush, You have have some special way to hold it while you press it in. A simple vise wouldn't work. But it's cheap to have them do it for you, and you don't have to worry about bending the $50 part you just bought.
You can rent a ball joint press from Autozone. Pay the cover charge or whatever. Use it, take it back and get your money back. Cheaper than taking somewhere.
No projects. Life consumes my time and money.
Yeah, that Auto Zone deal is great. I got spring compressors that way when I did my struts and a tie rod separator (NOT the pickle fork kind) when I replaced the P/S bellows.
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