Opinions Wanted: Rear Upper Control Arm

[DBMaster]

I have seen a number of posts in the last few years from those of you who have experienced rear upper ball joint separation. In looking around I have seen upper control arms selling for under $50 each and they are not tough to replace with the proper puller. With 240K miles do you think it would be a good idea to replace the control arms as a precaution, or is it easy to tell if the ball joints are going bad? I have checked mine by prying on them, grabbing them and checking for play, etc. and can find none. However, a couple of you have mentioned experiencing catastrophic failure with no play in the joints.

Thanks in advance, amigos!

[Micah 89LXi]

well, as it just so happens..i have had catastrophic failure twice...on all 4 ball joints...in fact im replacing the rear ones again as soon as i can find rear control arms...i can find the arms with the joints..but i already have the joints...

from what i can tell..the ball joint as i have seen so far has seized...this is hard to explain without a diagram of how the work but ill give it a try. The joint itself has a knurled surface just under the lip that sits atop the control arm...control arms in good condition will have the knurled opening to seat the joint without movt at the control arm joint (this is why the say they must be machine pressed into place. So then it was rather suprising when mine came out without much trouble with the help of a pickle fork and hammer.

The joint is only supposed to move at the tapered end of the stud right after the threading for the lock nut, this should swivel inside the steering knuckle. (::WARNING:: when checking these you must make sure to clean and carefully inspect the steering knuckle.(this is the little metal bearing donut thing the ball joint stud fits into).the joint should seat firmly without any play...the surface should be smooth but not pitted or worn..if so steering knuckle must be replaced)..something seized the joint at that point and in order for it to move anymore it wore the knurled surfaces of the joint and the control arm smooth so it then swiveled at the control arm instead of the ball joint itself. This is why you must check your control arms as well and the joints...there should be no play in any direction once replaced (that is no play in the ball joint itself.it should not move at the control arm. the control arm is spring loaded on a bushing and has to move up and down as part of the supension.this is the large bushing that is bolted to the upper side of the wheel well). This finally explains the metal on metal squeaking i always hear at low speeds. So with this new information I have set on my quest to find control arms so i can get the damn thing aligned and hopefully not have this problem anymore.

Oh and just FYI replacing a broken tie rod end is soo much easier. Just hope you dont break one by driving thru wet cement like i did a few days ago..there will be a post/rant about this unfortunate occurance later. right now..im done

[DBMaster]

Bump to top. Micah gave me a great detailed reply. I am primarily talking about the REAR upper control arms. Is there an easy way to tell if they are going to fail, or is there a reason to replace them "just because." They seem to be about $45 each if you go aftermarket.

[Oldblueaccord]

Bump to top. Micah gave me a great detailed reply. I am primarily talking about the REAR upper control arms. Is there an easy way to tell if they are going to fail, or is there a reason to replace them "just because." They seem to be about $45 each if you go aftermarket.

Im not sure if this answers it but mine seem to wear out after about 2 years or so. I have one thats bad now and I will change it but to me its pretty low proiority. I think they bind some on compression and hence wear out but thats just a theory of mine.

Jacking the car up and putting a breaker bar under the tire at about the 6 oclock position and prying up is a good way to tell if the ball is loose. If there real bad, shaking the tire will show it right away, or the tire will start to wear unevenly.

wp

[DBMaster]

Blue,

Thank you! That is exactly the kind of test I was looking for.

[cardoc33]

I have set up a site to sell 3g accord parts. My first item is rear control arms. All parts will be new OEM quality. If you have any comments, please let me know.

http://www.trivalleyclutch.com/3gparts.html

Thanks
Don

[DBMaster]

That's a good price, Don. Mine appear to be solid at this point, but I am bookmarking your site!

Thanks!