91 Civic LX here, 203k miles. I am considering replacing the front upper and lower ball joints. I have read the archives and also many of the reports at honda-tech.com on this. A few queries to see where the Honda technical population is on this: -- lifetime warranty upper ball joints may be purchased at Autozone.com for $20 each. Can I use a Harbor Freight Ball Joint Press on the upper control arm ball joints, in situ, with success? I see Loewent (for one) cautioned here some time ago that the upper control arms are rather flimsy and this was a somewhat risky route to go. As has been well documented on the net, OEM Honda parts dealers sell only the entire upper control arm for around $110 each. -- one alternative is to buy a new upper control arm with of course new bushings and new ball joints. Doggone Autozone sells these at prices the same as the OEM part (around $110 per arm). Ebay has aftermarket ones for around $30 each, but no warranty as far as I can tell. One other advantage of all new upper control arms is the two new bushings on each arm, too. -- will the ball joint press kit at http://www.harborfreight.com/ (look for item #38335) work for removing and installing the lower ball joints at least? -- is there a grease connection for all the BJ boots? I see reference to this in the manuals but this connection is not obvious to me. -- what grease should be used on the BJs? For one thing, I am hoping replacement of the BJs will correct an alignment problem the car has. The problem has been around since before I replaced all the lower control arm bushings a few years ago. The shop that did the alignment last year suggested a bent front lower control arm but probably did not elaborate since so many possibilities exist. The front lower control arms are not the least bit obviously bent.
I just finished putting on an entire new front suspension on my '91 Si. I would suggest getting the entire upper control arm which has the new bushings and ball joint already in it. Both Moog and NAPA have grease fittings on the ball joints. As for a bent lower arm, not sure how you would bend that large cast iron piece! Don't forget your inner tie rods and rack steering bushing replacement as well as outer tie rods. You can just pound out the lower ball joint, but you will need a press to get the new joint back in place. I used the HF press with success and a couple of sockets. Remove the boot before installation or you risk tearing it. Hope this helps.
I just finished putting on an entire new front suspension on my '91 Si. I would suggest getting the entire upper control arm which has the new bushings and ball joint already in it. Both Moog and NAPA have grease fittings on the ball joints. As for a bent lower arm, not sure how you would bend that large cast iron piece! Don't forget your inner tie rods and rack steering bushing replacement as well as outer tie rods. You can just pound out the lower ball joint, but you will need a press to get the new joint back in place. I used the HF press with success and a couple of sockets. Remove the boot before installation or you risk tearing it. Hope this helps.
depending on model year, you /can't/ remove the boot. and removal risks contamination and thus premature wear. use the proper tool. you can buy the kit here: http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/OTC-7996.html and you can probably sell it on craigslist for close to what you paid if you never need it again.
depending on model year, you /can't/ remove the boot. and removal risks contamination and thus premature wear. use the proper tool. you can buy the kit here: http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/OTC-7996.html and you can probably sell it on craigslist for close to what you paid if you never need it again.
