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Hey all, first post here!

I did a search and couldn't find what I'm looking for, so, here it goes....

My 94's steering has changed quite a bit over the past few weeks. It seems to tramline, wander, and float. Actually, it's starting to drive like my '89 E-150 van! The symptoms get more pronounced as speeds increase, which is bad because I do primarily highway driving. Friday morning was the only time when I've actually been concerned about the safety of the steering/handling on my Civic, so I need to get this taken care of ASAP. I talked to my brother today and he ended up laughing because every symptom I described to him, he had just experienced on his '94! Talk about timing! He took his to Honda and the mechanic asked him, "Does the steering feel floaty?" and he said yes, which is funny because "floaty" is the same term I used. The mechanic replaced the lower ball joint on the drive side and that took care of the problem. So that's what I'm going to do because I've already checked the tie rods (first thing my bro looked at on his car too!) and other linkage parts - everything is tight and moves in unison. Tire pressure and power steering fluid are all good.

To anybody that's replaced the lower ball joints before - is it possible to place the lower ball joint without removing the steering knuckle, calipers, tie rods, etc? The Haines manual and Honda service manuals I have aren't much help. It seems like I should be able to remove just the ball joint without messing with anything else...but I want to make sure.

Thanks!