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I had my front hub removed today to replace 2 broken wheel studs after they got stripped. Also since an 04 Civic requires the hub to be removed they charged me $100 for labor.

Now my question is, do I need an alignment on my car after that?

I noticed after I drove out that my alignment was off and my car pulled to the right on a straight and level steering wheel.

My last alignment was 3k miles ago, since then i climbed onto a curb and hit a huge pothole!

The alignment shop also once told me that on the drivers side the caster can't be aligned because one of the components is bent. I imagine it's the lower arm? I forgot to ask them. Although when they aligned it, the car didn't pull anymore miraculously!

Should I go for an alignment?

 
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just go back to the shop and act stupid. tell them that they screwed up and now your car wont go straight. try to get them to do a free alignment for you, unless you have bought lifetime alignment or something.

 
Rep Power: 284

Yes, you need an alignment done after removing the front hub, all you suspension components hinge off of it so it affects everything.

 
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Fix the bent piece and THEN do your alignment. That way you won't be doing it twice.

 
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I called the mechanic about the fix, since he's aligned my car before.

He says they need to replace the knuckle and lower body arm in order to align the caster properly. It's only on the drivers side, passengers side is adjustable.

He told me that it'll cost me about $500-$600 to repair.

Is that a fair price?

I'm willing to pay for the fix but I'm not sure if I'm being ripped off.

 
Rep Power: 367

the control arm is easy to do yourself - look for DIY around the forum - replace it first - knuckles usually does not get damaged easily (the arm is weaker than the solid metal knuckle - Knuckle holds a lot of the key parts of suspension together, after all)

 
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Anyone know if it's easier to replace it myself at home?

 
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Search engine key words:
replace control arm DIY:

result (among others):
Time elapsed: 1 minute
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...ntrol-arm.html

 
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i saw a youtube video, it does look pretty easy. However, looks can be deceiving.

So do you mean that the knuckle holds most of the key parts or is it the arm? Didn't quite understand your sentence sorry.

In order to replace the knuckle I need to remove the hub again right? Although I can't do that at home.

 
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Nice thread, thanks for that!

I'll attempt a change by myself, and take the advice for the tools needed.

 
Rep Power: 367

Knuckle is the one.

Big chances all you need is the arm. the only "harder" part to do is the ball joint, but the Utube one with the jack and the wrench makes easier - just stay away from anywhere the wrench could fly to, or better make sure the wrench will not go flying . No need to remove the knuckle.

 
Rep Power: 313

You can use my ball joint DIY as an example too of how to get the knuckle out of the way. Just remember you don't need to actually remove the knuckle to remove the LCA.