Tryingtodoitall

Hey folks,

My wife drives a 2002 2dr civic LX auto trans. It has about 65K on it. We recently noticed aa intermittent "bumping" kind of noise coming from the front end near the wheels mostly, but sometimes almost dead center in the engine compartment. It is transient and does not seem to be related to the road surface.Sounds like metal on metal. Not a heat shield type either. I had recently done the front pads and thought that I may have (in my declining years) have not done the job thoroughly. So after pulling the drivers side tire off and seeing that the pads, etc looked fine, I decided to move some things to try and locate the sound. I did find a very good candidate. The transaxles have some play (travel) in them between the tranny and the wheels. The play is expressed as an ability to twist (about 1/8') as well as movement along the axis between the wheels and the tranny. I am due for a tranny fluid change (checked the fluid, full, red, and no smell for what that's worth. What am I looking at, to get rid of the noise? I should also note that when I drive, I tend to engine break as a matter of course. And help with this would help a lot.
Thanks.

JB

Tryingtodoitall

After getting no responses, I perused the forum and found that my lower control arm bushings are the likely culprit.
I have attached pics of the driver side LCA bushing as well as a few of the DS ball joint.
My questions are;
Should I replace the arms (and who's with) or try the urathane solution that another poster came up with?
Does the ball joint typically gets changed out at the same time?

Thanks in advance for any input.

JAB

Gunner

From what i read most people change the arm at the same time..

Tryingtodoitall

Thanks for the info, Gunner. I appreciate your time<smile> The arms do look a little worse for wear, a little rust at the welds, but as I look further into it, I see that some co's do offer poly bushings that can be pressed in the the existing arms. I am thinking of pulling them both, removing the rust (it doesn't look like it is anywhere near structurally damaging at this point) painting them up, pressing in new poly bushings in the front, installing new poly bushings on the rear of the LCA and replacing the bearings. Bearing (pun) in mind that the car is for commuting by a non aggressive driver for 80% of the time, and also hi demand hwy driving by yours truly the other 20% of the time, what manufactures would have the appropriate parts for the above? I guess what I'm asking is who makes a good performance bushing/bearing what while not for the track, will give us good all around performance and is poly. Thanks again for reading.

Gunner

OEM parts are always the best option in my opinion but you can check a lot of the aftermarket sites too..
Not sure how good this site is but ran across it..
http://www.suspension.com/civic.htm
most honda parts sites..do a search for honda parts in google..will have them..Someone else might know a better place to look tho..

Here is a DIY for the front http://www.jdmcity.com/showthread.php?t=15029

here is a DIY for the rear.... http://www.7thgenhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9189

Tryingtodoitall

Thanks again, Gunner. I had heard differing opinions about whether aftermarket/poly would offer a longer life, but it seems that opinions are all over the map. So I will take your advice and also check out the links you provided. Many thanks for your info, and have a great holiday in what ever flavor you embrace.

Best regards,

John

anibis

I'm not sure if the aftermarket bushings will last longer but they will make the car handle a bit better, more responsive. If it gets cold where you live I'd get OEM bushings, the aftermarket's can be noisy in cold weather from what I've read. Your bushings are 9-10 years old so it's not like they're not made well.

If you haven't replaced the ball joints yet I would while you have everything apart, either get moog's or OEM.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Not for nothing, but I dont think thats your problem. They are slightly torn but mine were much worse and they didnt make any noise. Check your front engine mount. I bet thats the problem. Or it could be that ball joint. I reccomend pressing in new OEM bushings into those arms. I did mine with a piece of metal shaped to the new bushing and a heavy duty bench vise as my press along with a huge pipe to close the vise. It was a bit butcher but it worked for me. Still need to remove the arms however. Its up to you.

Tryingtodoitall

@Anibis, I am in western PA so it gets cold, they LOVE salt! So I will stick with the OEM's as you suggest. Thanks for the feedback.
@04 Honda Civic, I tend to agree with you about the bushing not necessarily being the source of the noise, as i hear it to dif levels on both sides of the car, and the PS LCA front bushing looks pretty much ok.

Here's what I've planned to do;
1)remove both LCA's
2)press out the old front and rear bushings on them
3press in new OEM bushings
4replace the ball joints with Moogs.
5)drink to having it all done by the new year.

Thanks guys~! I really do appreciate all the input.

Oh, I also saw some "innovative methods of pressing on youtube as well, 04<wink>

Tryingtodoitall

Well, they say whatever can go wrong will. I am in the middle of removing the lca DS on the car and what happens? The bolt that holds the front bushing has "become one" with the inner metal sleeve of the bushing. As I loosen the bolt, the entire inner sleeve turn with it. Any suggestions on how to "break the sleeve free? Or, since it looks as tho my other option is to cut the bolt apart, what are the specs I need to know to get a replacement bolt?

Thanks again for helping out with this jobs, folks~!

John

ezone

Penetrating oil, or acetone and ATF in a 50/50 mix works well too.
Get out the tools of destruction!
Rattle gun (air hammer).
SAWZALL w/carbide blade.
TORCH. (The rubber will STINK though.)

You are replacing the bushing, right? Do whatever it takes! Just don't hurt the subframe or the LCA.

Bolt source: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...tcgry5=KNUCKLE

You can also look here for local dealers that might have it http://estore.honda.com/

Tryingtodoitall

Ezone! Thanks for the super quick reply and advice. I have been using PB Super penetrating oil. It occurred to me that I may as well bring out the sawzall for this bolt, so your link to a replacement bolt source is mondo valuable to me~!
One thing that I didn't realize until I had enough room to see, from unscrewing the bolt is that it looks like the bolt (since it was trapped by the inner sleeve) ended up pushing the welded nut part of the lca up<frown> I think I should be able to bend it back down when I reinstall the (yes new) bushing. All new bushinga and new ball joints are in the freezer as we speak.
Thanks again for your ultra fast response on the bolt, bud~!

John

ezone

+1 for having your own sawzall!

Yes, pound the nut area back down before trying to thread a bolt in or it will cross thread. That would be bad. Wait until the arm is together though, the spread area in the subframe will be handy when it comes time to stuff the arm back in and the sleeve has to be pried up straight.