Going to replace both front lower control arms and ball joints. Good idea?(with pics)
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Going to replace both front lower control arms and ball joints. Good idea?(with pics)
Hi,
First off I am a novice so please post loudly if I am going to do something bad, and thank you in advance!
I have a 2002 Civic LX Sedan (no ABS) with 140k and it had quite a bumpy ride and the front rotors were really noisy. I recently replaced all 4 strut assemblies with Monroe quick struts and replaced the front brake rotors and pads (using civicforums.com DIYs naturally). Braking is great and the ride improved a lot, but the suspension is far from healthy in my novice opinion. I have put a few hundred miles on it while researching what to do about the clearly beat up control arm bushings (see pics). I have not gotten an alignment yet because I'm cheap and wanted to fix the bushings/ball joints, then I will probably get new tires and an alignment.
The goal is to get a reasonably quiet and smooth ride without breaking the bank. The car is not driven aggressively and spends most of its time at 70 MPH on flat, straight, pavement.
I don't want to buy a hydraulic press to get the old bushings out, so I am going to get new control arms with bushings in them, they are only like $40 each. (Dorman #520-925 and Dorman #520-926).
I think the ball joints need replacing but have no idea (see pics), I plan on buying 2 new ones at $20 each and replacing them. (2 of Beck-Arnley Part # 101-5477)
Finally I am going to buy 2 of DORMAN Part # 615091, the big spindle nut that you are supposed to replace everytime.
I am going to use intructions from 3 DIYs to figure it out; the 2 ball joint DIY's and also the DIY for repairing control arm bushings with liquid polyurethane which tells you how to get the control arms off. Here are the 3 links.
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...joint-diy.html
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...necessary.html
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-bushings.html
I guess would like to ask the community, is this a reasonable plan? Should I replace the stabilizer bar links or anything else? Are my ball joints bad or is the creaking just the control arm bushings? Thanks and cheers to this awesome forum.
First off I am a novice so please post loudly if I am going to do something bad, and thank you in advance!
I have a 2002 Civic LX Sedan (no ABS) with 140k and it had quite a bumpy ride and the front rotors were really noisy. I recently replaced all 4 strut assemblies with Monroe quick struts and replaced the front brake rotors and pads (using civicforums.com DIYs naturally). Braking is great and the ride improved a lot, but the suspension is far from healthy in my novice opinion. I have put a few hundred miles on it while researching what to do about the clearly beat up control arm bushings (see pics). I have not gotten an alignment yet because I'm cheap and wanted to fix the bushings/ball joints, then I will probably get new tires and an alignment.
The goal is to get a reasonably quiet and smooth ride without breaking the bank. The car is not driven aggressively and spends most of its time at 70 MPH on flat, straight, pavement.
I don't want to buy a hydraulic press to get the old bushings out, so I am going to get new control arms with bushings in them, they are only like $40 each. (Dorman #520-925 and Dorman #520-926).
I think the ball joints need replacing but have no idea (see pics), I plan on buying 2 new ones at $20 each and replacing them. (2 of Beck-Arnley Part # 101-5477)
Finally I am going to buy 2 of DORMAN Part # 615091, the big spindle nut that you are supposed to replace everytime.
I am going to use intructions from 3 DIYs to figure it out; the 2 ball joint DIY's and also the DIY for repairing control arm bushings with liquid polyurethane which tells you how to get the control arms off. Here are the 3 links.
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...joint-diy.html
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...necessary.html
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-bushings.html
I guess would like to ask the community, is this a reasonable plan? Should I replace the stabilizer bar links or anything else? Are my ball joints bad or is the creaking just the control arm bushings? Thanks and cheers to this awesome forum.
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Re: Going to replace both front lower control arms and ball joints. Good idea?(with p
Balljoints look fine. If you are going to change them DO NOT get the cheapest ones. Go with OEM or MOOG, preferably MOOG.
I'd also be hesitant to but the cheapest control arms. You could always buy the bushings and have them pressed into your existing control arms. The local parts store doesn't usually have just the bushings but, they have some here: http://www.rockauto.com/
I'd also be hesitant to but the cheapest control arms. You could always buy the bushings and have them pressed into your existing control arms. The local parts store doesn't usually have just the bushings but, they have some here: http://www.rockauto.com/
Re: Going to replace both front lower control arms and ball joints. Good idea?(with p
Yea, why are you changing the ball joints did they fail the "wiggle test"?
I got the LCA bushings from the dealer. They were fairly cheap, I used a bench vice and a few attachments from a ball joint service kit to get it to work. lol
Make sure you mark them if you decide to press them out, or have someone else press them out they go in only 1 way.
I got the LCA bushings from the dealer. They were fairly cheap, I used a bench vice and a few attachments from a ball joint service kit to get it to work. lol
Make sure you mark them if you decide to press them out, or have someone else press them out they go in only 1 way.
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