AlonFW

So my commuter 01 Civic is nearing 200k and the front end has developed a knock in it when going over bumps. I bought it brand new... and have never done shocks or struts on it So... it is about time. Did some reading here and settled on Tokico Blues and an Eibach Prokit. One of my lower ball joints boot is ripped and one of the tie rod boots as well, also the lower control arm front bushing on the passenger side (I had new ones pressed in not long ago, kinda disappointed it is blown already). So I plan to just do it all. I was hoping someone might be kind enough to check my list to ensure I am not missing anything and am getting the right stuff. I did a little shopping around and found autopartswarehouse seemed of have competitive prices and everything in stock, so just put the entire order into their system and saved a quote. But each time I try to pull it up it doubles everything on the list.
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/ba...quote=retrieve
Quote 1609290

I will also just list it out here. Please let me know if I am going to cheap or to expensive on something, or if I should really consider sourcing something from another vendor.

One thing I do need some guidance on is the strut bearings, how do I know if I need them? Or at 200k is it just a safe bet they ought to be done? If I do need, exactly what should I get?

Here is the list
Tokico Blue Rears 79.52 ea. x2
Tokico Blue Right? 138.77
Tokico Blue Left? 128.88 not sure which is which
Eibach Prokit 219.69
KYB Strut Mount 63.62 ea. x2
KYB Rear shock mount upper 16.95 each x2
*will i need the lower mount too?
KYP Shock/Strut Boot 12.95
*Do I need 2 or 4?
Moog Camber and Alignment Kit Rear 32.54 x2
Moog Camber and Alignment Kit Front 26.13 x2 (may have front and rear reversed on price)
AutoTrust Silver Tie Rod End 45.11 x2
*There is a lot of variance in price on tie rod ends, any advice?
Energy Susp Control Arm Bushings 55.11 x2
Mevotech Ball Joint 47.77 x2

I am considering just buying lower control arms with all new bushings and the lower ball joint as one unit. Any opinions on that idea. New Poly bushings + ball joints = about $200 + I assume I will have to have the bushings pressed in. New control arms with ball joints = $300, but won't be poly, which may not be a bad thing anyway.

Thanks in advance,

Alon

lowlife9

you can get oem honda mounts for $25 dollars each here http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/home.htm you don't need the rear mounts or the ball joints unless they are damaged or new tierods unless those are damaged or you damage them on removal. as for the bearings i believe your year has metal upper strut bearings that can be taken out and repacked with grease or you can get them cheap at the site i gave you.boots are not necessary either.and a camber kit comes with left and right parts im not sure why you have x2 next to them but if you mean $25 each then you can find them cheaper http://www.corsportusa.com/store/cat...roducts_id=279

lazlong

Anytime you replace a suspension part in puts added pressure on the older parts and it's only a matter of time before they go too.

lazlong

Yes, metal bearings. When I bought mine they came with.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

im pretty sure moog does not make adjustable camber kits. gotta go spc or ingalls.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

kind of confused with your ball joints as well.
They are in the struts, not in the lower control arm.

AlonFW

Ya, I just realized that to... so I will be getting the ball joints and also get the poly bushings and have them pressed in. Any advice on poly vs rubber bushings?

Alon

AlonFW

Confused, if they are stock then what did you buy that they came with?

AlonFW

Thanks for all the help.

So on the camber kit, just one order from corsport (2 bolts) will be enough for the front probably? And what about the rear?

Alon

lowlife9

yes one order is for two front camber bolts. you can also order the rear camber arms through corsport the ingalls smart arms are the cheapest you can choose at checkout if you want poly or rubber for the rears.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

keep in mind that you will need to take the ball joints from the knuckels someway too, not sure, i did not change mine. Could be a huge PITA
Can't answer on poly for hondas, i know them for miata's...
Time to remake the list, BTW?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Tokico Blue Rears 79.52 ea. x2 - ok
Tokico Blue Right? 138.77 - ok
Tokico Blue Left? 128.88 - ok
Eibach Prokit 219.69 - ok
KYB Strut Mount 63.62 ea. x2 - ok
KYB Rear shock mount upper 16.95 each x2 - ok
*will i need the lower mount too? - no
KYB Shock/Strut Boot 12.95 - no
Moog Camber and Alignment Kit Rear 32.54 x2 - no (Swap for front bolts - cheap)
Moog Camber and Alignment Kit Front 26.13 x2 -no (swap for a real alignment kit)
AutoTrust Silver Tie Rod End 45.11 x2 - Depends on condition)
*There is a lot of variance in price on tie rod ends, any advice?
Energy Susp Control Arm Bushings 55.11 x2 - TBD between stock and poly
Mevotech Ball Joint 47.77 x2 - ? - will need a lot of work

New arms will reduce the work with new bushings, but will set you back to 300.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

there is not much need for the fronts, actually.
The rears are the ones that need them since the more you compress, the more negative camber you will get. fronts do not change much.
The fronts you can keep since they are cheap enough and since you will have them all apart anyway.

AlonFW

Thanks for all the help!

Moog does make a front camber kit, but it costs about twice from autopartswarehouse what the Ingells kit costs on corsportusa.com.

I got 2 outer tire rod ends and ball joints based on the fact that I beat up the boots on the passenger side removing mine. Figure I will replace both sides OR keep the spares as spares. At 200k they are bound to go sometime in the near future anyway (I think?).

I went with a Ksport rear camber kit from corsportusa.com, as it was the cheapest.

Based on the insight that the bearings are metal and can be repacked I did not order them.

In case this post is referenced in the future by someone in a similar situation: I settled on the Tokico Blues and Eibach prokit based on other posts in this forum suggesting this was a good cost effective compromise for a reasonably comfortable commuter car with improved handling. I plan to report back here with my personal findings when I am done.

One could use my parts list as a reasonably cost competitive list with suppliers. The tie rod ends and ball joints are only required if the ones you have are damaged. Front control arm bushings and rear upper shock mounts are also optional, but probably well advised.

I went with poly LCA bushings based on the following discussion: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/4...-bushings.html

Here is my final list with prices and sources.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com
Tokico Blue Rears 79.52 ea. x2
Tokico Blue Right? 138.77
Tokico Blue Left? 128.88 not sure which is which
Eibach Prokit 219.69
KYB Rear shock mount upper 16.95 ea. x2
Moog outer tie rod end 57.02 ea. x2
Moog ball joint 61.26 ea. x2
Energy Susp Control Arm Bushings WERE NOT IN STOCK
Free shipping

Also got a 10% discount on the full order by talking to the online chat support 

www.corsportusa.com
Energy Susp Control Arm Bushings 51.00
Ingalls Front Camber Kit 35.00
Ksport Rear Camber Kit 105.00
Free Shipping

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/home.htm
Strut mounts 39.95 ea x2
Shipping/Handling about $16

As a side note, while the chat support from autopartswarehouse was very friendly and helpful, they were not very well informed. In one chat I was told the LCA arm DID include the lower ball joint. Which, as pointed out, does not make any sense. Also, their check out basket is not very user friendly... whenever I went back in a pulled up a quote it duplicated everything in my basket. Also, when I clicked on a part in the basket it didn't pull up the full details. For example, the only way to confirm I had both a left and right front Tokico blues was the fact that they were different part numbers and prices, the part title/description in the basket and in the details link from the basket did not specify. If not for the 10% discount and helpful staff I would have gone elsewhere.

Thanks again for all the advice I received!

Alon

AlonFW

With a pitman puller it should not be too bad. The discussion the the balljoint DYI stickied on this forum also indicates a prybar and hitting the knuckle with a hammer should knock it loose.


Alon

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

thanks
and your thread could be a good reference to others as well, so great!
good luck with all the frozen bolts!

lowlife9

why wouldn't you get oem tie rod ends from Majestic honda for less then the cost of the Moog ends ???

Nosepicker

Hey, could you please take some pics and possibly make a DIY thread w/pics.

I was changing my timing belt over the weekend and I noticed the same issues you have. And I'm not too sure how to replace struts/bushings/etc. down there.

TIA

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

And if you ever get in a situation that you can't get the part, check here:
http://www.bkhondaparts.com/billkay/...itch=&hidIrno=

lazlong

Moog at rockauto are $4 less than oem at majestic. It's not much but, it' almost the cost of shipping.

lowlife9

idk he has them listed for $57 each majestic wants $37 but evan if the moog is $4 dollars cheaper which would you get.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

far as i know, my moog parts are pretty good, so no issues there. they seems to be quality parts. no issues.
Ask Gearbox about the sway bar endlinks!

lowlife9

i thought you had inverted tie rods ?? and i never said moog was a bad product i would just rather pay $4 dollars more for oem.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

ah, Ok. understood!
Inverted tie-rods?

AlonFW

One advantage of moogs over oem would be that they are greasable, at least I am pretty sure they are. Can report back when the arrive. Not sure that is enough of an advantage to account for the cost difference, which I have not compared.

AlonFW

Have you taken a look at the DYIs for Springs and lower ball joints already stickied here? Seems they pretty much cover it. Take a look at those at let me know if you have any specific questions and can I take notes when I do mine.

AlonFW

Well autopartswarehouse botched the order. In spite of my confirming that everything was in stock with online chat support 3 of the Tokico Blues were not, and it took them two days to let me know. And to top it all off they still shipped the single one they had in stock. I called them and they will cover return shipping for that, but wouldn't do anything to make it right. I requested that they discount the only reasonable alternative part they had (KYB adjustables) or at least cover expedited shipping so that I could still do the work this weekend, but they wouldn't. Net result, I wouldn't use them again.

Did a little shopping and found a good deal on them from truehonda, called them and placed the order, very helpful. Take note though that truehonda.com is their old site and really shouldn't be used, instead use thmotorsports.com They even took pitty on my situation and worked out a good deal on expedited shipping so I should still be able to do the work this weekend.