2001 - 2005 Honda Civic Acura 1.7 EL Front Lower Control Arm Replacement
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Video demonstrating how to replace the front suspension's lower control arms (my bushings were bad) on a 7th generation Honda Civic or a 2nd generation Acura 1.7 EL. This procedure is the same regardless if your car is a sedan or a coupe. Model years covered are 2001-2005.
Bolt Torque specs:
Front LCA bolt: 61ft-lbs
Rear LCA bolt: 61ft-lbs
Lower ball joint castle nut: 43 - 51 ft-lbs
Sway bar end links: 29 ft-lbs
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I have a lifted 2000 CRV and after paying garages ridiculous amounts of money to work on my front end I decided to start doing it myself. I have seen a few decent videos on here but yours is awesome, you lay things out very nicely. Thanks!
+scott fisk glad you liked my vid. Consider subscribing to get the latest on car DIY repairs :)
My only recommendation after watching this a second time, is you should jack up the LCA before you tighten the castle nut on the ball joint. There is a considerable amount of force that the ball joint needs to properly seat itself inside the LCA.
I considered that but I was fortunate enough to get the ball joint tightened down snugly without any issues. Your tip however, is nonetheless very useful.
Thanks! Just replaced my LCA in about 2 hours following your video. IMO, most valuable tip you gave was during installation to seat the compliance bushing end of the control arm first, and then to flex the arm under the knuckle and then to rubber mallet the second bushing into place. I made the mistake of not threading that first bolt in, and ended up pointlessly fiddling for about 15 minutes. I finally removed the LCA, reinstalled exactly as you described and had everything lined up in 5 minutes.
Glad you got it all fixed up. Yes, getting controls arms and suspension parts to line up at times can be a PITA but since I've done so many of these that we start to learn some useful tricks. I'm just super happy that you got your car fixed on your own!
I get my car Fluid Film undercoated every year help majorly with rusting , great video
Thanks for showing how to remove those damn end links for the sway bar. I've been fighting with it for about 30 minutes and I figured I was missing something. Now I know. Thanks much!
You're most welcome. It is a PITA to get those out but with enough patience, proper tools and sometimes plain brute force can you get them to come out.
There's no way in heck I'd attempt this myself -- I can only imagine the trepidation my wife would exhibit driving the car afterwards -- but that was fascinating to watch nonetheless.Great camera work, too, in letting us see everything you were doing. It made me think I could even do this.
Rugged homestead? I'm not so sure.
@@josephcalvosa8272 lmaoooooo right I could only imagine the “trepidation” this wife exhibits with all the ruggedness of homesteading
Well done. Very thorough. I now feel confident doing this job myself.
glad you found my video useful. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video! Thank you very much for you help. We are "expecting" and you helped a growing family save quite a few $ vs. taking it to a mechanic. Much appreciated.
Matthew Larson Ah yes I remember when we were expecting too and how I was worried about the costs of things. Glad you were able to save the $. Spend it on your bundle of joy :)
@@piercedasian ordering 0arts now. Tread Quarters quoted me $1040. Parts are less than $150
:/
@@patrickellis2626 don't get these from Detroit axle, I ordered complete control arms with new bushings and they didn't last a year before they were trashed again
great video. just bought a 2001 Civic coupe for my daughter and need to do this job. well done.
glad you liked the vid. Thanks for watching!
Best video I have seen DYI. Really excellent video and close up shots! Thanks!
+Lawrence Jones glad you liked my video. Thanks for watching!
There's actually a pretty neat trick that someone on the forums discovered for knocking the threaded part of the ball joint loose from the control arm: place a hydraulic jack on the control arm, and jack it up. Slip a handle of a socket (or similar sized hard object) in between the space created between the knuckle and the control arm, then quickly drop the jack. It'll pop right loose (in theory).
I've seen that and I've had hit and miss success doing it that way. It doesn't seem to work too well on badly corroded ball joint stems.
Joel Bennett Or use a hammer/mallet
@ Bob Last - getting the bushing out is technically super easy BUT getting the new one is a whole different game. Unfortunately since I do not have access to a shop press that it was easier to bring it into a shop (Honda actually) to press the new bushings in.
This was a GREAT video! Fast, efficient, highly visual!
glad you liked the vid!
To remove the bushings you will need a screw type press or an arbor/hydraulic press.
Or - just buy a complete lower control arm assembly with pre-installed bushings - very easy, and you basically save the time/$$ on remove and install bushings by paying a tiny bit of money for the whole assembly. I have used Delco and MOOG replacement arms on Mazda, Toyoto, Nissan and Honda - they work fine and the build quality is factory level at least.
I strongly recommend if you do not have a hydraulic press take the arms to a shop and have them remove and install the new bushings. Using screw presses or cutting and hammering the old bushing out is a major pain, likely to cause damage to you or your parts, and at the very least is time-consuming and dirty work.
Stay gold.
+dnl machine any idea where i can find the lower control arm assembly with pre-installed bushings by delco or moog besides online? I'm sure autozone has them but their parts are risky to use
+jltaco85 I'm in Canada, but comparable sister stores in the states will have them as well: Canadian Tire, Advance Auto Parts, NAPA, O'Reilleys or even check the dealer. I hear Autozone has changed their return policy from not very good to much better as well.
Stay gold.
Awesome thank you! Also I did use a pickle fork initially and it tore my boot like u said it would so now I'll replace that. Yay! But thank you for the excellent video!
Deborah Hemmerch lol I figured as much. Pickle forks have their place but not in this particular application unless you intend to replace the lower ball joint anyways and that is assuming you have no other viable tool to use. At least the ball joint is fairly straightforward to service - Honda won't likely sell you a replacement (they say it isn't replaceable) yet the aftermarket stores sell them all the time. If you need a reference video on how to replace the ball joint take a look at my Honda Accord ball joint replacement video.
Thank you. You explained everything. I followed your steps and it was a breeze. Thank you for the tips, help and guidance.
You're welcome!
I find your video very informative and thorough thanks.
that's awesome! Thanks for watching!
You should invest in ratcheting wrenches. I bought them especially for endlinks and my trans mount. Makes the job so much easier, rather than doing like half a turn at a time, then pulling it on and off. A set usually goes for about $30, but I got a set of stubbies for like $15 last year that I don't even use cuz I have flex heads.
I do have ratcheting wrenches but the heads on mine are quite large and they sometimes don’t fit in the tighter spots. I probably should look at investing in some better quality ones with a precision ratchet. When I do use my ratchet wrenches, I find the ratchets in them not fine enough and I’d rather just do things manually.
Great video as usual!
lol thanks for watching Nick.
Perfect. Thank you for putting the time in to create this video and share it. I will be doing this exact repair.
+Vincent Esposito you're very welcome! Hope it all works out for you :)
Super helpful
Glad you found my video useful!
According to the workshop manual the control arm balljoint locking pin must face to the outside of the car though the castellated nut pointed end out.
it truly doesn't make a difference. Once it is locked in it is locked in. it's not going anywhere.
Detailed and and on point wish they were all like that.
Glad you liked my video. Thanks for watching.
so touching for an excellent video
Fantastic Video! Thanks!
you're welcome!
Great video! I'm about to replace mine as well.
glad you liked my vid. Thanks for watching!
Do you mind listing the torque specs in your video summary for the rear and front LCA bolts, castle nut on the ball joint, and end links? This information was not provided in your video; very thorough just missing torque spec.
sure thing:
Lower control arm torque specs:
Front LCA bolt: 61ft-lbs
Rear LCA bolt: 61ft-lbs
Lower ball joint castle nut: 43 - 51 ft-lbs
Sway bar end links: 29 ft-lbs
EXCELLENT Video. Most informative.
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.
Thank you so much!
you're very welcome!
Excellent Video!! Thank You ! You are awesome, very well explained.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Pierce, you crack me up! Is there anything you can't do?? Maybe bake a chocolate cake? Lol
lol, I have some product reviews that are NOT car or computer related coming soon :)
can you make a list maybe in the description of all the tools needed for this project? thanks for the helpful video
+Yoduh I will try to edit my description to include a listing of tools needed to perform this job.
Stay tuned.
Very informative. Looking forward to doing mine. Thanks.
Glad you liked the video. Thanks for watching!
do u think it it will be enough
+Otto Estrada buy that pipe I suggested in my previous post.
Same for 03 to 07 accord?
Fundamentally similar yes.
After doing this it's a good idea to get an alignment right? or not really
yes definitely get an alignment when you're done this repair.
super helpful, but you did not show how to put the new bushing in the metal arm. Anyway I don't have the press to do it either.
+Milka Vazquez I did say that I took the control arms to Honda to have the new bushings pressed in. I don't have a press and for what the dealership charges to press the news ones in it was more convenient to do it that way. Thanks for watching!
what about the grease that leaked out of ball joint? how do I put more back in? thanks
you can't get it in. Only way is to replace the joint or if it isn't much that came out then don't worry about it. There is actually a lot of grease in those joints.
ahh I see. I'll just wait to see if they ever start clunking. thanks for taking the time to upload and to answer back. your videos are great!!
yeah, it sucks that the grease oozes out like that. I sometimes have that happen too but ball joints are pretty cheap anyways so worst case is if it get buggered up that I can simply change out the joint :) Glad you like my vids. You should consider subscribing to get the latest vids from me.
What if you did damage the boot a bit? I touched the boot with a screwdriver and it got a cut or something haha
+Skyler Polk if you nicked the boot then chances are overtime dirt and water will make it's way into the boot and kill your ball joint. The best thing to do is to replace at least the boot otherwise just replace the entire ball joint when it finally wears out.
Tried this, but for some reason, once I get the new part in (I bought a new control arm) the ball joint doesn't line up with the new part. The wheel assembly is too far out from the center of the vehicle--probably about an inch. I turned the steering wheel back to center as suggested and I've pressed and pulled and it won't come anywhere close. I also managed to mangle the boot in the process, so now I'll probably have to pick up another ball joint. I finally took the new lower control arm out and compared it to the old part. They look to be nearly identical. Any idea on what I might do?
Collin W I'm going to bet that it is b/c your CV axle popped out of the cage in either the inner or outer joint. I'll put my money on it that your inner joint cv axle bearing race popped out and is "disjointed". Your CV axle should pull in and out very freely with no effort and should feel like it is sliding smoothly. If it doesn't feel that way pull the front brake rotor hub away from the car and turn the rotor and then push back the cv axle to see if you can feel the bearing races "drop" or "pop" back. It is sort of along the lines of dislocating a joint in your body and you've got to manipulate the joint to re-align things. I can almost guarantee you that the issues you're facing is a direct result of the bearing racings on the inner joint "sitting stacked" on each other when they should be "meshing" together. Give that shot and let us know how it works out for you.
Yes, I got it solved after a few phone calls to friends that were more mechanically inclined than I and and you're totally right. That's exactly what the problem was. Thanks for the reply.
lol, thank goodness I still have some recollection of how things are put together!
Glad it all worked out for you in the end.
Hi I tried to replace both lower control arms in my Honda civic 2001.
The left side fitted just right, but the drivers side wont fit back to the ball join. No matter how hard I pushed the rottor it just wont move even a little. Any idea what I'm doing wrong ?
are you sure you didn't dislocate the CV axle ? Pull the the axle out and give it a turn to get the socket of the cv axle to seat back into itself. You can't see the socket you can only do by feel. The socket is actually inside the flexible rubber boot of the axle. If you look online you can see what the insides of the axle looks like and that will give you and idea of what I am referring to.
hmm, have you tried jacking the control up to a height where the ball joint can bolt back into place?
Missed the part in the video where you pop the ball joint back in. How do go about popping it back in ? or does it pop back in once you get it on the ground then tighten the crown back up a little ?
just put the ball joint stem back into the control arm, press down on the knuckle to get the ball joint stem to fit snugly in the hole of the control arm and then tighten the ball joint nut. Easy as pie.
+piercedasian thanks, ill be doing this in the next few weeks and that was the only part i was fussy about
yep not a problem. That's what I'm here for :)
Good luck.
Can you help me diagnose my A/C issue on my 01 el?
Sure thing? What issues are you experiencing?
@@piercedasian I figured it out. I need a new MCU. I found one, just gotta slap it in
@@piercedasian Just finished putting in the new used one in, no difference. I have to find a new one, however it is discontinued. Any advice?
@@rickyboyz1006 What are the symptoms specifically? Is the compressor clutch not engaging? Have you replaced the ac compressor relay with a new one from Honda? Compressor relays fail relatively often on these cars and thus should be replaced.
@@piercedasian Oh we jumped the system and it works fine, blows nice and cold. Shoot me an e-mail and I will give you more details. reddeerrick@gmail.com
@15:56 did you use antisieze before installing the bolt?
1 More subscriber here.Thanks a lot!!!
+epidemia2016 Glad you liked my video! Thanks for watching and a double thanks for subscribing!
piercedasian Not a problem just don't forget about your subscribers ,like too many others when they get famous.
+epidemia2016 famous and forget about my subscribers? I doubt I will ever be famous but I do agree that staying in touch with your subscribers is one of the most important thing one must do. Without my fans I wouldn't have the motivation to make videos!
piercedasian All famous UA-camrs start from something maybe someday you will be too.
hopefully one day but I can't do without subscribers like yourself so thank you!
Hello so I’m replacing the control arm
I got to take the old one out but now I can’t get the new one in
where are you struggling with it? if it helps, you can make sure the spot that is hanging up is free from excess corrosion and you can also give the control arm a spray with some silicone spray to loosen things up a little.
how about getting that bushing out? the actual hard part of this whole thing...
Just buy the control arm assembly with the bushings already pressed in. Got mine price matched at Autozone for $45
I'd like to do this for my 2002 Civic which has bad bushings, but I'm a little confused about the ball joint process. You use a ball joint separator for the removal part but not for the reinstallation part - how come? It seems like that doesn't reverse the separation process. Thanks
There is no need of the tool to put it back as the weight of the car will set it back in place.
how did u take out the old torn rubber boot is it hard to take out and put back in
+Otto Estrada the old ones were rotted out so I bought new ones from Honda and then had them press them in.
Oh ok
Is there a way to remove a 5.0 allen wrench if it is broken off inside the bolt if I cant cut it?
+Devin Basham not really. You're going to unfotunately have to hacksaw that pesky endlink off. If the allen key is snapped off the inside you can try to drill a tiny hole in the middle of the allen key so you can screw in a tiny metal screw into the hole and then use a pair of pliers to pull on the screw head which should extract the broken allen key. I hate doing endlinks on cars. When they rust they're jammed in there real good which makes removal a PITA!
Ahh, thanks for the info. Great video.
you're welcome. I hope it works out for you. Rusted/seized end link nuts are a PITA to tackle. Drives me crazy almost everytime I try to unbolt them....
What should I do if the 5mm hex for the end link (lower half) is stripped out? Is there a better solution than just cutting it off?
+57turq ah yes the pesky hex headed end link... unfortunately you have to cut it off with a hacksaw. I hate it when that happens because it is such a pain in the butt to remove.
Good job but I think you forgotten to mention preload on ride height measure before then to that height.
Glad you liked the video. The funny thing is that I don't think I knew anyone at the Honda dealership ever bother preloading the control arm (no joke) so if a bunch of veteran mechanics that have done it for years at the shop don't do it then its pretty safe bet that by me not doing it that it's fine. Not saying its perfect but so far so good after all these years and the bushings show no signs of failing and the suspension behaves correctly.
This is a fantastic video for this job. It is basically the same process for a 2002 ep3 si hatch right?
yep the procedure is fundamentally the same.
@@piercedasian Was able to do them thanks to your video. Really appreciate it
Do you have to torque the flange bolts under car weight? If you did, how do you get a torque wrench with a wheel in the way?
Stan Hsu Hi Stan, I don't use a torque wrench. There is almost not room for you to get a torque wrench into those tight areas for the back pass through bolt without the car being on a hoist. Sadly I have to tighten by hand but I have enough experience tightening fasteners that I'm confident that my bolts are tightened sufficiently to be safe. As for "preloading" the control arm bushings you're correct in that the pass through bolt should be tightened only when the car's weight is bearing down on the control arm (like as if it is resting on level ground) but b/c I don't have a lift I'm not left with much of a choice but to re-install and tighten the control arm in the manner shown in my video. You could drive the car onto ramps to give you that extra height and then tighten the rear pass through bolt to get the proper pre-loading but to be quite honest I have yet to see any of my control arm bushings fail (I've done as many as 40 control arms) b/c of incorrect pre-loading and even when I take my car to the stealership for an alignment never have they ever pointed out to me that there was an incorrect install. Hope that helps.
piercedasian I don't know the safety of the following approach but a way to handle is to pre-load the kuckle using your jack until you barely lift the car and then tighten the nut but having to do this while lying under the car sounds way too dangerous! I would much rather have premature failure of that bushing than the premature demise of the person torquing that nut!
@ 12vgs8606 - I actually have done something similar to what you've suggested by mounting the wheel onto the knuckle and lowering the car onto a pile of very large wood blocks (effectively simulating the car sitting on the ground as it would be parked. Once the car's weight is bearing down on the control arm and in the normal "parking/driving" position I then have just enough room to squeak in underneath the car to tighten the control arm but to be honest with you I have yet to experience any ride issues or abnormal bushing wear as a result of NOT pre-loading the bushings. I suppose on bigger vehicles or cars with performance suspensions would benefit from pre-loading but to your point I'd rather play it safe and have things be "convenient" to fix than to be cumbersome such as my proposed method with blocks that yields negligible benefits.
piercedasian Thanks for the advice. I just had a friend ( part time mechanic) help by lifting the lower control arms slightly with a jack and a piece of wood. He wasn't to worried about torquing the bolts under load but since the Honda manual indicated it we did it anyway. I never did any car work before on my honda and I couldn't have done it without this video.
glad you got that all figured out. Yes, pre-loading is always ideal but it can be risky for the average DIYer hence why I don't show it in my vid. I've done pre-loading exactly as how you've described but even that can be dicey at best should something slip and fall....
Is there a way to take out the front lower ball joint with out taking out the knucle for 2002 honda civic ex?
you definitely could but it is much easier to do with with the knuckle off the car. You'd have to look for a ball joint pressing tool.
where did u get your breaker bar how many inches
+Otto Estrada sears. Get the longest one you can find.
I got 15 inches it's small
+Otto Estrada that's plenty long. Now go to home depot any buy a length of pipe (6 ft-8ft long) that will slip over the end of your breaker bar. That length of pipe is what will give you that needed leverage to break bolts loose.
Front bolt sometimes rusts inside bushings...needs to be torched off....
yes they can seize and it is hell to remove them when they do. I had one car where I had to use a hacksaw and saw away for nearly 1 hour straight to break that rusted control arm out.
What brand is your higher-quality stabilizer end link? A link would be appreciated. Why did you change the end link? Just because it's prone to develop rust? What's you opinion on those Energy Suspension bushings? And finally, what special tool did you use to press out the bushing? I'm gonna have to do this for the '09 Civic soon. Thanks.
If memory serves me correctly they're made by MOOG. Quite a bit beefier than the Honda one and they carry a lifetime warranty. Normally I would inclined to purchase genuine Honda ones but is b/c I make stops at the stealership regularly so out of convenience and assurance of excellent quality (usually) parts b/c they're factory. Aftermarket or Honda ones will all be prone to rust. I just had no choice but to use aftermarket ones b/c Honda was already closed when I needed them to finish the job. Energy Suspension bushing are squeaky b/c most of them are the polyurethane ones. If they're installed perfectly and lubed up and clean then they might not make noise but from my understanding poly bushings will ALWAYS make more noise than the softer rubber ones used in stock suspension configurations.
The tool I used to press the bushings out? I didn't do them. I took the control arms to Honda to have them press them out with their hydraulic press. It isn't worth it for me to invest in a huge hydraulic press to do these type of jobs when they only come up a couple of times a year.
piercedasian Thanks a bunch!
W Guan Those new swaybar endlinks are superior mainly because of that nice fat nut shaped piece on the joint/inner side of the fastening stud. ALWAYS get those if possible. I work on Hondas all the time and MOOG is my go-to brand for those types of parts.
Stay gold.
Thanks pal!
Hi I wanted to ask you do you have to preload the control arm before tightening the rear bolt ?
That is ideal but no, I do not pre-load it. Cars at the dealership that get repaired on the lift also do no pre-load the control arm bushings.
@@piercedasian thank you
Good video thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
can u name all the tools u used
+Otto Estrada Hmm, that could be a tough one but here goes.
You'll need the following sockets and wrenches
10mm
12mm
14mm
17mm
19mm
You'll also need:
Penetrating lubricant
Ball joint remover
Needle nose pliers
Hydraulic jack
Pair of jack stands
Metric allen head socket (I can't remember the size)
I believe that is all you need.
Thanks
I need to send u a picture of my car do u have Facebook thanks
sure thing. You can send pictures to piercedasian@gmail.com
Hi, got a problem of removing the ball joint castle nut ... Mechanic said "Need to cut knuckle" ... Any ideas?
get a good quality hacksaw OR what I have found works is get a demel tool with a wire wheel and get all the rust off the threads. No rust and dirt in the threads mean the nut threads won't jam.
Do you know how much a mechanic would charge for this job?
roughy $350 in my neck of the woods.
I was quoted $595 + tax (Vancouver BC)
I was quote 495$ excluding the ball joints at a les schwab in SLC, Utah.
What is the tool called that you used to seperate the ball joint?
Deborah Hemmerch that's an easy one: A "ball joint separator" :)
Hahaha I went to auto zone and called it that and they gave me a pitchfork which didn't work. I showed them your video and they didn't recognize the tool at all
The tool they likely tried to give you is a "pickle fork" I do not recommend using pickle forks on suspension parts that you intend to re-use. Why? b/c the pickle forks typical tear boots and seals pretty badly. You can likely order the tool I have from harbor freight and if you're up in Canada then you can order from Princess Auto :)
Great video and I was able to replace the passenger side lower arm but stuck in last step. unable to put the castle nut to the ball joint screw as the screw is now rolling. placed the tires and placed the car under weight, but still the screw rolls..did I do anything wrong or any idea how to put the last screw in ? !!
Bojraj Thumatti yes, all you have to do is place a wood block under the control arm and jack it up until the car begins to lift with the control arm. The ball joint is tapered and your problem is that it isn't far enough in the control arm such that the taper butts up inside the hole of the arm to prevent the spinning. The weight of the car needs to be on the control arm you're working on. Make sure you have plenty of safety supports in place should the car shift and fall. I know how frustration that can be but my suggestion should work IF you haven't mushroomed the head of the ball joint such that the castle nut won't go back on smoothly. Make sure the threads of the ball joint are very clean too as it helps the nut go on easier.
piercedasian Thanks very much for quick response.. Sure , will try that today. the car is jacked with stand on both sides and i cleaned the threads with bronze brush/WD40 and also getting new castle nut from dealer today as nobody else in the area/online sells the castle nuts separately. as you advised in the video, Ball joints/boots were looking good on both sides(passenger and driver). Also as most suggested to replace control arms both sides, i started working on the driver side but the castle nut way too rusted on the driver side and unable to remove it. it does not look like castle nut anymore..is it ok to cut it out with saw ? will try my best not to touch the threads of the ball joint :)
yeah rust is a pain If you can't get the nut off and you end up mangling the threads you won't have much choice but to replace the ball joint in the steering knuckle. Honda Canada no longer supplies a replacement ball joint for the 7th/2nd gen Civic/Acura EL so you'll have to buy aftermarket and then bang it in (watch my 1998-2002 Accord ball joint replacement video) to get a rough idea of how to replace it. A new ball joint of course will come with a new castle nut.
I'm not sure how well you can cut the nut off without ruining the threads. Given the time and effort you'll need to put into getting the nut off you seriously might be better off just buying a new ball joint. New ball joints DO have the advantage of being tight and they're generally very easy to install saving you tons of precious time. Your call I guess - time is money for me and when I'm really stuck then I just use alternate means to fix a car to get on with my day.
Good luck!
i followed your instructions precisely to jack up the car on the lower control arm and able to tighten the screw. Also able to remove the screw on the other side. I used shorter socket before which caused the nut to go bad but able to remove it with longer socket. Replaced both strut assembly and control arms now on both sides. It gave more room to replace lower control arm as I was replacing the strut. so removed strut, replaced arm, replaced strut(also end links)...I am 100% with you on TIME is MONEY. Now need to get alignment done. Thanks a ton for all your inputs.
AWESOME news! glad to know that you got your car back on the road. Isn't it so satisfying that did it all on your own? Think of the money saved! Good job :)
anda perlu melaraskan kandungan
I did buy the Energy bushings on sale, but I am likely going to sell those and get the Dorman replacement lower control arms instead. The 520-925 (bit.ly/1PNCrVa) and 520-926 (bit.ly/1kDO4Ts) are reasonably priced at Amazon (follow the links--they are usually ~$45 each, which is about what I paid for the Energy bushing set). They are not Honda quality, but given the age of this Civic, they will be good enough. If those Energy bushings are going to be noisy, then I will happily pay extra for the complete arms.
I have seen a video here on UA-cam that showed how to press the bushings in and out of a control arm using a makeshift press with hole saws, large washers, a couple of nuts and a long threaded rod. Something like this: ua-cam.com/video/qhrY7clDIGE/v-deo.html
My last Dorman lasted 9000 miles or a year before I had to change them again...
That is not good, considering the originals on this Civic lasted 200,000+ miles and 11+ years.
To be fair my struts were worn when I installed the LCAs so it may have stressed them out more than usual. I'm going to install new one soon (Dorman) as I just changed my struts. We'll see how they handle with time.
Thanks for your helpful comment. I am in the same boat as you, didn't buy dorman(chinese) because of their quality/reviews and all. Bought Moog LCA's, but they are chinese and have bad reviews too. Should I be better off buying just bushing or should install Moog LCA's?
It is much easier/cheaper/timeless consumming to change the LCA completely than just the bushings. I tried this route too but had to give up and had them press removed/installed for $80 (the 4 bushings). I would go with the Moog LCAs but consider Dorman as well as they provide a lifetime warranty! They exchanged my LCAs through Amazon for free with free return shipping after a year, no questions asked. Check if Moog as the same type of warranty as bushings do go bad. My car is 2001 Civic and I'm hopping keeping it another 5-10 years.... hence my choice ;o)
those ball joints were not good. he just didn't wiggle it work effort
They were fine. They're still on this car today and just recently I took a pry bar to them to check for play and only now after the car has rolled over 300, 000kms that they now have legit play in them that I've since replaced them. The factory honda ball joints are very good quality and last a very long time.
Hello you never answer my question.
Sorry what question was that? I haven't had much time to answer everyone's question lately.
Da boot is capoot lol
so touching for an excellent video
Glad you enjoyed it
This video is super informative and easy to follow, love it.
Thanks!
+oldschoo13 glad you liked my video! Thanks for watching :)
THIS vid is great....
the tech here does the job frm experience u can tell & his way is bulletproof.
When u do this follow what he says and get / use the tools he has its the best way.
I tried to get a little cute and put my spin on the job which cost me an hour or so makin it right
Great video! This is better help than my Haynes Repair Manual.
I certainly hope so. I don't like Haynes manuals. They're too general and don't have specific images for your car.
Thank you for this video sir!!!
+P A you're very welcome! Thanks for watching :)
6 Years later and this video helped me out so much, thanks man 👍.
Glad it helped!
this may seem like a dumb question but do you have to jack up your vehicle any differently to remove the control arm??
+Quinn Giles nope not at all. The only thing you may want to consider is installing the rear control arm bolt snug but not tight, attach the wheels back on and then lower the car down to "pre-load" the bushing on the rear of the control arm and then tighten it down to spec. I've never bothered b/c once you lower the car how the heck to you get under it to tighten things up? I don't own ramps and putting the car on blocks is dangerous IF done incorrectly. Too risky for minimal gains but for some they will want to do what I just suggested.
+piercedasian thanks great video BTW!
glad you liked it. Thanks for watching.
I watched the video just to see how he put the compliance bushing in and he didn't show that
I didn't show it b/c I did say in the video that I had to take it to a shop to have the replacement pressed in. I unfortunately don't have a press in my garage to install those bushings.
@@piercedasian I have a press I'm trying to come up with a cup, big washer something to press out the old press in the new since my compliance bushings are separated also
Strange I thought I replied to your comment John. When I worked at Honda, one of the techs would press the old bushing out with the new bushing and then they use the bushing that was just pressed out to help seat the remainder of the new bushing. Its quite interesting how they do it but they didn't have any fancy tools aside from the old parts. I wish I could do a video on it but the Mrs. doesn't want a huge press in our garage lol. Have you considered just buying some replacement control arms that have al new bushings in them? They're pretty cost effective these days to just swap the entire part out and will save you the hassle of figuring out how to get the old and new one in.
@@piercedasian thank you, ill come up with something, maybe ill swedge a piece off exhaust tubing to the perfect size, not sure how they are using the new one, cant push the center you could ruin the new bushing, dont want to use aftermarket control arm, paid only 10 for two new moog bushings and my car is rust free, thanks again
I think this is a great video, but may I ask what tools are needed? Should I just buy a ratchet set and about how long does the entire process take without having done it before?
+jerkface38 you just need a ball joint separator, good quality hacksaw (b/c the end links will likely be seized due to rust and will need to be cut of with a saw), good quality wrenches and ratchet set + a good set of hex key sockets (needed to undo and install end links).
+piercedasian time wise you'll probably spend 2 hours / side and that is because the old end links are a pain to remove when seized which they often are.
Okay so I looked at everything and it looks like I need to replace everything attached to the arm. Do I need to remove the brake calipers to press in a new ball joint or can I get around that?
if you need to press in new ball joints it honestly is easier to remove the entire knuckle which includes the steering tie rod end, the axle and the brake caliper. Refer to my Honda accord ball joint replacement video to give you a very rough idea on how I did it. I'll apologize for the honda accord video as I had no camera person and I had a tool malfunction which required me to install the ball joint with a hammer (which worked very well!).
Ok thank you, I did take a look but it looks like the rear bushing bolt (I think is what it's called) on mine started pretty easily and then got to a point where I twist and it stays in place. I'm probably going to saw it off if I can unless I can find a better way or if you have any more advice. Thanks for the videos btw they are some of the most clear explanations I've found so far.