unique03

Vehicle 1995 Honda Accord LX Sedan 4 cyl 5 speed 344,000 miles

Just like to say long time reader; first time posting. This site has helped me through numerous problems and swaps. My accord was given an estimate of $3,000 to fix the front end suspension. My Honda dealer told me I needed a motor mount, radius rod bushings, inner tie rod, upper and lower front ball joints, and a new rack and pinion. Since, I only paid 2k for the car, and already 3k in regular maintenance over the course of a couple years, I don't want to spend more money than I have to. My question is what can I replace out of the items I listed that will make the car respectable in handling again? Can I get by with just replacing the radius rod bushings, inner tie rod and ball joints? My car makes an awful squeaking noise just turning the steering wheel and going over bumps (radius rod bushings) and pulls to the right when I brake and pulls to the left when I accelerate fast. It does not considerably leak power steering fluid; I only put an ounce or so in it every six months. I just want the car in decent enough shape to not wear out tires quickly and not pull to the left and right. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

shawn_crx

You have to do all, if you low on cash, then you could find parts off craigslist/Junk yards.
Most of the charges are labor price, price of new or use shouldn't cost more than $600
alignment = priceless

TEGGSRB18C1

First off, dear lord man......2005 and this is your second post? Hardcore lurker, lol. It sounds from this list that the dealership has no idea whats wrong with your car and they want to just start throwing parts at it to see which one fixes the problems.......which is sad, they can't even diag their own product.

The pulling when braking may be a piston in the caliper sticking and the pull under acceleration may be torque steer.

As far as the ball joints and tie rod end, these can easily be felt by raising the front end, grabbing both sides of the tire and shaking it back and forth for the tie rods, put a bar under the tire and use it like a see saw to see if the ball joints move at all.

Not to mention that if they replaced the rack, there would be no need to replace the inner tie rod end because they come with new ones installed........

Chiovnidca

344,000 miles is a lot of wear and tear on the suspension. LOL

A broken motor mount can stress the other mounts causing them to break also. (among other components)

The radius rod bushings i can see causing your pulling problems, definitely a safety issue.

What's the issue with the tie rods and ball joints? Are they just noisy? Or are they loose? Noise can be lived with, if they're loose it's a safety issue.

And what's the issue with the rack? A small leak i could live with. A large leak should be repaired. Or is there a mechanical problem with the rack?

rhdins

You can do all of that yourself, none of it is too expensive. The rack and pinion will be the most expensive thing, and the most work. You could replace everything else and just not worry about the rack and pinion, it might just be a little harder to steer, which might not be a big deal.

I re did all the suspension on mine about 3 years ago, I got all the parts off ebay, like $150 for upper arms, lower ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings, then another couple hundred more for struts. It's been working great since then.

I just did the radius rod bushings earlier this year, I want to say they were about $40 for both sides, it was an easy fix too. Just get some silicone lube and grease up all your bushings real good. I think Napa was the cheapest place to get silicone lube.

unique03

Thanks for the advice everyone. The mechanic told me I didn't even have any radius rod bushings anymore, so I'm not sure if they are actually not there anymore, or if they are just worn dramatically. I did some research, seems a simple enough fix with only $40.00 in parts. I'll have to try jacking it up and testing the ball joints this weekend. Since the rack doesn't leak very much at all, I think it would be ok just replacing everything else judging by some of the comments. And the inner tie rod end should help my pulling to the right issue. I had an alignment done and it still pulls to the right.... Yes, I've been a long time lurker haha; member since 05.

sugashane702

so I've recently taken my 2003 Honda Odyssey to the shop for an alignment after the alignment the mechanic informed me that the rack and pinion bushings was bad and needed to be replaced ASAP.when he called back with an estimate of $700 to replace the whole rack and pinion I drove the car home I looked at it I'm in my garage and seen that the bushing itself was replaceable only about 30 dollars through Honda the dealer which is the only option to buy that specific part I tried checkers auto parts Meyer auto parts local junk yards and autozone.I will post videos to follow as I complete the project