accord96lx

My 96 Accord has started to make a deep creaking sound that I think might be a worn out shock or something. It makes noise when I drive from road vibrations and especially when I make turns. I can feel the creak as a vibration in the steering column, especially if when driving I barely rock the steering wheel left to right to induce the sound.

I checked the power steering fluid and it is a bit low, right at the low end marker on the container. Anyone have something like this happen?

Bad_dude

What you need to do when suspecting a component is to get under the car and look. Then test the suspension system. Asking us like you are now would only let us guess at your problem. Get under the car and check for the rack leaking, ball joints, sway bar bushings, etc...

dpetro1

i agree with bad dude but my bet is lower ball joints

accord96lx

Took it to a local Goodyear and was told upper and lower ball joints are worn and need replacing.

The estimate

Upper ball joints = $235 each
Lower ball joints = $269 each
Alignment = $75

djkurious

Is that for parts and labor?

accord96lx

Well it was parts and labor, my wife had dropped off the car and they called me with that price.

I went to pick it up and the manager talked with me and felt he could do better.
He quoted me $402 for each side (upper and lower) and $59 for the alignment.
He also said the left side was the worst and could be done on its own for now.
But recommended doing both.

Does this sound fair for someone like me who has limited auto skills and equipment? Or is doing this with a floor jack in the driveway by me, who has never worked on a suspension system before realistic?

The Accord has 270k on it.

Fitz Williams

iTrader: (1)

That's a lot. You might want to check around if you don't need the car fixed right now.

accord96lx

I checked around and found that the price is average, but also saw youtube vids that show how to replace the upper control arm on a 5th gen.

Are the 6th gens a pretty similar procedure?

I bought 2 Moog upper control arms from Advance and they should arrive in a few days and I was going to try and replace those at least and save over $200.

The lower replacements I was quoted at $373 complete labor/parts and think I'll let them deal with the lower ones.

Fitz Williams

iTrader: (1)

Replacing the lower ball joints is mostly labor. The ball joints themselves are cheap. But you have to remove the knuckle which means removing the brakes, hubs, and the axle from the hub and re-torquing it. If you have the proper tools it's no big deal. If you don't, and you are not comfortable doing the work yourself, then take it to the shop.

Bad_dude

ok. I know you called around for quotes, but did you take the car to a 2nd place for a different opinion? If you do it your self, then that parts would be around $300 tops. The quote that you got is super high. But most shops would charge that probably due cost of having a shop. Check the boots and if they are all not torn then test the car yourself. The upper joints are easy to test. Just grab the upper arms by the joints and pull and push to see if any movement there. No movement means joints are good.
For lower ball joints, jack up each front tire at a time. Make sure the wheel is slightly off the ground. Put a pry bar under the jacked up tire, pull up and have some one look at the lower ball joint for movements, no movement means good joint. If you turn the wheel out it's easier to see the movement.