accord96lx

Ive been long overdue getting my Honda maintained on the suspension. Ive kept up with timing belts, transmission, brakes and engine servicing but never touched the rest. Mostly cause I dont really know how to test and check it over and see what needs replacing. For years the front end makes a bunch of squeaky racket when its driven around, particularly when its raining or has just rained. From what I am seeing online when I search for the squeaky issues it comes down to replacing the lower ball joints. I have never done work like this but after watching a good many videos its seems doable.

But before I go and just replace the lower ball joints I see that some folks are replacing the upper control arms and struts as well at the same time while they have it opened up. Is there a good step by step on how to inspect the suspension any can share? And also any recommended replacement parts to order if needed?

1996accordlx

Lower ball joints are definitely one thing to replace. If those fail while driving, its bad news. Also, the upper control arm would be good to replace, with that its most cost effective to replace the whole arm, and just just the individual bushings. Also up front, check the tie rods and radius rods, lower control arm bushings, and the top rubber spring isolator between the spring and the top hat (if this goes, it will squeak BAD). Rear is pretty similar, but doesn't wear as quickly it seems. Rear lower control and toe arms should be OK....they really never wear bad. Check the ball joint on the upper control arm and replace if bad. The rear spring and shock setup has both a top and bottom rubber isolator, that you'll want to check. You'll also want to check the sway bar bushings....both front and rear. They both have the inner "D" bushings, and the endlink bushings. The front endlinks are very susceptible to breaking.

Also may want to check your wheel bearings for play and replace those if needed.

For shocks, it depends what you want. if you are just staying stock, I'd recommend something like KYB Excel-G shocks. They are OEM replacements. Your stock springs should be fine unless they have noticeable wear or sagging.

MAD_MIKE

I've often found this to be from the sway bar bushings. If your endlink hardware is still fine I would recommend using the Prothane 8-403(or 402 if you like red) to replace the factory bits(its cheaper), keep the washers turned out(that's factory) and replace the sway bar bushings as well(your preferred flavor of rubber/urethane). Make sure to measure your front bar, there are a few different sizes and if not the original owner it may have been changed in the past.
Rear bar replace bushings with whatever you prefer(rubber or urethane) and unless the drop links are damaged, just replace the bushings with Honda rubber bits. They are cheaper to buy all eight than to buy than single link. If you go to your local dealer, and the price is stupid, make sure to ask for RETAIL and not MATRIX pricing.

Shocks are a preference.
Avoid Tennecos(monroe/gabriel/rancho) if you can, they are valved for clouds.
Bilsteins are the best, but can be costly and hard to find in stock.
Koni Yellows for adjustability.
Koni SRT for sportier ride
KYBs(GR-2/Excels) for a firmer than factory ride
Sachs for factory.
FCS is cheap Chinese. You can't beat the price. Haven't durability tested them but they rode(surprisingly) better than Tennecos(monroes). Great if you are doing a quick flip on a 'Yota. Wouldn't do it to a Hon-Duh.

FalkenSiR

In your case I would go with KYB's on the stock springs. They would only be slightly firmer than stock which is nice to feel at that mileage. It will "breathe" life into the car. Order the shock bushings too those tend to squeak on these cars.

As far as the suspension arms go, at your mileage, it may be cheaper to buy whole replacement arms. Try not to buy chinese stuff and it's not necessary to buy performance bushings for a car that doesn't see sporty driving (urethane, prothane, etc). Keep it OEM and enjoy the car for its longevity. The Centric brand has been good to me through the years across many cars when it comes to replacement stuff.

sikpupy

Not to be rude, but, if I were you, I would read to to check AND replace everything in the front end. Go over it a few times to make sure your comfortable. Once you feel comfortable, check it all out. That includes checking upper and lower ball joints, sway bar bushings and tie rods just to name a few things. If they all check good, then your fine. Ball joints dont just drop out all of a sudden if after being checked, and checks out okay. If your just itching to refresh, then, tie rods, lower ball joints and sway bushings. You can get jiggy and do the torsion bar bushings while your at it because I would highly recommend an alignment after you tinker with the tie rod replacement. As for struts, how much you want to spend?

accord96lx

Thanks fellas for chiming in, Im going to take a stab at checking things out today now that the rain has finally stopped. I have never done this and will be learning as I go on how to inspect and what to look for. I did see this video on youtube as a guide. Anything missing from this video as a check, particularly on a 96 accord? Once I have done a check Ill post back what I see and then check out in greater detail the info you all have given me.

accord96lx

The first thing I did was passenger side check. I had a standing jack in place raised just high enough for the tire to be off ground.
Then I tugged right to left and top to bottom as I saw in the video and it was pretty tight, nothing felt loose.
I to a pry bar and tested the lower ball joint and didnt see any movement. The boot looked to be ok as well.
But the upper boot looks dry rotted and cracked.

accord96lx

I also checked the sway bar bushings. The ones that mount near the center frame of the car looked ok. But I saw a stacked set of bushings that were close to the tire that looked really rough. Mad Mike, are these the endlinks you mentioned replacing with Prothane?

accord96lx

The driver side looks like this

accord96lx

Driver side lower ball joint when tested wasnt loose but the boot is cracked up, and so is the upper.

accord96lx

Also, I assume there is a bushing in this connection from where the forked portion meets the lower control arm? I would guess a good bit of creaking can happen here.

accord96lx

The there was this! A boot that just separated and got mangled. Can these boots be replaced? Or is it the whole assembly? The other side didnt look right either.

accord96lx

Ive spent a little time sorting out what I think needs replacing. Most though without experience with this stuff is just guesswork, but also considering that these parts have over 300k on them and that its a daily driver that Id like to extend its life as long as possible then budgeting $500 to buy and replace what makes sense is the way Im thinking to go. I definitely am not doing anything more than trying to improve the ride back to factory as much as can be expected.

I checked with my local honda dealer on prices for these OEM parts and include them here.
Ive shopped RockAuto and 1A Auto online but please let me know where you guys like getting parts. and which brands to avoid, Beck Arnley?

Sway Bar front
So far Ive already bought the Prothane 8-403 Black front style bushing kit and plan to use the 3m Silicone paste I have, unless thats a no no.

Shocks
Im planning to go the recommended route and buy the KYB-Excel G's all round which on Rockauto is $174 shipped
The upper coil isolator I wondered if rubber vs poly? I saw a set of poly by Energy Suspension on rockauto for $11.
I thought Id be taking the assemblies to a shop to have the shocks installed and recompressing the springs since it looks pretty dangerous but dang, the labor estimates from 2 shops are over $300.
I saw this tool and thought about taking a risk

I called the dealer and 1 rear shock is $180 and 1 front shock is $170
The rubber upper coil spring isolator has 2 different makes depending on vin # . One is $11 and the other is $43

Tie Rods
Since the boots look like they do, and the mileage Im just going to replace the inner, outer and boots.
The dealer prices were $119 for an inner, $84 for an outer, and the dust shield accordion looking boot is $20
I saw this set for and Im pretty sure for $50 you get what you pay for.
https://www.1aauto.com/tie-rod/i/1as...saAm_KEALw_wcB

Any better options that you guys like that wont blow the budget?

Control Arm lower
Dealer price for ball joint $60, Entire assembly is $348
Any brands you guys recommend for the ball joint?
Or the whole assembly from Moog or Ac Delco for $30ish.

Control Arm upper
Dealer could not get just the ball joint or bushings, said the assembly is $270
Is Moog and AC Delco a good choice? Seen the entire assemblies for $30ish.

wuzagi

Thanks for posting all of these photos, I have an accord of the same year but an EX that has 200k miles and it's been riding rough. My suspension probably needs a refresh (along with other things..) and I will be following this thread!

accord96lx

This has been a PITA! Wow I have been at this over a series of days, mainly to get the axle nut loose on the passenger side. I started there. I didnt factor on the 36 mm socket I would need. There was a loaner set at advance auto I got. I bent back the dimple that holds it in place with a screwdriver, I heated up the nut with a propane torch and also pb blasted it. The craftsmen breaker bar broke as I took a 4 ft pipe sleeved over it for more leverage. I bought a new breaker bar and no luck. So I switched to the driver side, it was more cooperative. I got through all of the dismantling to get the lower control arm out and saw this. A torn cv axle boot. Now I dont knbow if I can fix this after watching a few vids online, the ones Ive seen have the axle removed and in a vise. Is it possible to fix while its on? Or is it too difficult?

accord96lx

schreps

Harbor freight has a heavy duty 1/2 breaker bar 62729. I put a 6 feet pipe on it and gently apply force. I dont stand on it. Heat helps but dont ruin the bearing with too much. You can also have a close by shop put an air impact wrench on it.

accord96lx

Ive been at it off and on all week and as of tonight I have the front end parts I ordered earlier last week all installed on the front left and right.
On each side I replaced the following on the front:

Rock Auto: $223 total for both sides
Lower ball joint- (Beck Arnley)
Upper control arm (Beck Arnley)
Inner tie rod (Beck Arnley)
Outer tie rod (Beck Arnley)

Walmart: $180 total for both sides
Strut assembly (KYB Strut Plus)

Advance: $69 total
2 Rear Ball Joints
Moog Part # K90336

Advance: $59 total
Left side CV Axle

NAPA: $77 total
Right side CV Axle

Amazon: $14 total for a pack of 8 Prothane bushings with 3 packs of Prothane Super Grease
Front bushing Prothane 8-403 BL

I'll update more tomorrow on how it went with pics.

accord96lx

Well after opening up the driver side and finding the shot axle I posted a thread to get some advice on how to proceed.
Here is a link to that
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...-help-3331020/

The question was mainly about whether I should have replaced the boot or axle, the wisdom was to just replace the axle.
Then the question is which manufacturer to buy?
Hondaslave1342 shared a link to a good article about quality axle replacements, here that is
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...ration-3227179

I went a direction I may well regret and went with the carquest new replacement, not a reman.
I looked back through my receipts on work done on my car and saw that in 2006 over 100k ago I paid a shop to replace both sides and they had used the same supplier I know cause I asked.
So maybe ill see 100k on this axle, i dont know. I went with a Napa replacement on the passenger side and paid a bit more, mainly out of urgency to find a part. We'll see how both hold up.

Since I was replacing so much I honestly didnt know what the order should be, but here is what I did.
If anyone has better tips for others doing this please add comments.

I pulled the old axle out, I checked out the following video on how to



I had a problem getting the axle to push in, I had the ring at the end aligned properly so that the gap was at the top as I have seen and heard that it should be done, but man I just couldnt get it to push in. So I noticed that the ring wasnt as snug as the other axle was..it was pretty loose. So I removed it and pressed it tighter and popped it back into the end, aligned the ring to have the gap at the top and a few tries got it to accept. Then a rubber mallet to tap it in was needed to get it seated to the seal.

Once that was done I moved onto the strut removal. I removed the nut on the bolt at the base of the fork holding the strut in place.



then removed the nuts at the top of the strut


and out it came



Then I thought removing the upper control arm made sense



Pretty simple, I noticed though that the replacement arm wasnt tightened up on the hinge posts, so I torqued them down first to position so they didnt wobble around and be tougher to access later.



Then I thought to replace the inner and outer tie rods.
Here are a couple of videos I watched on that

But what none of them covered was the lock washer on the inner tie rod. More on that in a minute.
The outer tie rod was pretty simple. Loosed it up and counted the rotations off the inner tie rod for reinstall of the new part.
Then came the inner tie rod, and after searching the local auto part stores for a tie rod removal tool for a 96 accord turned out to be a bust so I started a thread and got some help from Mad Mike
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...l-buy-3331060/

I had to first pound back the lock washer with a screwdriver at a few different angles




and then do this

hondaslave1342

Excellent..keep us informed..good profound read...thanks for your informative post..

accord96lx

Thanks man, I'm trying to recap before I totally forget this stuff. This way it helps me later to retrace if I slipped up somewhere also.

After getting the inner tie rod off I put the parts on as the diagram shows here with the lock washer lining up with the slots



After the install it was time to re bend the lock washer, so I first took a small flathead screwdiver and tapped the edge of the lock washer to get a lip up and then took a small pry bar like so..it had a good angled edge to help get access.



then tapped away




I used some wheel bearing grease (probably not what I should be using) on the tie rod joint and rod that connects to the rack


Once the inner tie rod was in I installed the boot but didnt photograph it. I will say that installing the boot clamp band was tricky.
I didnt have the proper tool so I did the best I could with channel locks, snips and a punch to tap the band to secure it. I have since ordered the tool and will probably be going back and redoing it. The other clamp I zip tied, the smaller one. The wire loop looking band that was supplied I just couldnt figure out.
This one...




Then I moved onto the lower ball joint. I had seen some videos where some guys had did alot more dismantling first..I tried to remove the 4 bolts that hold it together but it didnt come apart.
I ended up tightening them back down and but this is what I did and placed it on the floor with cardboard down to protect the parts, and used some pb blaster to loosen the ball joint.
I then banged around the edge of the housing where the ball joint is seated to loosen it up. I used a small sledge, not the rubber mallet in the pic.




With a whack it popped right out. Then I took a wire wheel and scrubbed away a bunch of crud to clean the opening.





At this point I wondered if the ball joint was already greased up in the boot. I called Beck Arnley and they confirmed that it was so I didnt tear it up and pack it with grease,
I just used some silicone paste on the sides and the inner ring it was needed to get inserted into and got the ball joint press I rented and packed it in and put the ring on it.
Id like to know if others buy the kind that you can add grease to, instead of this type.

accord96lx

Next was the sway bar bushings, I only did the end connections not the center one yet...but it may be coming.

Here is the stack before



I followed the instructions in the thread here
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...ccord-2933695/

and the video here

I used the prothane super grease and dang that stuff is tacky. Be careful not to drop the parts with that stuff on it cause man it gets dirt and crud all stuck in there.
I smeared it onto the bolt and metal contact points as well as the bushings, hoping it would help prevent the squeaks and creaks later on.

accord96lx

Then I took the strut assembly and fed it through the top 3 holes and installed it into the fork and then put the bolt in that holds the control arm and fork, then added the 3 nuts up top and tightened.
Next was installing the lower control arm and disc brake assembly. I first connected the lower control to the upper control arm and let the weight of it hang there..vs connecting the lower ball joint first.



Then I fed the axle through and dropped the ball joint in place.
I used the floor jack to give it lift to help it pop in





then i tightened up the nut. In fact all of the tightening I did to the torque specs I saw here as I went.
I havent seen an exact 96 reference sheet yet that is exact but I referenced between these

accord96lx

Then I installed the calliper and placed the axle nut on fairly tight. I didnt tighten it up too much yet, I think that until I got it with a tire on and the weight of the car on it it shouldnt be overly tightened. Ill be taking it in to get an alignment once all this is done and ask the mechanic there to tighten and chisel the dimple to keep it from spinning off. One day soon I'll be buying an impact gun and the next go round wont be as tough I hope.

accord96lx

Next up is to get the other side done, all the same steps except the fuse box was in the way of getting easy access to the strut assembly on that side.

It begins with cotter pin removal and then loosening the nut but not removing it.




Then removing brake line brackets and bolts



Then jacking up the arm enough to allow for the drop needed to pop out the ball joint. I placed a socket in the spot shown



then rapidly dropped the jack and heard a "pop" that loosened the joint. I still had to whack it I think after to get it to drop




Loosened the caliper



Loosened the tie rod, didnt remove the nut entirely and hit the metal knuckle and it popped loose




Loosened the upper control ball joint,



whacked it and it came loose, then I removed it from the lower control arm and pulled the axle out.





Then I removed the bolt that holds the strut assembly in at the base of the fork.




then loosened the 3 bolts at the top of the strut assembly




I also loosened the bolt that holds the assembly in the fork and pulled the strut free