can anyone tell if my front balljoints are shot? i have attached photos. it makes a clunking noise when i go over bumps or ripples in the road. there is no up and down play in the wheel when you jack up the car. trying to take a shortcut if i can. thanks

 

forgot to mention it's a 99 Accord LX 4 cyl.

 

Very hard to tell from the picture if the ball joints are worn. When they get lose you get a travel when pushing the disk up and down. I do anyway.

I have a 99 accord 4 cylinder, 4 door LX and I have my lower ball joint to change on passenger side. Could anyone tell me what is the size of the big nut a the end of the drive shaft. It's bigger then 32mm because it's my biggest box and it do not fit.

Help anyone, I have to do the repair rush.


Thanks

450Maxwell

 

Might be sway bar end links, not ball joints making the clunk.

36mm for axle nut.

 

good thanks a lot snake, I will try to find one at reasonable price.

How much should it cost you think, just one 36 mm box???

 

Seems like I payed about $12 at Auto Zone for my 36mm socket. You might be able to borrow or rent one from an auto parts store though. They usually lend them to you with deposit if you bought parts from them.

 

here are the sway bar links. any ideas if these are done?

 

balljoints are good. i just replaced mine and mine look exact same. usally if they are shot you will see a crack around it on the seal. or mabe the bolt is just lose... try tightening it to make sure everything is good. deff check swaybar... mabe tierods etc are just shot mabe... any play in the wheelS?

 

What about upper control arm ball joint? The one that attache to strut. One of my sister's 01 Accord is shot and it's making clunking noise. I am pretty sure that's the culprit

 

that may be it too, although it's my last resort. they are sold as one unit w/the control arm, around $200 each. trying to eliminate little things first

 

just did the sway bar end links and the upper control arm/balljoints. total $230, minor improvement in the clunkng. i think the front end is just so worn and loose that there a few parts that need replacement at this point

 

only way to tell if the b-joints are shot is to jack up the car and grab the tire from the bottom and up and move it in a vertical motion and feel for play in the ball joint if you cannot understand that take it to a shop and they will cehck it for u. BTW does the wheel whooble very bad when you break on the highway?

 

Mine does! Able to pinpoint the culprit?

 

The number one culprit for clunking on your car is the Sway bar endlinks. Change those along with the sway bar bushings. If you ahven't changed them then they need it any way. Even paying top dollar labor should not cost more than 200. At home 80-85 dollars. Some of the best money spent on a 98-02 accord.

 

I read in a post on hondatech that:

If you go over the bumps straight and it clunks, check suspension components.

If you go over at an angle, turning into driveway, etc., check steering components.

I just fixed a clunk that I've had for 3 years - after help from these threads and some self diagnosis; it was the driver side inner tie-rod end (rack end).

 

sway bar bushing are next! i'm not stopping till i find it

 

You can't tell if a ball joint is bad just by loking at it. You have to check it for freeplay with your hands or a pry bar, preferably while the car is in the air. If there is any play, replace the joint. If it's tight, it's fine. The front of the car has six ball joints (one in each upper control arm, one at the bottom of each steering knuckle, and one in each tie rod end), and all of them commonly go bad - the uppers moreso than the lowers and tie rod ends, but any broken ball joint is extremely dangerous so check them all.

The most common cause of clunking noises over bumps on '98+ Accords are sway bar end links and bushings. Each sway bar has two small plastic-lined ball joints, and they wear out frequently. The sway bar bushings commonly deform or ovalize. There are two end links and two bushings on each sway bar - check them all.

 

targa knows what going on. you cant visually see a bad ball joint. just jack the car from the lower control arm. take a pry bar and pry up from the bottom. if you can see up and down movement from the lower. i recommend replacement. then push in and out on the top of the tire. wather the upper for any movement. any side to side play is tie rods. also check that the coil spring isnt broken.

 

judging by that, the tie rods and the ball joints are fine. already replaced the sway bar ends links and they made little to no change. will try the sway bar bushings next weekend, hopefully it won't be too bad of a job.

 

also going to get a needle and try to add some grease to the lower ball joints. saw on diy and they looked like they should be packed thoroughly with grease. it would be easier if there were grease fittings.

 

If you do that you will compromise the integrity of the seal. They are sealed balljoints (non greaseable) for a reason. Adding grease via a needle greaser is asking for trouble. If they are worn they will get worse even with added grease because you have dirt and water in there in no time.

 

Don't add grease fittings to the ball joints. You're going to make them fail sooner rather than prolonging their lifespan.

If they have absolutely no play and you still want to re-grease them (not really worthwhile vs. just buying new ones IMHO), here's how I would do it: Remove the ball joint from the knuckle. Buy new boots and fresh grease. Remove the old boot, clean out the old grease thoroughly (has to be very clean and free of any dirt/grit contamination), then re-pack with fresh grease and install the new boot. Hammer ball joint back into knuckle and you're set.

If they have any play whatsoever, it's pointless to do that. Just buy a new ball joint; new OEM lowers are cheap.

 

good point. i had no intention of removing the lower balljoint myself, i do not have a press or removal tool. i have to just keep stabbing at this till i get it. i don't mind spending the cash if i get to the solution, i plan to keep the car a few years.

 

Don't need a press to remove lower ball joints; I just use a hammer. Of course, I never have to re-use them either . . .

 

Was the ball joint recently replaced? If so, was it difficult getting the ball joint nut tightened to proper torque?

I think it might be the ball joint didn't get fully pressed into the steering knuckle, then the tapered rod that goes through the hole in the lower control arm doesn't get fully seated and is causing a clunk.

I just did the lower ball joint on my 05 accord and I think that's exactly what I did so I'm digging back in tomorrow to try to press it further with the ball joint press.

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW YOU CAN TELL IF A LOWER BALL JOINT IS FULLY PRESSED INTO THE STEERING KNUCKLE??