lancerkid06

ok my car has been wanting to slide around alot on curves so i took it to a suspension shop and they found out the bushings in my front lower control arms are bad .. they said i have to replace the whole control arm and ball joint which is like 200+ in parts ... so i called around and found out i could just get the bushings for cheaper but that shop said not to do that ...

so i was wondering if he was just trying to make some money off of me or is that a bad thign to do cause he said it will mess my balljoints and stuff up if i take everything off to replace bushings ..

also i called some people about the control arms and they said civic with a 1.5l front lower control arms are diff from civics with a 1.6l motor ... is that true or will they fit on each other .. cause nobody around here has them for a 93 civic ex 1.6l vtec ... they just have normal civic 1.5l and they said i couldnt use them .. so i just need to know this as soon as i can so i can fix the problem .. car is being parked till fixed ... thanks

lovelove

probably just the bushing unless the front lower control arms are damaged.

lancerkid06

well do you know if there is a diff. in the front lower control arms on a 1.5l civic and a 1.6l vtec civic ... cause if not then i can get the control arms w/ bushings for $60 .... but yeah its just the bushings that are bad control arms are fine but that mechanic said he would just replace them .. so i think he wanted to just make some money off me .. cause some other shops said it was fine to just do the bushings .. but i just wanted to ask on here first

Dren

The bushings are the same on both 1.5l and 1.6L control arms. The difference is that 1.5L control arms have no provision for front sway bar endlinks. If you have a 1.5L you can run either control arm and you'll be fine.

If your control arms are good (99.9% chance they are, it's not like they go bad) I would replace the bushings and ball joints and call it a day. If this is something you can't do yourself find a more honest shop to do the work for you.

Gunmetal_B20_Hatch

iTrader: (9)

I just replaced the bushing in my front LCA's in 30 mins. The inner one was completely worn out & causing alot of slop in the wheel.

I have full access to a shop+press+etc...

lancerkid06

i have a 1.6l vtec .. so i wouldnt be able to use the 1.5l lower control arms?
i looked up the parts at advance auto and they have the same parts number ..

Dren

The 1.5L LCAs will fit but you will lose the mounting for the front sway bar endlink. That's assuming Advance distinguishes between the two LCAs. Since they have the same part number I'm guessing they don't and you won't know what you'll get until you see them.

lancerkid06

will that effect the way it drives... or do i not need the swaybar endlink

lovelove

just replace the bushings. there you go, don't ask for more questions. problem solved.

lancerkid06

trying to go the cheapest way .. i can get both front lower control arms for the 1.5L for $60 .. and thats how much the bushings are gonna cost pluse $80 to put them in so that $140 for that ..

Gunmetal_B20_Hatch

iTrader: (9)

bushing = $4

remove the arm yourself and take it to a machine shop & have them press in the bushing for 20-30 dollars.

/thread

Jackal6042

You can't use a 1.5 lower arm. Yes it will attach to the car but you will lose the front sway bar. Don't even consider buying used lower arms, the bushings on those will be worn as well. Simply replace the bushings, numbers 7 and 12 in the image above. The Honda part numbers are:

For #7: 51392-SR3-024
For #12: 51810-SH3-004

Buy two of each of those, remove your lower control arm and have someone press out the old ones and press in the new ones. If you are in SoCal (San Diego) I will do this for you for $30 since I have access to a shop press and all the right tools.

Corksil

I put polyurethane bushings in my car everywhere. I took apart everything in all the joints, front and back, uppers and lowers. Pretty much every piece of black rubber on my car is now red polyurethane. I took my car in for an alignment a few months back and they said they couldn't align my car because the bushings were worn out. Sears quoted me 1300 - I told them to **** off. 1300 dollars to change out two control arms? 85/hr for labor? I'm not paying that... I got the hyperflex poly bushings on the internet for 150usd shipped to hawaii. It could be less where you live, or you can just buy front lower control arm bushings for 50. I'm sure the OEM ones from honda are even cheaper...

And all that garbage about needing a hydraulic press/specialty tools, etc etc - It's garbage. I changed every single bushing on my car with basic sockets, a few wrenches, a sawzall (for cutting out old bushings,) a torch (for melting out stubborn old bushings,) and a bench-vice (for pressing in new ones.) If you need techniques on any specific bushing, drop me a PM.

Changing out front lower control arm bushings is easy-peasy. Have fun!

lancerkid06

were do you get the bushings for $4 .. everywhere i called was like 20-30 each bushing ... and would i be able to maybe get a bushing press from advance auto from the tools they loan out to people ..

mmhoward1

Back when I replaced my front LCA's, I debated on going through the trouble of replacing the bushings. I do not have a press so I would have had to carry it to a shop and pay them to do it or buy a press and try to figure out where to store it.

I know that most people here don't like aftermarket parts on ebay, but I ended up getting new LCA's for $50 a side and like $30 shipping for both. This was cheaper than I could have bought the parts and paid somebody to remove the old and put in the new.

These are like what I bought.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CIVIC...Q5fAccessories

They have been on a year now and are holding up good.

lancerkid06

they come with the bushings and everything? so it would be a direct replacment just unbolt and bolt back on? but how do you know if they will go on a 1.6L since i would need the front sway bar end link ... idk what that looks like on the control arm though so idk what i would be looking for in a picture and none of the control arms on ebay say 1.5L or 1.6L

chinochanginc

my 1.5L LX has a front sway bar..


take the arms to a machine shop, have em press out the old bushings, and press in some new ones from Energy Suspension..

lovelove

i know you are trying to save money but what will hurt you in the long run is if you buy it from ebay. cheap stuff usually equals bad quality. just stick with replacing the bushings. it makes it a whole lot easier and you could probably be saving a little more money than having to purchase the LCAs. Take my advice for it (or not).

Corksil

god, do people even read posts? read mine.

YOU DON'T NEED A PRESS. control arm bushings are easy peasy.

(read post further up....)

Corksil

sway bar connects to control arm as an END LINK. that's the technical term for the end of the sway bar. Do you have sway bars? if yes = get control arms with an extra hole for sway bars to connect. if no = no need hole for sway bar end link.

mmhoward1

And the post show why I stated that people here do not like parts off ebay. I opted for the cheaper solution and it is still working fine a year later. I am a normal driver not a speed demon speed guy.

Yes they should fit a vehicle with sway bars. Mine is a 93si 1.6

Jackal6042

These lower control arms that are sold on ebay are typically OE quality replacements like a body shop would use if a vehicle was in an accident and needed a part like this. These aren't some "Joe Schmoe JDM Billet LCA's" that are actually made in some guys garage.

So personally, I wouldn't worry about it. Plus I've had bad experiences buying used front LCA's from a bone yard. I bent my LCA, got a used one to replace it and the wheel position was the same. So I replaced the entire front subframe, brand new from the dealer (worked at Honda at the time so pricing wasn't too bad). Still didn't fix my wheel position. Broke down and bought a new LCA from the dealer and everything was perfect. This was on an EJ1 I owned years ago. Living in Chicago I slid on some ice and curb checked my car.

94EG8

LCAs with and without the factory swaybar are different, sort of. The thing is they're made in 2 pieces, the half with the bushings in it is the same, the other part is whats different, so yes you can use the base model LCAs as long as you swap the other half for your original piece. If it was me i'd just replace the bushings though, its really not very hard.

Dren

Nice catch, I kinda missed that one. I guess that's what I get for being lazy and trying to avoid typing out the trim levels.

I really can't believe this thread has gone this long. Check the pic below, see the hole inside the red circle? The lower control arms without a provision for a sway bar do not have this hole at all. This is the hole you are looking for.