D16SohcVtec

My front lower ball joint is shot, and I'll be replacing it tomorrow. But I am a bit confused about how to replace it. I read that you need to remove the retaining ring, remove the boot, and then press in the ball joint.



Is the retaining ring the one on the boot? We take that off, pull the boot off, press in the ball joint, put the boot back on, and then put the retaining ring on?

joelmatt89

i have never done it but the retaining ring is not on the boot that is just the ring for holding on the boot. The retaining ring is the black ring in the bottom left of that pic. From the picture you can see the retaining ring goes at about the height of the castle nut you can see the groove it goes into.

halocore

heres my advice when i took off my ball joint, it was a PITA and it took me three day to figure it out. i also rented the unless ball joint press from autozone that was worthless cuz that press is meant for trucks.

Anyways you gotta take out the whole peice that holds the rotors and brakes. I dont' know what the name is called but lets call it the hub assembly.

so anyways when i took out the hub assembly, I wasn't able to find a retaining ring. So after days of banging the crap out of it with the hammer, i finally torch it up super hot and then smack the ball joint out of the hub.

After everything cools down, insert the new ball jount in and gently tap it back in with an peice of wood or something in between.

The new ball jount should have a retaining ring and that goes on the bottom of the ball joint. use your needle nose pliers and try to get in on. it holds the ball jount from falling ou the other way.

Hope this help. Sorry it if sounds confusing.

94EG8

Its called a knuckle

OEM Honda lower ball joints don't use a snap ring, they just press in to the knuckle.

You can put the snap ring on with needle nose pliers, or even a couple of flat bladed screwdrivers if you're really desperate, but snap ring pliers are definately preferable.

joelmatt89

+1 if you don't have a pair of snap ring pliers get them, they are cheap and usually come with multiple heads for different size rings it will make your life so easy.

D16SohcVtec

Thanks for the advice, I've rented a press from Autozone with Honda adaptors and I still can't get the ball joint out. For some reason, they adaptors don't fit right. It says it's made to remove the ball joint for Hondas. If you use the adaptor you can't fit to press on and when you don't use the adaptors it doesn't work. I don't understand that at all.

DCSportEJ1Civic

what ive always done it just take the control arm off the car and take it to a shop. theyll usually charge you $10-$30 to press it out and put the new one it. its worth the cash to not have to fight with it yourself.

thumper64

I just did this a couple weeks ago and probably should have done a write up.
Remove the knuckle from the car, remove the metal ring around the wheel bearing where the axle goes in and the snap ring on the ball joint. Get a basic snap ring tool without the changeable heads, they just slip anyway.

First, I don't know the proper names of some of the parts, so I'll try to explain a couple things first. By "bolt side of the ball joint", I mean the top as it sits in the photo above. When I refer to the press, I mean the C clamp type ball joint tool that Autozone rents out.

I put the small collar from the press kit on the non screw side of the press with the stepped adapter and used the screw part of the press to press on the bolt side of the ball joint. If you remove the shaft part from the screw part of the press that spins, the bolt on the ball joint will go in there. Tighten that sucker down and then put it in a vice and press the joint as far as you can. I had to use a big wrench with a piece of pipe to gain leverage since I'm a small guy. The press will basicly jam up about an inch short of what's needed, but that's ok. Take the press off of the knuckle and put a big socket on the ball joint. Look for one that sits on the ball joint nicely, which will be somewhere around a 1 1/2in socket. Put the knuckle on the ground, upside down of how it would go on the car, and drive the joint out with a big farking hammer by hitting the socket. After about 2 or 3 good whacks, it should come out.

To put the new joint in, reverse the press setup you had earlier so that the collar and stepped adapter are now underneath the knuckle if it were installed on the car and make sure to have the spinning part out of the screw portion of the press. Set the new ball joint in the knuckle and use the press to squeeze the joint in.

Or, if you really don't want to mess with it, do as DCSportEJ1Civic said and have a shop do it. I really didn't find the whole thing that difficult once I was done and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

D Grade

Heres how I did it (using your pic for reference). Assuming the car is already jacked up and tire is removed:



1. Unbolt and remove the 17mm bolt holding your lower shock fork to the front lower control arm.

2. Remove the cotter pin on the threaded section of the ball joint (bottom of pic) holding on the castle nut on the ball joint. Unbolt the 17mm castle nut holding the ball joint to the front LCA (far right in pic).

3. Seperate the ball joint from the front LCA using one of the two methods:

- Using a tie rod/ball joint fork/seperator (I believe the size is 21/32"), place it between the black rubber boot and front LCA and pound it between using a hammer or mini sledge (easiest method IMO, the way I do it). OR you can use the 1/2" drive ratchet method found here: https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-6/popping-front-lower-balljoints-other-random-observations-887859/

- Remove the 32mm axle nut and pull the brake and rotor assy off and away from the axle. This step may be considered unecessary, however I feel it is easier to do it without the axle in the way.

- Remove the retaining c-clip (far left in pic) using a pair of c-clip pliers that pull apart. You can also remove the black rubber boot and its retaining clip if it appears it'll interfere with removal of the ball joint. Just use a small flathead and pry the clip off, then pull the boot off.

- Remove the ball joint, many, many ways to do this. Easiest way I found to do it is first to soak the top of it in PB Blaster/Liquid Wrench/WD40. Then take a large deep socket (I used my 32mm axle nut socket), place it around the threaded portion of the ball joint with the open end of the socket facing up, then pound the ball joint out from the bottom by hitting the socket with a hammer or mini sledge. Keep applying your PB Blaster/Liquid Wrench/WD40 and it should slide out rather quickly with a couple of careful but stern blows.

- After its out, take either a die grinder with a flap wheel or some fine sand paper and run it along the surface of the LCA collar where the ball joint sits. Apply a bit of grease to it afterwards to allow the ball joint to slide in easier.

- Place the ball joint on the LCA and gently tap it in with a hammer or mini sledge from the top. Careful not to bang up your brake/rotor assy.

- After its sitting flush in the LCA, place the c-clip on the ball joint.

Everything else is reverse of install.

D16SohcVtec

Thanks for the response guys, I finally got it out.

courtney42

subscribed. Good write up.

How dangerous is driving on a busted one?

thumper64

A busted upper ball joint can separate and cause you to lose control, and a busted lower ball joint can separate and not only cause you to lose control but also grind the LCA against the pavement. Either would be bad. So, check your joints and if they have play, replace them.

de_sjiem

Very... ours busted on a highway going probably 60 mph... we were lucky we didn't end up in the path of a semi.. all we hit was a guard rail... not to mention the cost of getting the car back on the road wasn't cheap either.. Not a pretty picture... Its just easier and cheaper to fix it before it breaks altogether

onereving7

autozone now has the ball joint press for hondas, just rent the normal press, and ask for the honda adapters

honda.lioness

Way cool that Autozone has the right press yada.

Photo of results of lower BJ failure: