My front left upper ball joint needs to be replaced soon, I was wondering what would be the best way to go about this. Replace the ball joint? or buy a new uca w/ a ball joint already in it.

Some say the only way it can be done is to replace the entire uca, some say you don't. What is it really?

 

You can do it either way.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Buy a new UCA. Removing the old joint often results in bending or deforming the UCA.

Don't cheap out. The best way to go is to buy from Honda. But I believe Moog makes a decent control arm with decent bushings.

Just make sure to properly clock the bushings...or they'll tear in a few months.

 

I would recommend a new UCA. Easier to deal with and it is all new parts. I bought one off of E-bay and have never had a problem with it. I believe it was from somewhere in Akron Ohio. Don't remember the sellers name.

 

Yeah I'm just going to replace the entire arm, the price of a new ball joint is ridiculous around here. The stealership would probably want $300+ for one and moog doesn't even list a front upper control arm. The uca I priced is only $25 more than a ball joint.

 

Moog def has uca's for preludes .. try rockauto

 

They do, it only lists for the rear upper on the moog site and rock auto. Seen dorman, mevotech and beck arnley on there and on ebay. I see dorman is **** quality and mevotech so so? Not sure about the beck arnley. I can get a altrom one at a parts store here. Gonna check at the other one tomorrow and see what they can get.

 

Mevotech is the absolute worst. Absolutely stay away from them. I haven't had issues with Dorman products.

 

I haven't used Beck Arnley for UCA's but the brand as a whole is solid. Over the years, I have used BA parts with no problems.

 

Some say dorman is good, some say it's crap. Same with mevotech. Some even say moogs quality has gone down as of late.

I'm tired of this he said, she said **** over the internet (not here, I appreciate your guys' input) and just want to have the peace of mind that whatever I get will hold up for years. That's all I want to know. Spent hours reading only to get mixed reviews, it's quite vague and almost frustrating. Parts clerks are clueless as to the build quality and reliability. I have sunk quite a bit of money into this car and the last thing I want is to buy a uca that is of poor quality.

I was quoted $180 for a beck arnley uca today. Most parts are such a rip off up here in BC, even with a loyal customer discount. It pretty much forces people to buy online. You Americans have it lucky when it comes to parts, everything's alot cheaper down there.

Thanks for the advice.