i havn't had to work on a honda in some time, ive owned dsm's and vw's for the last 6+ years, when i did own a 91 si h/b

i have been an owner of a low milage, bone stock 89 si h/b nwo for about a year and both front axles are starting to click. a quick call to napa says that lifetime front axles are $99 new or $69 remanufactored (w/ lifetime warrenty). i've replaced axles before in vw's... i know i needed a 30mm socket to get the hub nut off and a star tool for the actual axle nuts... never did one on a honda, please enlighten me as to any special tools ill need - if i can get them at sears or if there is a place online i have to get them from - i really don't want to flag down a snap-on truck if i dont have to

thanks

 

32mm
17mm
14mm
hammer
pry bar

 

No man nothing special at all. You will need a 17mm socket to take the ball joint nut off,4lb mini sledge to hit right above were the ball joint goes through to pop it loose or the correct tool for ball joints if you have it, 17mm socket and 17mm wrench to take off the bolt that runs through the fork at the bottom of the shock,32mm socket for the axle nuts,19mm socket for the lug nuts. That should be all you need. I might of missed a thing or two though.

 

FYI
Autozone has them for 59.99

 

real honda remanufactured axles are $133 from http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com

 

also go to harbor freight....thats in the west cost. and get the pit arm puller....its kinda like a u shaped metal thing with a screw in the middle. trust me its saves time...i have done this in my car and only took me like 1 hour to do both axels...

 

Or instead of taking the lower arm loose at the balljoint just remove the lower arm at the unibody. Just as quick and no special tools required.

 

The only specail tool you need is
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The pitman arm thing, or a 2 jaw puller is the best tool for poping the ball joints. Otherwise I've seen it done with a hammer but never tired it. Just dont use a pickle fork.

Take a look for details.

http://www.4gcivic.net/wp/axle.html

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vegaskurt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The pitman arm thing, or a 2 jaw puller is the best tool for poping the ball joints. Otherwise I've seen it done with a hammer but never tired it. Just dont use a pickle fork.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

trust me, the hammer is THE best method to pop the balljoints. once youve seen and tried it yourself, youll see all other methods are just silly.

 

thanks guys... we do have a local harbor freight store here in pa and according to their website, a set of 3 pitchforks is like $10 - so it prob isnt a bad idea to pick them up... otherwise i have everything else, gotta double check on the 32mm but no biggie there... they are like $6 at sears

so from my understanding, dropping the lower control arm is the fastest and more prefered method huh?

 

if you insist on using the pickle fork, then buy some replacement balljoint boots. youll most likely rip your boots. even though the boots alone are cheap, but still not worth using the pickle fork in my opinion.

 

get the pit arm puller...its the best

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AZTEKEF9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get the pit arm puller...its the best</TD></TR></TABLE>

ive crushed my balljoint threads around the cotter pin holes trying to use that. i dont think its the best at all.

hammer method ppl. hammer method!

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...36861 is the only one im seeing online and im guessing its a wee bit too small?

 

only tool you need.

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...46822

 

lol ok ok i get it... i have a mini sledge already

 

the 2 jaw puller is $4 at the harbour freight near me. So grab one just in case the mini sledge does not work out. Im gonna try the sledge idea next weekend when I replace my axle.

 

dont forget the new cotter pin for the ball joint

 

2-17mm..
11/4 sock for hub nut
sledge or regular hammer smack where the ears are are on the ball joint
pry bar or long flathead screw driver to pry the axle out of tranny
dont forget to put the cotter pin back in..

but now if you doing the intermediate shaft i always have problems with 14mm three bolts pull the intermediate shaft out and save yourself the headache but if your on a lift dont worry about it and pry that bitch

 

ooh it stock.. its cake

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda Crx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ooh it stock.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yupp.. .all 82k miles of it is stock