So, I finished my tie rods last night, but one of my LBJ's is torn on my 91 Civic Si, so I'm just going to replace both of the front ones. Thing is, I jumped into it and ordered these online before I knew how hard it seems like it's going to be ha ha!! I'm still game to do it, I just need a few specific pointers for getting it done. Does anyone have any tricks or shortcut ways to get it swapped out? I've seen a tricks with jacking it up, wedging something in between the lca and hub and then dropping it, does that actually work?

Anyways, any help is apreciated, I'm not against renting or maybe buying the right tools to make it easier, I really just need to know where to begin. Never tried doing this before. If I can get some help with it, in return I'll take lots of pics and make a nice write up because I could not find one with much detail anywhere on the web yet.

Thanks!!

 

they are pressed in, they will need to be pressed out of the spindle and pressed back in, i dont no any short cuts for doing this

 

This is absolutely the best way.
Many times confirmed.

You can rent a ball joint tool from most automotive parts stores, but the one's i've used don't fit right and aren't made for the honda balljoints, so this makes it very difficult.

 

Awesome, well I found a friend of mine who has done it before, we are going to rent the tool and get them swapped out tomorrow. I'll make sure to get a decent write up on it, he says he has a pretty quick way of knocking it out!

 

it's really not too hard. all you need is a pickle fork with an air hammer attachment and you'll have them out in no time flat.

 

take the controll arm off, turn upside down, heat outer sides with torch, get BFH, smack as hard as you can, out it comes.



id advise to wear a long sleeve shirt and some protective eye wear when doing this......who knows where im going with this

 

Since its torn, just use a pickle fork to separate the balljoint from the LCA. Then the easiest cheapest way to get it out is to hammer it out, with all the balljoint i've done I did not use heat. But make sure its a OEM one, alot of aftermarket joints have a snap ring that you'll need to take off.

 

here is a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISY8bGof3bQ

 

That's actually the first place I saw the wedge popping method I was asking about ha ha! Sounds like most people don't know what they are doing or didn't do the research first because most sources gave the impression it was a shop worthy job. The only thing a shop has ever done on my car since I bought was alignment... and they can have that crap. So I think Tuesday I'll knock them both out.

Were you saying that the one I'm taking out might have a clip if it's not oem? Or did you mean the one I am putting in? Thanks for the input and assuring me it's not worth paying $200 at a shop for.

 

hmmm i removed the snap ring on the top of mine and beat the sumbitch outta there

 

i've used both a pickle fork and the method shown in the video... i honestly think it's easier to just do it like in the video.

 

I put mine in a table vice, put a socket of the approx size of the ball joint over the shaft end of the ball joint and hit it with a 4.5 lbs. hammer. Took maybe 5 minutes. To put the new one in I just moved the socket to the other end of the ball joint and smacked it in.

 

at the shop we just pull the boot off and use a chisel bit on an air hammer and punch it straight out then hammer the new ones in gently at first to line them up and then u can hit them harder to drive them home