Hey All,

This is my first post on Honda-tech and I could really use some great advice. I had my stepfather replace the CV Joint (right side) on the Accord and a week later, as I was parking, the whole front right axle and control arm collapsed onto the ground.

So here are my questions:

1. Was this due his negligence and not paying attention on what he was doing? He told me that he didn't put a washer in the control arm bolt and that may be the reason why it came apart.

2. Could the control arm possibly be bad?

3. Are there are other suspension parts that I should replace just to be safe? The AAA driver who towed my car recommended that I should replace the ball joints (which I think are apart of the upper control arm) also.

4.Also, I remember hitting a nasty pothole months ago and developing a clunking "feeling" in the steering wheel when I turned it slowly to the left. Could I have been driving on a bad suspension this whole time?

That's a big deal and I could have been on the highway when the suspension collapsed and its hard to ask my stepfather these questions because he just assumes that he knows EVERYTHING. If that was the case, I would have not nearly been killed last week.

I know its a very wordy post but I am a college student who just needs peace of mind on the road

Thanks for your responses,

Alex

 

Considering the clunking, you should have gotten that checked ages ago. Especially if when the car clunked, you had to compensate for the change the car had suffered...
Any of these questions can be a solid yes but pictures would be helpful.

Though if you have no true idea, just go leave the car at a shop, Get it fixed up, and start driving again.

 

there are alot of parts that handle the suspension up front and any of it can make the suspension seem as it fell apart when one fails. that clunking sound could have been that ur upper control arm bushings were busted. u also have upper and lower ball joints. people tend to forget about the lower one and when it snaps its usually when ur driving causing the suspension to drop and pulling out the axle along with it. the parts are cheap and readily available at any auto parts store. i would either buy the OEM or MOOG brand for the upper control arms, balljoints would be OEM. also rule of thumb is that if ur replacing one side you should replace the other side, sooner or later the other side will go out. might as well get them both done at the same time and have that piece of mind.
hope this helped out!

 

Depends on what came undone or broke. A picture would be helpful.
If something goes wrong/breaks after work done I look at what was done last first to eliminate it as a possible cause. With CV joint replacement if the lower ball joint was not reassembled correctly, the bolt not tightened or the cotter pin missing it could have been teh nut came off and the lower control arm came off the lower ball joint and the front suspension came apart. But that is jumping to conclusions.

It may have been something that was done to the car, or possibly a component failed that just so happened to have been worked on.

 

Cotter pin - Castle Nut - That would be where I would check...