Thought I was getting a steal on some Ultrapower-brand upper control arms with ball joints installed. $23 each from RockAuto.

Three months later, I was getting some clunking and popping from the front end. Visual inspection didn't reveal anything wrong. Even after I took the UCA off the car, there wasn't anything obvious wrong (the ball joint movement was not smooth, but no play). After I put the ball joint in a vise and applied some real pressure to the stud, I realized that the entire ball joint socket was loose and wobbling around.

This was true for BOTH sides. They both failed at the same time, less than 1,000 miles after installation.

I thought, "well, i'm only driving this car for a little while, it doesn't matter if the parts don't last that long." Actually, these piece-of-crap parts are a serious safety hazard, a total waste of time, and a waste of money.

FYI I also tried Ultrapower outer tie rod ends at the same time I installed these UCAs. The ball joint stud threads stripped before reaching the torque specification.

 

There is quite the selection for upper control arm replacements.
Factory ones are ~$230 each. no way you are going to find a comparable replacement for a meager $25 bucks. Mevotech, Dorman, and Beck/Arnley units you may sometimes get a quality part(reboxers) but when it comes to suspension bits it is best to pay up and get ACDelco Profesional or MOOG Problem Solver units. Even two MOOG PS units are still cheaper than a single Honda arm. IIRC they are ~$70 each.

 

You can actually get decent parts like Moog for cheap too. For example;

95 Accord EX upper control arm + ball joint

Advance Auto $75

Moog Control Arm and Ball Joint Assembly RK90446: Advance Auto Parts

Current AdvanceAutoParts coupons;
30% off any order over $50 up to $50 off "TRT30"
$40 off orders of $100 or more via "TRT41"
$30 off orders of $75 or more via "TRT37"
$20 off orders of $50 or more via "TRT25"
$10 off orders of $30 or more via "TRT13"

Search for the same part number on Amazon

Sold by Moog on Amazon $38 w/free shipping



Amazon with free shipping is even cheaper sometimes than buying from AdvanceAuto even with a coupon. Amazon has really great customer service too so as long as the compatibility tool says it fits your car you won't have any trouble with free returns if there is an issue. The only downside is you need to plan your projects ahead of time since it'll take a couple days to reach you so if i need the part right away I'll order from Advance with a coupon and in store pickup.

When I bought my 95 Accord EX Wagon it cost just under $300 to replace all my upper balljoint/control arms, lower ball joints, inner & outer tie rods & boots, and rear upper ball joint/control arms with all Moog parts from Amazon.

 

I am in the same boat as this guy^
He echoed what I did and was thinking.

 

Something to keep in mind: The Moog parts for our Honda's are mostly their "R Series", which is their budget line, and not comparable to their problem solver parts.

Also, while I generally like Moog parts for my domestic vehicles, I got a bad lower ball joint out of the box for this Honda. This one was a problem solver. I had to pull the spindle back off to replace it.

Amazon and Rockauto are the two best places for replacement parts. Advance can be close in price after their discounts but is still usually more expensive.