One of the compensator arms on my '89 Civic recently snapped in half and I'm need of a replacement. I can get one but they're about $100 Cdn.... I was wondering if I could substitute it with a compensator arm from a 6th-gen Civic instead, since those are much more readily available. I know they have the same bushings but I don't know if the length is close enough or not. Can anyone tell me?

 

Educate me, what's a compensator arm?

 

rear toe arm i assume.

i dont think the lengths are the same.

anyone ever done a measurement?

 

It is the rear toe adjuster arm. I own both generations but I can't get a measurement til the weekend (wife's car). A quick search online reveals different part numbers for the two generations.

How did it snap in half??? I only broke one when I tried to press a bushing at a slight angle and didn't notice until it shotgunned itself out when it broke.

 

Me too but wanted to be clear. If it is the toe arm, Hardrace has adjustables for about $100/pair. You get adjustability plus new bushings if you're willing to go that route.

 

i dont mean to question your wizdom 24ten
but im pretty sure that on our efs
our toe arms themselves dont have adjustability
but the way they mount do
and since they can be adjusted then there should be no reason why you cant use the 6th gens arms or the 5th gens

but then again ive never done it myself but im sure it would work fine
you just need to get the car aligned afterwards

 

he's saying you can buy aftermarket ones that ARE adjustable in length. and then you match the length to the original arm.

that being said, im sure you can find a replacement toe arm for a reasonable price.

 

That's what I was afraid of... guess I'll have to scrape together some extra $ for a proper part.
As to why the arm snapped in the first place, I have a theory... about 10 years ago, when I did some major work on this car, I replaced the failed T-arm bushings with polyurethane ones. The one on this side is coming apart a bit - the rubber is loose from the metal, and you can move the T-arm side-to-side just a little bit. I know I should replace that bushing again, and I think I'll have to now, but it's such a big job that I've been putting it off. Maybe this loose bushing put enough extra stress on the toe arm to break it?