if those parts are lose.
does it mean its a bad tie rod or the control arm and a tie rod?
thanks guys.

 

they are ball joints

They need to be pressed in/out.

Loose is a very vauge term. Have a suspension place look at it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">They need to be pressed in/out.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah pressed in/out by a hammer lol....

 

well, there is a lift.
when you grab the wheel at 9 and 3 clock position, there is a lift and both of those joints are moving.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Groove_D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... when you grab the wheel at 9 and 3 clock position, there is a lift and both of those joints are moving.</TD></TR></TABLE>Well, then you need new ball joints. Maybe(?) you can't get the upper ball joint without buying the upper control arm? Also check the smaller ball joint at the end of the steering tie rod.

 

i guess i would have to replace the upper control arm and the lower ball joint.
hopefuly thats it. might be the tie rod too.

 

Definately have to replace them ball joints, it will only get worse!

 

be careful. if the balljoint breaks while your driving your going to lsoe control. dont leave it.

 

man you scared me.

 

not trying to scare you, but it is dangerous.. take a look at it asap. if your not sure what your looking at or waht your doing, take it to a shop for a free steering/suspension check. tell them u think one of those components might be bad..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">not trying to scare you, but it is dangerous.. take a look at it asap. if your not sure what your looking at or waht your doing, take it to a shop for a free steering/suspension check. tell them u think one of those components might be bad..</TD></TR></TABLE>
DO BE CAREFULL! He's absolutely right. If you dont have a puller or a prying fork or even an air compressor for that matter TAKE IT TO THE SHOP! I had the same problem. I was doing my suspension install last year, and replaced my ball joint. When I air-gunned the bottom bolt on the controll arm back on to the ball joint little did I know that I stripped part of the new ball joint threads... The next day I was going down to E-town and on my way I encountered a big pot-hole. It was on Rt.1 at about 50mph. Well, the ball joint bolt gave way, and the controll arm seperated from the knuckle. Immediatly my car was chillin on 3 wheels, with the fourth up in the passenger side fender. In the "accident" I broke my axle, wheel studs got damaged, ball joint, and controll arm were toasted. IF YOU HAVE NOT HAD EXPERIENCE W/ BALL JOINTS, DONT TRY ON YOUR CAR AS A FIRST! I learned the hard way. Just giving you a warning. There are special tools you need to buy when dealing with seperating and pressing ball joints. If you wish to do them, JCwhitney has the best deals on these tools- if you need any more help, just let me know ... -Ken

 

And honda thinks a cotter pin will do the trick not with mine heheh

 

yea, but cant it be just the tie rod?
how can you tell if the ball joints are bad?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Groove_D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yea, but cant it be just the tie rod?
how can you tell if the ball joints are bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>Yes it can be just the tie rod. In your first post you seemed pretty sure it was the ball joints... You even had pictures. I figured you had already located the loose part(s).

There's 3 points where the knuckle is held. Upper & lower ball joints plus the tie rod. Any one or more can get loose. Usually the ball joints show up when you grab the tire @ 12 & 6 & wobble it up & down. But REALLY, you should have someone wobble it while you check all 3 places & find WHERE the looseness is located.

As long as you're reaching under there, make sure your jackstands are secure...

 

well, there is a wobble from left to right if you grab the wheel at 9 and 3.
while doing that i looked under where exactly this occurs.
the parts that are marked on the pics were moving.
so this means they are bad?
or as i said before this could be just the tie rod?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Groove_D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... the parts that are marked on the pics were moving.
so this means they are bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>YES.

Those are ball & socket joints. They're supposed to pivot ONLY. If there's any kind of sideways rattling, it should be less than some small tolerance that's listed in a shop manual.

In the pictures you actually circle the stud & nut on the end of each joint. The actual ball & socket parts are up inside the rubber boots. Maybe (if you're lucky) you only need to tighten the nuts?? There should be a cotter pin in each stud, holding the nut so it doesn't work loose. Easy to see in the 2nd photo, but it looks kinda strange in the top one.

 

so what should i start from?
changing the tie rod and tighting those nuts?

 

Whatever is loose. If the nuts are loose, for sure tighten them. But if the ball joint itself is loose, that won't help. Same story with the tie rod, if it's loose too. If the tie rod isn't loose, then you don't need to change it. You're the only one who can actually go look & touch the ball joints. We can't tell you any more over the net. If you can't figure out which parts are actually loose, maybe you need to take it in to a shop. I don't want to be on the same road when your wheel falls off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by XLR8 GS-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And honda thinks a cotter pin will do the trick not with mine heheh</TD></TR></TABLE>

The cotter pin isn't meant to hold anything in place, it's meant only to keep the nut from backing itself off, and it does that just fine.

 

get a pickle fork and a hammer

 

ok, i will take a look at it asap.
but as i said those to parts which are marked, you can see them moving when you wobble the wheel from left to right.