ok...finally got to the dealer to see why my car is handling and braking like ****.

this is what they said i needed:

2 new tires
alignment (obviously)
front & rear lower ball joints
cv boots(already have right side axle)
sway bar bushings,
front and rear control arm bushings
rotors resurfaced

they wanted like over 2,000 to replace all this stuff which is just ridiculous.
since i'm short on money, i wanna do the work myself. is replacing any of those parts really tough? (besides pressing the ball joints)

can i buy just the sway bar bushings themselves or do i have to buy a whole new unit? i heard at the dealer and hear on honda-tech that you can't replace the control arm bushings without buying all new control arms. is there anyway around this? I can't afford 4 new control arms.

also, are there any other things that i should replace while it's apart? any help much appreciated.

 

Just get the bushings for LCA and sway hondaautomotiveparts.com. The rotors I would just replace with brembo blanks. Look in the sponsor forum for what you need to replace also. Hope you have good tools.

 

dam the honda stealership!

 

dude, honda dealers are a joke and a half

 

yeah they are...they are the only ones that could find out what was wrong with my car though. but forget actual labor. hell, they charged me $50 + just to look at the damn car. i'm hoping that this will all cost less than $400 (not including alignment or tires)

i've never seen the bushings for the lower control arms. do I need to have them pressed in like ball joints?

i think the hardest thing will be getting the axle nut off really. luckily, i have a 4 ft. bar that will fix that. the rest of it looks pretty simple.

 

i looked on hondaautomotiveparts.com and am not sure what they call the lower control arm bushings. it's either #14 - bushing for front stabilizer, or it's #18 bushing for shock absorber. i assume #14 but...

the mechanic at the dealership said that the bushing shifted either front to back or back to front but it looks as though only the shock absorber bushing could do that, or am i just thinking wrong?

doesn't hondaautomotive parts or other onlines places have ball joints? i can't find 'em on the website and advance auto wants $40 a piece for them which seems a little high.

 

bump

 

i was looking at the ES polyurethane master set and it seemed like a good option. the honda dealership guys said i only "need" what's in my list but would it be smart just to get that whole set for an old '92 like mine? or would i just be paying more for things that i don't need?

also, is it crucial that i torque everything down with a torque wrench for the suspension parts? can i do it by feel and be alright?