treverd

Just bought a 1996 Accord with 132,000 miles, had a used car inspection done on it and they said that the ball joints need to be replaced, so I might as well just replace the entire upper control arm. They also said that the outter tie rod is lose and needs to be replaced.

My question is:

• What other front suspension components should I replace while I am doing the upper control arms?

I will be doing some extensive traveling in the near future (NE > WI > VA) and would like to get all the major stuff out of the way before I get on the road.

Thanks guys.

92 civic ex 4dr

If you replace the uppers. Replace them with MOOG from O'reilly. I have had other mfgs and none built as good as or as durable as MOOG. If you do one side, mirror the other. No sense in fixing one side to have the other fail. Just go through it and check all your bushings to see what's good and what's not.


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jdowen2

You may want to consider changing the struts and half shafts as well.

92 civic ex 4dr

Good point. Might as well do it while it's all torn apart.


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MAD_MIKE

If you are going to have to pull the front knuckles anyway, it may be a good time to have the wheel bearings replaced. Have the rotors checked for thickness/runout at the least, if they need replacing you will have to tear it all apart anyway.

Posted from my keyboard on the couch.

djkurious

Or you can get them from rockauto for half the price.

treverd

Awesome, thanks for the help guys.

Here's my plan so far;

• Replace the Upper control arms with Moog from RockAuto (~$27 a piece)
• Replace the outter tie rod's with Moog from RockAuto (~$15 a piece)

Other than that the suspension feel's great (very tight and firm), the only time I ever hear any noise is when I go over a large speed bump, I can hear a slight creek with the suspension recovers.

I will check all the other bushings for sure.

Thanks again guys, your great.

Trever

treverd

Also, If I do replace the struts what do you guys recommend?

I have heard some thing about the "Quick-Strut" from Monroe...What are your opinions? Whats makes them a good or bad replacement??

Thanks guys

holmesnmanny

get your quick strut from kyb instead. Monroe's quick struts aren't worth it. I got my kyb from just-suspension...their site is iffy at times but they are the cheapest. Do a "coupon code just suspension" search before you buy to get a discount code

CDStreetSleeper

well if your gonna go all out like that might as well clean and regrease all your joints and if you wanna go a step further i would take the time to clean off the shifter linkage bushings and shifter and regrease them with performance grease, get a short shifter + Aluminum JDM cosport bushings that fit on the transmission side
If you want to take this one step further you can also go under the hood and remove the cotter pins, spacers and linkage arms and clean/regrease all them up too it helps BIG time when you shift gears

jabontke

I just dropped 400 on front suspension parts. Everything form rockauto.com and if you are looking for moogs better parts, don't get their cheaper line of parts. They have two lines, choose the better one. Their website will tell you he difference.

djkurious

The Upper control arms you want to get are Moog K90447 and Moog K90446. They are roughly 78.00 a piece.

treverd

I think your a little high on that estimation of $78.00. You really outta do more part shopping on RockAuto.com, unless you like spending double for parts.

Heres my shopping cart as of now:


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sillyboi

Don't forget to replace the lower ball joints since you will have the knuckle off the car.

After is all done, give us some feedback on the ride's comfort! I'm interested in replacing the same components on my car.

On a side note: I found this on ebay,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/STEERING-CON...8a3347&vxp=mtr

I wonder if it's any good.

djkurious

I am speaking from experience. When I purchased the upper control arms from Rockauto, there was not a RKXXXX upper control arm. Have you seen a picture of them? I cannot seem to find one on the web...
Moog K90447 and Moog K90446 have pictures.

I see a lot of places sell them w/o a picture. I even found it on Moogs website, w/o a picture.
However, this is a forum, feel free to buy what you want. Just offering advise, which is okay, right?
Maybe someone else will chime in.

gogydm

Well I ordered the kit mentioned above, replaced everything and just got my car aligned. The parts are lower quality than original Honda parts (that was to be expected considering the price) but everything fit nicely. The lower ball joint was the toughest to fit because it goes in very tightly, it looks like it's a little bit bigger than the original one.
I had issues with my front end vibrating and now everything is gone and the front feels way more planted. All of my suspension looked like it had never been changed (I am at 215k miles).

djkurious

You didn't get any MOOG (quality) parts?

The link to the Ebay stuff is cheap stuff.

gogydm

Everything I got was as described in the ad. The parts said OE Brand on them. I am not saying they are bad parts, just not as quality looking as the original Honda parts I had.