This first paragraph is not OT, but I thought I'd mention it, anyway because it relates to how I discovered a bad upper ball joint. I replaced the driver's side CV axle today. The boot had torn at some point during Edmonton's wonderful 7-month winter that ended in early May. We had a tremendous amount of snow this year and our city doesn't plow residential areas unless they are essentially impassable. I have studded Continental snow tires that allowed the car to plow through deep snow when others were stuck all over the place. Anyway, plowing through the clumpy snow probably didn't help those boots too much.

Now OT. To get the axle out, I removed the strut fork, popped the tie rod end joint, then, rather than pop the lower ball joint, I popped the upper control arm ball joint off the big knuckle. It worked. I was able to get the old axle out and the new one in. But I couldn't help noticing that the upper ball joint is worn out after only 18,000 miles since the last change a few years ago.

A have a few questions for the forum about upper arms/ball joints:

1. What should the life expectancy be of that upper ball joint? (There are some pot holes here in Edmonton, but generally the roads are fairly smooth. I hardly drive the car. My wife does most of the driving to pick up grand kids, get groceries, etc., so no fast driving whatsoever.)

2. I have noticed that there is a tremendous range of prices on these upper control arms (with ball joint). I see a set of BOTH sides on eBay for $80, including shipping, and I see a "NASCAR Advantage" brand (with lifetime warranty) for over $200 EACH side, so a pair of arms/joints sells for a range of $80 to over $400. I don't like spending money unnecessarily, but I also believe in the old "you get what you pay for" adage. (OTOH, maybe that lifetime warranty just means that you've pre-paid for a few replacements.) So, are there significant quality (longevity) differences between different brands of upper arms w ball joints?

3. Short of a genuine Honda part (assuming they're the best that money can buy), what's the best-bang-for-the-buck aftermarket manufacturer?

Thanks for the advice.

 

They should last a while, unless there is some other suspension component worn out causing the upper ball joint to wear out.

If you go to a discount Honda parts site like hondapartsnow.com, the Honda upper control arm is $130 each plus shipping. The moog one is $92 each at rock-auto.

I usually go with the Honda part, if the price difference isn't drastic. The $38 is what you will have to consider.

 

I do believe you can replace the upper arm ball joint (with some difficulty). Some camber adjustment schemes replace this ball joint w/ an adjustable unit. I saw a pair of Ipex adjustable upper BJ's for sale for $68 on ebay. Look pretty good.

good luck

 

Thanks guys!

 

Well, after some further investigaion, I have a couple of more questions.

Are the companies Mevotech and Moog supplied by the same Taiwan manufacturer? Take a look at the two ball joints below:

amazon.com/Auto-Extra-Mevotech-MK90490-Joint/dp/B001NZDI4G

eBay item number 260797959219

As you can see, the part numbers are identical except for the additional "M" at the beginning of the Mevotech part. I can't help but notice the price difference between what appear to be two identical parts.

I thought Moog parts were manufactured in the US. Am I missing something?

Additionally, I confused about whether the ball joints in those upper arms can actually be replaced without screwing up the hole in the upper arm. Has anyone actually replaced the ball joint in those upper arms? If so, how'd it go?

Do these replacement ball joints above press in or does that nut secure them in position?

Alternatively, there are the Mevotech MK9815 and MK9816 (Moog K9815 and K9816) complete upper arm and ball joint combos. (For example, eBay item 280626080456 which are the $80 pair, including shipping.)

Any advice would be appreciated. The uppers on the car are worn, but they'll last until I can make up my mind on this, so there is no rush.

 

Check youtube for some videos. I saw one on upper BJ replacement.

good luck

 

I couldn't find it. Do you have a link?

 

search "how to install camber kits"

good luck

 

I found some good videos with that search. Thanks, TexaxHonda!

 

BTW, upon closer inspection I can see that both upper control arm ball joint boots are torn. This is probably the reason that the ball joints (and the CV joint) failed.

I also inspected the lower ball joint boots and they're torn, too. Although they still appear to be OK, I'm going to replace them anyway.

The tie rod end boots are NOT torn and, therefore, are still tight, so they'll just get new Honda boots.

This experience has taught me that less expensive aftermarket upper arms/joints may be OK metal-wise, but before installing them, one should replace the boots with either Honda or maybe even polyurethane boots.

Yesterday I also noticed that the driver's side outer CV boot has tiny cracks in it, but no penetrations through the rubber as of yet, so when I replace the driver's side upper arm and lower ball joint, I'll take that opportunity to install a new OEM Honda boot. Can that boot be replaced without removing the axle from the transmission, or is it much easier to drag out the axle and do the job on a bench?