Congrats, sgull. There's nothing like working on a Honda suspension or replacing a timing belt that really drives home the old adage "easier said than done".

And speaking of jobs that are easier said than done, now that you have the opportunity to wiggle the ball in the socket, are you going to replace the lower ball joint?

 

Hey there Tony. Wiggling the ball in the socket it doesn't seem particularly bad. It is rather easy to push the stud around and back and forth, however. The rubber boot around it looks as though it won't hold out too much longer, rather deteriorated and beginning to crack through. The suspension kit I ordered should be here today or tomorrow maybe, and it includes new lower ball joints so I plan on going ahead and replacing them (along with the upper control arms), inner and outer tie rods, and sway bar links. It'll be interesting to feel the difference in ease of movement (before installation) between the new and old lower ball joints. I suspect trying to move the ball/stud back and forth will be much stiffer on the new.

 

I bet on the new ones, it will be very hard to move the stud....

One stupid question - the sway bar to frame bushings?

Also, sure you know, be sure to do the final tourqe (or re-check) once the car is on the ground.....should be noted in the book but just wanted to give "that advise" a "second".

 

1. Yes, the new ones are indeed very hard to move the stud.
2. No, not the sway bar to frame bushings. The sway bar "links" they're apparently called:
3. Yes thanks for that important reminder.

 

While under there....check the "sway bar" to frame bushings....they are the ones under the "U" shaped bracket......

 

IMO, the major potential shortcoming of aftermarket upper and lower ball joints is their rubber boots. They can fail within a couple of years and then the joint fails not long thereafter.

I'm sure you don't want to do this job yet again in this vehicle. So, because ball joints don't take kindly to repeated installation and removal, you'd be wise to replace the boots before you install the joint for the first time.

There is no doubt that Honda's boots are fantastically rugged (or at least they used to be). Honda sells them separately from the joint, but their price varies wildly from place to place, so search around for the best price.

If you cannot find the genuine Honda boot for a good price, you can go with a urethane boot. They're available on eBay.

 

Well I kind of wish I would have had that advice/knowledge before now because I've already waited quite a while for my el-cheapo front-end service set to arrive, and because I'm anxious to get this job completed and get the car on back on the road I'd just rather not have to start shopping around and ordering and spending more right now and waiting for shipping of new higher quality boots. So, unfortunately I'll just have to expect to be doing all this again in a few years when the cheapo's fail.