Alright, the castle nut is stripped. I was able to get it off finally. I wedged a small screw driver above the nut and applied downward pressure while turning.

The threads on the stud, right around the hole for the cotter pin are a little off. I think that is what threw off the nut.

I still have the old nut and can use that. However my biggest problem now is that the stud is NOT going through the steering knuckle far enough. I have tried whacking it with a hammer, but there is not enough room to get any leverage. The nut does not yet clear the hole for the cotter pin.

I don't want to try and use the nut to force it to seat and then strip my last nut (no, this is not a medical complaint).

Is there a way to seat the ball joint w/out a press? I don't even have a "C" clamp that is big enough (and it is Christmas night so all stores are closed).

I am thinking of just trying to reinstall the old one, but I think I will be facing the same problem. If I try to heat it, will that work w/out damaging the dust boot?

Thanks!

 

Update - I picked up a ball joint press at AutoZone this morning. I tried pressing the new stud into steering knuckle, it didn't move. I removed the new control arm and compared the stud (new to old). I used an adjustable wrench to measure the size and it seemed to be the same. I then reinstalled the old and it went right in. I then retried the new control arm but it didn't go in far enough. This is telling me that there is some size difference between the two studs. Does that sound correct?

Also, I just read online that the Honda Service Manual says to put the tire on the car and let the weight seat the stud.

 

"jjpcampbell"-not sure if you resolved this or not. I've always supported/raised the lower arm with another jack to get the balll joint stud to line up and start. With the new arm and new bushings the alignment from the knuckle and the ball joint is difficult. Normally, I use the second jack to slightly raise the LCA 1/2 ~ 1 inch?(before removing any bolts)- then remove the old arm with the second jack still in place.

 

Thanks poorman212. I'm not sure, this may be resolved.

I did try raising the LCA w/another jack, but that didn't make a difference w/the new UCA. The stud just wouldn't seat. I tried seating the stud w/out the mounting bolts on and with the mounting bolts on, just to eliminate the potential for misalignment. The old one did re-seat without a problem though.

What I did notice when I had the old UCA off is that the ball joint seemed to move smoothly. However, one of the bushing pivots was making a noise. I loosened it a bit before putting it back on and it hasn't been making noise yet. I've only had a couple of short road tests but will know more in a couple of days.

The weird thing is, when I was trying to pinpoint the sound, the vibration I felt really seemed to be coming from the ball joint area. That is why I am not sure my problem is resolved.

I'll post back in a few days.

 

I know this is 12 years old but THANK YOU!!