ReplacingtheUpperBallJoint&UpperControlArmona2007HondaAccord4CYL Disclaimer: I have benefited greatly from others who have taken the time to post auto repair

ir videos/tutorialsonline.Totryandreturnthefavor,Ihavedocumentedafewofmyrecentrepairs.Itryto perform the work conscientiously in accordance with the Honda service manual, but I am not a professionaltechnicianbyanystretch.Idohopethisinformationmightbenefitotherswhoarepreparing todothisjob. Typical symptoms of a bad upper ball joint include a clunking noise when driving over bumps and a poor tire wear pattern. The upper ball joint can be checked by grabbing the wheel at the 12:00 and 6:00 positions (as shown below) and shaking to checkforplay. To check if the play is in the upper ball joint, remove the wheel and grab the upper part of the knuckle as shown below. If you shake it back and forth as shown, you should not see any movement in the upper ball joint. If you see/feel any movement in the ball joint, it is likely that the ball joint is bad. In my case, I could see a small but definitemovementinthejoint.

Thefigurebelowshowsthefrontsuspensioncomponents.Theupperballjointisnotavailableseparately fromtheuppercontrolarm(atleastnotfromHonda)sotheentireuppercontrolarmneedstobe replaced(around$60fortheOEMpartonline).

Strut/Damper

UpperBall Joint Upper ControlArm

Knuckle

Lower ControlArm

Fork

 #1Supportvehicleonjackstandsandremovethewheel.

 #2Applyyourfavoritepenetratingoil(PBBlaster,LiquidWrench,WD40PenetratingOil,Kroil)tothe nutontheboltconnectingthestrutforktothelowercontrolarm.

#3Applypenetratingoiltothepinchboltthatholdstheforktothedamper/shock/strut.Makesure yougetthepenetratingoilonbothendsoftheboltandinthegapinthefork.

#4Removethepinchboltholdingthestruttothefork.

#5Removethenutfromtheboltholdingtheforktothelowercontrolarm.

#6Itmaybenecessarytoholdtheboltheadontheothersidetopreventitfromturningwhen looseningthenut.

#7Knockouttheboltusingapunchandahammer(itmayhelptogetitoutifyourotatetheboltwith awrenchfirsttobreakitloose).

#8Pushtheforkdownandslideitoutofthestrut.Thenremovethefork.Itmaybenecessarytopush downontheknuckletogetenoughclearancetoremovethefork.

#9Removethe5boltsshownbelowwhichholdthestrutassemblytothechassis.Donttouchtheone inthecenter(whichholdsthestrutassemblytogether)oryouwillhaveabadday.

#10Itisalittletightgettingthestrutassemblyout.Ifounditworkedbesttofirstslidethestrutdown justinfrontofthetierodasshownbelow.

#11Thenthetopofthestrutcanbepulledoutfromundertheknuckleandthewholestrutcanbe removed.

#12RemovetheABSsensorlinebracketfromtheuppercontrolarmbyremovingthenutshownbelow.

#13Unbendtheendsofthecotterpinfromthecastlenutontheupperballjointandpulloutthecotter pin.

#14LoosentheCastlenut(redarrow)asshown,butdontremoveitcompletelyyetasitwillkeepthe knucklefromflyingaroundwhentheballjointisremovedfromtheknuckle.

#15 Connect a ball joint separator tool as shown below to push the ball joint tapered pin from the knuckle.(Somefolksrecommendrappingtheoutsideoftheknucklewithahammertofreetheballjoint. The Honda service manual specifically recommends not doing this. A ball joint tool like the one shown is availableforabout$20.Inthiscase,sincetheupperballjointisgoingtobereplacedanyway,maybethe hammertechniqueisacceptable,butIhadthetoolandwentthatroute.)

#16Sideviewshowingplacementoftheballjointseparator.

#17Tightentheballjointseparatortobreaktheballjointfreefromtheknuckle.

#18Oncetheballjointisbrokenfree,theknucklecanberemovedfromtheuppercontrolarmas shownbelow.

#19Removethetwoboltsholdingtheuppercontrolarmtothechassis.

#20Comparethenewandoldpartstomakesureyougottherightone!

#21MynewuppercontrolarmdidntcomewiththeboltfortheABSwirebracketinstalled(redarrow), soIhadtoremovetheboltfromtheolduppercontrolarm.

#22Ijustbangeditoutwithahammer.

#23Andputitinthenewcontrolarmfasteningdownthebolttemporarilytopresstheboltintothe arm.

#24Cleanofftheknucklesmatingsurfacestotheballjointtoensurethattheballjointtaperedpin andbootwillmakeagoodseal.Iusedbrakecleaner,arag,andascrapertocleanoffthetopofthe knuckle.

#25Toinstallthenewuppercontrolarmyouneedathinmetalrodabout12incheslong.Iuseda pieceof3/16diametersteelrodfromLowesthatIcuttoa12inchlength.

#26Insertthenewcontrolarmandputintheboltstoholditlooselyinplace.Beforetighteningthe bolts,inserttherod(redarrow)intotheholesinthechassis(greenarrows).Thisplacestheupper controlarminitsnominalpositionsothebushingsarenotunderrotationalstresswhenthesuspensionis initsnominalposition.

#27Withtherodholdingtheuppercontrolarmatthecorrectangle,torquedownbothoftheboltsto theirfinaltorquespec.

#28Pushdowntheuppercontrolarmandinserttheballjointpinintotheknuckle.Looselyinstallthe castlenut(arrow)butdonottightenityet.

#29Insertthestrutintoplace.

#30Looselyinstallthenutstoholdthestrutinplace,butdonottightenyet.

#31Inserttheforkovertheaxleandinsertthebottomofthestrutintothefork.

#32Thestrut/dampermustbecorrectlyorientedwhenmatingwiththeforksothatthepinchboltlines upwiththegrooveinthedamper.Specificallythealignmentmarker(redarrow)onthestrutmustline upandinsertintothepinchgapinthefork(greenarrow).

#33Hereisazoomedinviewshowingwhatitlookslikewhenthestrutisfullyinsertedintothefork.

#33Itmaybenecessarytopushdownontherotor/knuckleinordertogetenoughroomtoattachthe forkontothestrut.

#34Insertthebolttoholdtheforktothelowercontrolarmandattachanewnut.Thisisalockingnut soanewnutshouldbeusedwheneveritisremoved.AccordingtotheHondaservicemanual,thisbolt shouldbereplacedaswell.Donttightenthenutdownyet,justputitinplaceloosely.

#35Installthepinchboltbutdonottightenitdownyet.

#36Putajackunderthecontrolarmandjackitupuntilthecontrolarmissupportingtheweightofthe vehicle.

#37Withthesuspensionloaded,everythingcanbetighteneddown.StartbytighteningdowntheABS sensorwirebracketasshownbelow.

#38Torquethepinchbolttoitsspecifiedtorque.

#39Tightentheboltholdingtheforktothelowercontrolarmtospec.

#40TorquetheballjointcastlenuttoitsMINIMUMtorquespecification.

#41Ifnecessary,continuetighteningthecastlenutuntilyoucaninsertthecotterpinthroughthenut. Accordingtotheservicemanual,thisshouldalwaysbeaccomplishedbytighteningfurther,never loosening.

#42Bendovertheendsofthecotterpintoholditinplace.

#43Torquedowntheboltsholdingthestrutinplace.

#44Incaseyouarecurious,hereiswhatitlookslikeinsidethebadballjointwiththebootandgrease removed.Therewasasmallamountofplaywhichcouldbefeltandthepinmovedaroundmuchmore freelythanthenewone.Stilllookslikeitwouldhavebeenawhilebeforemywheelfelloff:)

Problemsyoumightencounter: 1. The Pinch bolt gets VERY corroded in place and can be VERY difficult to remove. This is because the pinch area and the open end allow moisture to enter and really freeze this bolt in place. You are probablybestofftouseanimpactwrenchonthisbolt.However,itispossibletosheartheheadoffeven with an impact wrench dont ask me how I know this :). I would recommend soaking the pinch bolt in penetrating oil. Be sure to spray the head, bolt bottom and in the pinch region of the fork (the gap that gets pinched when the bolt is tightened). It will probably work best if you do this a few times over a periodofafewdaystogivethepenetratingoilplentyoftimetopenetratebeforetryingtoloosenit. Hopeyoufoundthishelpful! JohnC