19 replies to this topic

[87b16a ccivic]

i have a 1987 honda civic and i need new ball joint i was told that i have to change the whole radius arm as it comes with the ball joint,
but i see on the net look for new arms that i can just buy the Ball joints from this this site here
Can someone please let me know if this is possiable, and if it is how do i remove the stock ball joint from the arm ?

[hondaguy72]

Just buy the whole arm. They are not too expensive and can be installed with no special tools. Rockauto is where I bought one for my car.

[Smokescreem]

The Ball Joint on the left side want out on my 87 crx. Was told its the same as the 87 Civic. So I would have to say yes. It the whole Radius arm. That was what I got. Got it from O'Reilly auto parts. 64.00 I think it was for one. I went a head and did both sides.

[87b16a ccivic]

thank for the info but is it possiable to change just the ball joint would like to know since i will be racing and it might be quicker to change them, just asking a question

[JEA86]

^^ i have also wondered the same. i mean heck if it got pressed in why could you not press it out and get a whole new one pressed into the factory arm?

[1st gen boy]

The Ball Joint on the left side want out on my 87 crx. Was told its the same as the 87 Civic. So I would have to say yes. It the whole Radius arm. That was what I got. Got it from O'Reilly auto parts. 64.00 I think it was for one. I went a head and did both sides.

I race a 1st gen and it is waaaaay faster to change the whole arm. About 15 minutes at most if you are in a hurry... and at the track it usally is a hurry...

[JEA86]

have you pressed in new ball joints on your old radius arms?

[EuphoricBlue]

^^ i have also wondered the same. i mean heck if it got pressed in why could you not press it out and get a whole new one pressed into the factory arm?

I'm sure it's possible, it's just that you need a press to do it and it takes more time and effort. For consumers it is cheaper to buy a control arm than have a mechanic press in a new ball joint.

Plus, in order to press the joint out and new one in you need to take the control arm off the car anyway... There's just too much junk in the way to do it in place I think...

I've never bothered pressing ball joints, I just replaced the arm.

[cbstdscott]

Honda has never sold the ball joint as a seperate piece, you have to buy the entire radius arm.

[pvbcrx]

That Moog part is interesting - it looks like an adjustable unit that slips into the old ball joint cavity, and is retained by a washer and nut. I may be missing something here, but what else could be the purpose of the big honkin' threads on the bottom of the ball joint? If it's pressed in, why the extra nut & threads?

The only advantage to replacing just the ball joint is that it lets you retain the OEM arm (if that's what you have). As EuphoricBlue mentioned, the arm has to come off the car anyway.

Might be cheaper than a Honda arm, if they're even still available. Had bad luck with cheapo Chinese arms - one broke on me, and before that I ran into brake rotor clearance issues. I think Moog makes pretty good quality parts.

[Screech]

My vote is it will not work with ours. If you look at CRX it shows 88-91. If it would fit our car it would fit the 1G CRX. I think it may be a part that will work on the 80-83, 88-2000 Civics. I think our t-bar setups were just too different from 84-87.

[anjin]

Pulled one apart months ago to see what was in there. No thread.

It might be possible to find a ball joint that suited, but there is always that little bit of doubt - have I done it right. I'd buy the arm until there are none left, then start experimenting when you have to.

And when I checked in Australia, the replacement parts for the civic/crx and teg were the same number. So I can'r even access the slightly wider teg ones here.

[firstgencrx]

You guys are missing something here. That ball joint in the picture is a TOP joint. NOT a bottom. Put that thing on the bottom, and there's a good chance it will come apart.

There are no ball joints that can be pressed into a stock arm. I spent weeks trying to find one. The only option to having an arm with a replaceable ball joint is to build one from scratch, or modify a stock arm like I did. I welded and braced a socket to the end of a stock arm so it can use the easy to find and cheap 88-91 lower ball joint. I also made the arm a little longer at the same time to increase track width and gain some negative camber. Make damn sure your welding skills are in place:







David

[jsgprod]

Thank you for posting those pics David.

Do you have any idea how long I was looking for those yesterday?
Now I see where you have them. Still couldn't find where you wrote that up though. I'm thinking about doing something similar myself.

Jay

[firstgencrx]

Thank you for posting those pics David.

Do you have any idea how long I was looking for those yesterday?
Now I see where you have them. Still couldn't find where you wrote that up though. I'm thinking about doing something similar myself.

Jay

You should have just ask me, I would have gladly sent them to you. If you want more pics just let me know.

David