2006 - 2011 Honda Civic Lower Control Arm + Ball Joint Replacement

[@alejandromorazan3420]

DIYers: I just did this job(driver side) And it was the absolute most painful and frustrating things ive ever done, first of all, my sway bar links were different, they did not have the hex thing in the middle, i had to improvise and jam a 18mm wrench in the part that spun when i tried removing the nut and was able to get them off, not hard so far, now this is where i thank this video so much and its actually the best method compared to other videos, in every other video the mechanic person uses the hammer method or the ball joint seperator tool to remove the ball joint while its still attached to the lower control arm, in my case the F$%# tool wouldnt fit, so i tried another method where you raise the suspension upwards and then jam a tool in the gap between the lower control arm and ball joint, DID NOT WORK, but thanks to this video i simply did it how it demostrated(the best way) Just disconnect the ball joint from control arm and remove the control arm to get it out of the way and simply put the ball joint tool from behind and BAM!! Hard part was over(not really) Now here is where sh$t hit the fan Aligmning the lower control arm horizontal bolt(closest to the driver door) was the hardest thing, that stupid arm did not want to align, the way i did it was by not installing the ball joint(install it after you align and start the bolts of the control arm) So i first got the vertical control arm bolt (farthest from driver door) aligned and lightly tightened it but was still potruding since i wasnt going to tighten it first, then i tried aligning the other bolt by using 2 hammers(one to use as an extention and the other to hammer onto the 1st hammer so it moves the control arm) so i used the hammer trick to get the control arm hole in and when i was able to see the hole i then placed a small extention inside it and wiggled it and used a pry bar until i was able to get the slim extention to go through completely and come out the other side, once i did that i got a slightly thicker extention and did the same thing(though this one wouldnt come out the other side) What i finally did was i aligned one part so i am able to get the bolt atleast half way and then since i cant hammer it in cause theres no space, i simply got my impact and used and extention with a joint do i can start spinning the bolt in, at first it would only spin and not grab, so i spun the bolt and used a pry bar at the same time to move the arm around until the bolt started grabbing the threads and BAM it went right in(only took me 2 hours for that 1 bolt) I then lightly tighten both and installed the ball joint last and was able to install everything back, once everything was set, i raised the suspension and torqued the bolts to spec. Now heres a few things you need to know about this job: if you dont have a back up car, you will definitely be screwed if you can get the bolts aligned. 2nd: you need a lot more tools that are mentioned in most vids, You definitely need the following -An impact gun -multiple pry bars with diff sizes -ball joint seperator -an adjustable wrench -lots of extentions with joints -back up bolts -deep sockets and regular sockets -2 hammers, a regular household hammer and a 2LB soft hammer(the one that makes noise when you shake it) -a slim extention bar or a punch set that is as thick as the bolts and thinner too used to align the holes. -knee pads and elbow pads Just know: you will struggle with aligning the holes to get the bolts in, i thought the ball joint part was going to be hard(it wasnt) the aligning was a total $%#%$ Do not do this if you have work tomorrow and dont have a back up car Also you will be sore and your body will hurt after this if you dont have a lift. If you struggle with one side, do not do both the same day, you need rest, i failed to take frequent rests and i felt the nerves and veins hurting and i could barely walk after this job. Good luck yall Edit:i forgot to mention, you will also need these thingd called aligment punch rods or aligment punch sets, thats what i used to help align the holes, i kept saying slim extention bars, The aligment punch sets are thicket on one side and grt thinner on the other side

[@joeyyung911]

Great tips!! I just did both of mines today. For me, to get the lower controls in, I jacked up the knuckle (before installing the ball joint) so the control arms can be horizontal. It was smooth as butter going in, of course, I cleaned it before putting it in. I also had the sway bar completely off, get everything out of the way. (Now thinking as I type this, I could've installed the ball joint to the knuckle first, jack it up, install lower control arm, then slowly lower the ball joint into the control arm.....) With everything loosely tightened, I first torque the ball joint to the control arms...in this order: FRONT NUT, BACK NUT, then the BOLT. (Following the service manual). Put everything on load and torqued everything down to the lug nuts. Next step, alignment.

[@alejandromorazan3420]

@@joeyyung911 a week later i did the passenger side and it was so easy once i knew by memory what to do, i really wish that i wouldve done a video of it.

[@Shreaderbrahhh]

Getting my bolts to go back in and bite on the threads has been an all day nightmare! You're so lucky with how quickly yours went in!

[@NightFlight1973]

I had a hell of a time getting the end of the box wrench on the castle nut. No clearance between it and the axle. It was the same with the replacement too. I ended up having to tighten it down with the open end as best I could. I did the complete arm (took me 7hrs or so - first real big job) to fix a clunk, but I don't think that was it! Dammit. 07 Si with 250,000km.

[@TDLDIY]

@@NightFlight1973 I am glad you gave it a try! Is this your first time working on a car? As time goes on and you work more on vehicles you will be able to speed up a bit. And other times you will struggle depending on situation. I am glad you commented because this will help others do the jobs as well. Noting the box end wrench was more difficult then the open end wrench. I hope you figured out the reason of the clunking. Have you checked wheel bearings?

[@daliborlaganin4582]

Suspension needs to be under load before you torque bolts

[@tomsherry8961]

Great video. Thanks for showing it all.

[@TDLDIY]

Your welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@AlexHernandez-kw2rv]

Link and size to the ball joint separator tool?

[@richdanq6080]

Good job, how did the Moog lower control arm hold up this while. did they last?

[@TDLDIY]

So far so good!

[@whenwhathuh]

I'm guessing you couldn't torque the castle nut?

[@sharifsircar]

Another tip instead going to war with a grinder, use a vice grip to hold it from the rubber side (yes you will ruin the sway bar links) and get at it with an impact hahahaha

[@TDLDIY]

Thanks for the advice

[@alanw5812]

should remove the shock two bolts and nuts, then hold the bearing hub up to release the lower arm pressure, even need to remove the cv shaft out of the hub, so can torque the ball joint nut ! lot of people use the quick way . that why honda you need to pay more and better.

[@NightFlight1973]

Hmph. That's how.... dang.

[@Omarvro1]

What’s the difference between Honda and aftermarket? Like is this trustworthy?

[@TDLDIY]

Well the Honda one is way more money so if budget is a concern this option is budget friendly. I also was a bit concerned with much cheaper aftermarket parts. so I asked my neighbour which is a mechanic and now has his own shop, plus he has the same gen Honda civic and asked him what is a quality part from rockauto he mentioned MOOG is good. So far its been Its almost been a year since the repair and no issues yet. I can only speak from my experience i hope this helped a bit, but i always encourage people to do there own research or asked a trusting professional what they would recommend for a cheaper option vs the factory replacement parts as they might know more from there experiences.

[@kamilchandoszko9745]

@@TDLDIY are the genuine Honda ball joints tire rods and sway bar links pre greased?

[@DavidHernandez-ht5kv]

Is the Milwaukee impact gun the mid torque model?

[@TDLDIY]

Yes, it is the mid torque works really good. Perfect size for the DIY'er for sure.