Guide to Changing Front lower ball-joints on Civics!
Tools required:
*Jack
*2x axle stands
*2x wheel-chocs for rears
*wheel-key if needed
*breaker bar
*general socket set & extension bars
*old screwdriver or ideally a centre punch
*needle-nose pliers
*electric or air powered impact-gun
*impact sockets 17mm deep socket, 19mm deep socket, 32mm.
*some old wire.
*plastic malet or lead-head hammer (if you havent got these then a lump hammer with a little piece of wood will do fine!)
*Large vice like heavy duty record vise
*Ball joint removal tool set (Contact me if youd like a set making £60 + postage)
How to change them:
*Chock your rear wheels
*Using a breaker bar slacken off your wheel nuts by half a turn (19mm socket)
*Use a centre punch or old screwdriver to bend the tab (on the spindle nut) out so it is not preventing the nut being removed
*using the long breaker bar or a breaker bar with a piece of pipe crack- the spindle nut loose with a 32mm socket, or use simply use an impact gun which you WILL need later. Electric or air.
*Jack the car up using the centre jacking point with a suitable jack, it is just to the right of the centre of the front-frame. Infront of where your AC condensor is/should be
*Then put your two jack-stand inder the factory jacking points that are located just behind the front wheels
*remove your front wheels carefully not to mark the inside of them against the brake disk, dust-guard or caliper. Also dont forget to maintain good posture while doing any lifting work even with light things as when your leaned over lifting the force on your back is approximatley 10x the weight of the item your lifting!
*place them against a wall leaning on the tyre or flat on the floor on somthign that wont damage the rim of the alloy. If you have tyres that protect the rim then you can lye them flat onto a workshope floor but make sure its going to be ok, if this is the case the tyre will just need a wipe down after
*Next use your needle-nose pliers to remove the split pins from the lower ball joint, upper BJ and steerign arm BJ. Then discard
*Using your general socket set undo the 10mm bolts that retain the brake line to the steering knuckle, then also carefully remove the two 10mm bolts that retain the ABS sensor.
*using socket, extention and wrench remove the brake caliper mounting bolts
*next tie your old wire etc through the brake caliper at a suitable point and tie the other end around the front gearbox and front ac-mounts just inside the engine bay so the calipers are not pulling on the brake lines
*tap/hit (not too hard, just enough to dislodge it) the centre of the driveshaft with your plastic or lead hammerthat sticks out through the brake disk just to push it in a little. As if you tried to pull the knuckle assembly away from the care and the driveshaft is still in in, then you will dislodge the inboard drive-shafts 'sliding tripod joint' assembly. regreasing and assembling these is a messy and time consuming job so take care not to make this mistake!
*Using the impact gun remove the 19mm lower ball-joint castle nut.
*Using the impact gun remove the 17mm steering arm
*using a 17mm combi spanner undo the low-profile nut at the top ball joint
*Next holding you need to use your pivoting ball-joint remover tool. these can be readily bought from honda for £160 or for a draper model that works OK for around £25
So first put your sacrificial nut onto the theaded part of the ball joint, if you dont do this you will damage the end of the old ball joint and never be able to put a nut back onto it, this point should be remembered as its a common mistake people make when changing their driveshafts.
Then grease the open end of the ball joint tool and hold it in place over the ball joint, use a hammer to bing the rear of the ball joint tool so that it slides nicely into place around the ball joint, then proceed to tighten the bolt on the tool so to start putting vertical pressure onto the end of the ball joint. Before you start to give it force on tightening... just make sure its square and directly onto the end of the ball joint.
The joint will POP out with a bang somtimes so be careful
*do the same for the steering arm ball joint and the tope ball joint you may be able to do this by hand giving it a little wiggling and force, otherwise use the tool. Just as a general tip, tap the LCA with a lead/copper hammer as your tightening the tool, the vibrations will help it pop out sooner without putting too mus force onto it.
*next its ready to be lifted out, grip the shaft of the driveshaft and hold so you cant pull its slideing tripod joint apart. (I.E. dont pull it away from the engine, and work the splined end of the driveshaft out of the hub.Then carefully lift out. Resting the driveshaft on the LCA and making sure you dont damage your wing or the driveshaft rubber boot.
*Once you have the knuckcl assembly lifted out you do the same for the other side and then take your knuckles to a large vice.
*Using the largest diametre collar to the flat side of the ball joint and the smallest diametre coller over the threaded end WITH THE BOOT REMOVED; carefully balance the parts and start to tighten the vice. make sure theyre still inline then continue to excert this force on the vice handle until youve 'pressed' the old ball joint out.
*Once removed you will be left with this...
*Get your new ball joints ready, get one out.
*Then position the medium coller over the rear of the new ball joint with the new BJ being placed into position ready to be pressed all the way in. Place the largest coller over the threaded end of the new BJ to proctect it, and carefully lift the whole assembly into the vice and nip it up into position. This process is very difficult when your working on your own trying to balace the assembly and tighten the vise, but its ok. If you have a friend helping then all the better!
*Use the side of the vice if it is easier, be carful not to catch/damage the dust guard. somtimes, depending on the design of the jaws of your vice youll find it easier to use the side of the vice.
*Wind the vice tight until the rear lip of the BJ it tight up against the counter-sunk BJ-seat. then carefully remove the assembly form the vice.
*When your done youll have this.. Dont mind the white talc substanse on the rubbeer boot, the factory somtimes puts this on to protect it.
Reassemble suspension in revers order of removal, make sure you spray all bolts/nuts with WD40 and torque to factory specs then re-fit new split-pins!
Factory Torque-Specs
*upper BJ castle nut - 29-35lb-ft
*lower BJ castle nut - 36-43lb-ft
*steering arm ball joint - 29-35ft-lbs
*Spindle Nut - 134lb-ft
*Wheel nuts - 80lb-ft
*Brake caliper mounting bolts - 80lb-ft
*brake hose and ABS senser wire clamp bolts - 7lb-ft (9.8NM)
Always work safe!
any Questions, feel free to ask
Tools required:
*Jack
*2x axle stands
*2x wheel-chocs for rears
*wheel-key if needed
*breaker bar
*general socket set & extension bars
*old screwdriver or ideally a centre punch
*needle-nose pliers
*electric or air powered impact-gun
*impact sockets 17mm deep socket, 19mm deep socket, 32mm.
*some old wire.
*plastic malet or lead-head hammer (if you havent got these then a lump hammer with a little piece of wood will do fine!)
*Large vice like heavy duty record vise
*Ball joint removal tool set (Contact me if youd like a set making £60 + postage)
How to change them:
*Chock your rear wheels
*Using a breaker bar slacken off your wheel nuts by half a turn (19mm socket)
*Use a centre punch or old screwdriver to bend the tab (on the spindle nut) out so it is not preventing the nut being removed
*using the long breaker bar or a breaker bar with a piece of pipe crack- the spindle nut loose with a 32mm socket, or use simply use an impact gun which you WILL need later. Electric or air.
*Jack the car up using the centre jacking point with a suitable jack, it is just to the right of the centre of the front-frame. Infront of where your AC condensor is/should be
*Then put your two jack-stand inder the factory jacking points that are located just behind the front wheels
*remove your front wheels carefully not to mark the inside of them against the brake disk, dust-guard or caliper. Also dont forget to maintain good posture while doing any lifting work even with light things as when your leaned over lifting the force on your back is approximatley 10x the weight of the item your lifting!
*place them against a wall leaning on the tyre or flat on the floor on somthign that wont damage the rim of the alloy. If you have tyres that protect the rim then you can lye them flat onto a workshope floor but make sure its going to be ok, if this is the case the tyre will just need a wipe down after
*Next use your needle-nose pliers to remove the split pins from the lower ball joint, upper BJ and steerign arm BJ. Then discard
*Using your general socket set undo the 10mm bolts that retain the brake line to the steering knuckle, then also carefully remove the two 10mm bolts that retain the ABS sensor.
*using socket, extention and wrench remove the brake caliper mounting bolts
*next tie your old wire etc through the brake caliper at a suitable point and tie the other end around the front gearbox and front ac-mounts just inside the engine bay so the calipers are not pulling on the brake lines
*tap/hit (not too hard, just enough to dislodge it) the centre of the driveshaft with your plastic or lead hammerthat sticks out through the brake disk just to push it in a little. As if you tried to pull the knuckle assembly away from the care and the driveshaft is still in in, then you will dislodge the inboard drive-shafts 'sliding tripod joint' assembly. regreasing and assembling these is a messy and time consuming job so take care not to make this mistake!
*Using the impact gun remove the 19mm lower ball-joint castle nut.
*Using the impact gun remove the 17mm steering arm
*using a 17mm combi spanner undo the low-profile nut at the top ball joint
*Next holding you need to use your pivoting ball-joint remover tool. these can be readily bought from honda for £160 or for a draper model that works OK for around £25
So first put your sacrificial nut onto the theaded part of the ball joint, if you dont do this you will damage the end of the old ball joint and never be able to put a nut back onto it, this point should be remembered as its a common mistake people make when changing their driveshafts.
Then grease the open end of the ball joint tool and hold it in place over the ball joint, use a hammer to bing the rear of the ball joint tool so that it slides nicely into place around the ball joint, then proceed to tighten the bolt on the tool so to start putting vertical pressure onto the end of the ball joint. Before you start to give it force on tightening... just make sure its square and directly onto the end of the ball joint.
The joint will POP out with a bang somtimes so be careful
*do the same for the steering arm ball joint and the tope ball joint you may be able to do this by hand giving it a little wiggling and force, otherwise use the tool. Just as a general tip, tap the LCA with a lead/copper hammer as your tightening the tool, the vibrations will help it pop out sooner without putting too mus force onto it.
*next its ready to be lifted out, grip the shaft of the driveshaft and hold so you cant pull its slideing tripod joint apart. (I.E. dont pull it away from the engine, and work the splined end of the driveshaft out of the hub.Then carefully lift out. Resting the driveshaft on the LCA and making sure you dont damage your wing or the driveshaft rubber boot.
*Once you have the knuckcl assembly lifted out you do the same for the other side and then take your knuckles to a large vice.
*Using the largest diametre collar to the flat side of the ball joint and the smallest diametre coller over the threaded end WITH THE BOOT REMOVED; carefully balance the parts and start to tighten the vice. make sure theyre still inline then continue to excert this force on the vice handle until youve 'pressed' the old ball joint out.
*Once removed you will be left with this...
*Get your new ball joints ready, get one out.
*Then position the medium coller over the rear of the new ball joint with the new BJ being placed into position ready to be pressed all the way in. Place the largest coller over the threaded end of the new BJ to proctect it, and carefully lift the whole assembly into the vice and nip it up into position. This process is very difficult when your working on your own trying to balace the assembly and tighten the vise, but its ok. If you have a friend helping then all the better!
*Use the side of the vice if it is easier, be carful not to catch/damage the dust guard. somtimes, depending on the design of the jaws of your vice youll find it easier to use the side of the vice.
*Wind the vice tight until the rear lip of the BJ it tight up against the counter-sunk BJ-seat. then carefully remove the assembly form the vice.
*When your done youll have this.. Dont mind the white talc substanse on the rubbeer boot, the factory somtimes puts this on to protect it.
Reassemble suspension in revers order of removal, make sure you spray all bolts/nuts with WD40 and torque to factory specs then re-fit new split-pins!
Factory Torque-Specs
*upper BJ castle nut - 29-35lb-ft
*lower BJ castle nut - 36-43lb-ft
*steering arm ball joint - 29-35ft-lbs
*Spindle Nut - 134lb-ft
*Wheel nuts - 80lb-ft
*Brake caliper mounting bolts - 80lb-ft
*brake hose and ABS senser wire clamp bolts - 7lb-ft (9.8NM)
Always work safe!
any Questions, feel free to ask
