my right upper balljoint is either cracked or damaged, there is some play in the wheel, there is greese coming out of or around the seal where it all bolts up

ok how serious is this problem, is it safe to drive on or should it be replaced as soon as possible which brings me to my next question is this gonna be expensive


the car is a 93 civic dx hb , it has all stock suspension components and was serviced regularly by the previous owner


why or how does a balljoint break like this?
thanks for your help

 

upper balljoint is about 160$ from napa, easy to install

the joint comes with a new upper control arm...thats what the price is all about.

 

I think you mean the boot is cracked, not the balljoint... if the ball joint truly is cracked, its time to park the car and leave it until you can fix it. the rubber boots regularly crack from normal weather elements, road debris/grime... and age of course.

 

the factory honda part isnt even 160 so get the factory stuff I think its around 140

 

it's easy to do ... and can be found cheaper then 160 .... (I think I paid 80, but I was paying cost at a friends shop, labour was more)

 

ok, so if the boot is cracked thats alot cheaper to fix correct?

if the joint is cracked whats an easy way to tell before it seemed i could move my tire back and forth like there was play in it, i tried today and it didnt move... but it is wet with grease around the boot of the upper ball joint should i just have a shop look at it before i do ne thing?

i really hope this doesnt cost me an arm and a leg lol

 

either way if the boot or joint is cracked it's best to take out the upper arm and get it replaced... the whole joint .... it's best not to leave it because you know the front of the rim (the side you see when looking at the side of the car) well if that ball joint snaps that side of the tire will be flush with the ground.... and other things (like the CV joints) could become damaged when it does go.... it's really not a pretty site....

 

Not that Im even remotely compareing a chrysler to a Honda... but Ive seen an Intrepid after the ball joint compleately broke in a parking lot.. the wheel tore the axle right out of the tranny, and the whole wheel and suspension tore right through the passenger side fender and through the door.. It looked like the car got T boned in a highspeed intersection... it was rough...

This happened in a parking lot.. the guy was doing about 10km/hr.. imagin if he was on a highway? guy would of probably crashed, burned, died... in that order too .. Moral of the Story bad balljoints can be serious... thats why its a big part of certification safety...

I would have a good look at it, make sure its not worn out...

 

holy **** thanks for making me crap my pants lol, k well im gonna have this inspected immediatly.. god i hope its not to bad.

 

civics are allot lighter than intrepids and the suspension is designed allot better, so I wouldnt crap my pants just yet...lol but yah look into it cuz it can be a safety concern..

 

if you are interested in knowing where i got my control arms for cheap pm me

 

hold on here BOYS, what do you mean less than $140 dollars
or on the 5th gen civic, can you replace just the ball-joint peice
because I had to purchase the whole upper arm..

 

I know that if you want OEM upper control arms for the 5th gen civics that you have to but the entire upper arm.....I think it is that way for almost all OEM honda upper control arms.....It comes as one complete unit

 

honda quoted me at 190 or something for mine, so I thought napa was a good deal at $160, and you guys are saying $140?

 

if the upper ball joint goes, bad you must replace the whole control arm is what im asking

 

Back when I had my 90 CRX. I had to replace the WHOLE upper control arm.

If it's just the rubber boot get it seen to ASAP. You don't want it to dry up and allow dirt to get in there. If you ball joint is going\gone when you turn a corner you are going to hear a NASTY clicking noise coming from the front end.

 

well i took another look at it, im gonna jack it up today and see if i can accually move the wheel, there are not clicking or any type of noises from the front end, i looked at the boot on the balljoint it seems clean now, no grease or anything around it, i dunno maybe i was just dreaming the other day when i was looking at it lol during school hours i tend to do that anyways ill take a closer look at it today and if i do gotta replace it, is it very difficult to do by urself, what would be harder a lower balljoint or the upper one?

 

guys....on 4TH GENS only the lower balljoint is replaceable...the upper requires a whole new arm. however, if im not mistaken, every gen AFTER 4th gen both upper and lower balljoints are replaceable.

 

p.s. if your balljoints were gone your car would be wiggling side to side over every bump especially at high speeds on the highway.

 

ya c that doesnt happen, its just that one day i felt a weird movement in the front end when i was turning into a parking space, then i went and shook the wheel it felt like there was play in it so i got scared , now maybe it was something else?