frenchy69

Today I decided to find the noise that drove me so crazy.
I lifted my car I've noticed the left right Knuckle was moving ..That was it.
Acura calls it Knuckle mechanic calls it upper control arm..
So I am looking for an upper ctrl arm .
Anyway I also discovered the inner tie rod the boot was ripped on the right side
I checked online for the knuckle it is like $300 each ,cheapest one is $230.
The sway bars were a little wobbly too..
So I have no idea how much is going to cost me...I am just frustrated right now I need to fix at least the knuckle .
Another thing the left right strut was leaking that needs to be fixed.
That rattling noise was probably coming from that strut..
A mechanic helped me that used to work at Acura.
I asked how much is going to fix all that he said he doesn't have the time rt now.
If anyone knows a place I could buy these parts that would be great.
I took some pictures how do you insert Pictures?

Jimmay

I always tell people to check rockauto. The knuckle does not have a ball joint up top, it is the upper control arm that has the ball joint. Personally, ive replaced both upper control arms on mine, also the away links, struts. These are just normal wear and tear items. To insert a picture you need to host it(photobucket, flickr, something like that) then get the direct link. When making a post, click the little button that has a mountain on it(if you hover it says insert picture) then just enter in the url. boom

frenchy69

I checked with Rockauto they don't have them they only have upper rear.
I am looking for Knuckle left Drivers side acura part # is: 51210-sz3-010
No one has it expect of course acura its $308 a piece
The strut thing ...what do I need to buy the strut and the spring ?
thanks for your help really appreciate.. sorry I am dump when it comes to cars.

Jimmay

Did they say what ball joint is bad? If the upper ball joint is bad you need a control arm, which rock auto has for about $120. If the lower is bad, youll need the knuckle as Im not sure that pressed out. Youd need to get this from Acura most likely.

You can just buy a strut, no need to buy a spring.

frenchy69

I wish it was that part ..Its the knuckle ...in fact I called auto parts one guy told me he never heard of knuckle before..so I used control arm they say they have it...but they are talking about anchor bolts ..Acura has different names the way they call their components..
I guess the guy that had this RL B4 me was in the accident ...but they never replaced the knuckle left side when it was restored cuz the front hood was replaced ...when I lifted my acura yesterday the left front wheel,if you rock the wheel it knocks my mechanic said you have a bearing problem here,,I discovered it by myself I said do you see when you move the rim you can see the knuckle is moving the upper part wasn't tight. ..so if you move the wheel back and forth you can see the knuckle was moving Iit has a little play ...
By the way is it safe to drive it like this?
Thank you for help really appreciate it..

OLD_HATCH

If you are talking about the front lower balljoijt then here is the deal with it. Dealer only sells the whole knuckle. You can purchase only the lower balljoint, but to replace it you need to press out the wheel bearing. Sobtjat means you'll have to buy a ball joint and wheel bearing. You might be better off buying the whole knuckle at the dealer for 300 if you cantbuy parts cheap and have cheap labor forbthe pressing

Jimmay

This is good to know. I thought you couldnt press out the lower, but i have a machine shop close to me that is good and cheap.

frenchy69

Hi Jimmay
What I needed is what you had suggested in first place..its a complete upper control arm ball joints
for $123 not bad...my Mechanic said you can just buy ball joints but there like $63 might as well get the complete arm...
Thanks for your help
Another question for you..any differences in cheaper sway bars ?
Moog sway bar links are very expensive more than OEM sway bars links?
Any suggestions ?
I also need a rear left strut...is the aftermarket strut ok?
My strut was leaking thats probably why it was making that rattling noises.
Thanks

silver3.5

I have both my front lower ball joints pressed out without pressing out the wheel bearing. It's cheap and can be done in 30 minutes. A local shop did both fronts for $60 total, that is I brought them the whole knuckle. For the upper ball joint, just buy a pair of ball joints and press out the old ones and press the new ones in as well. Easy job...if you have the right tools and know what you're doing. Otherwise, better taking it to a mechanic and be prepared to spend big bucks.

frenchy69

what do you mean by press out? I have no idea what it means?

Team LR

Put it in a machine that can apply a few ton of pressure to the joint so it can slide in or out easy

OLD_HATCH

There must be a difference between your car and mine. I had one lower ball joint replaced and was there the for the whole process.

On my car the ball joint sits in a way where when you try to press it out it hits the wheel bearing metal dust ring and wheel bearing. They needed to be removed before the ball joint could be pressed out.



I would not recommend changing the upper ball joint yourself unless you have a press. Banging it out with a socket and pushing the same way back will actually open up the mounting hole and cause the new joint to not sit as securely.

silver3.5

We have the same car with the same setup. I understand what you mean by the wheel bearing metal dust ring in the way a little bit. I tech didn't need to remove it; I saw him do it; just angle it a little bit! Works like a charm.

frenchy69

Iam just going to change both upper ctrl arms..
They are $123 a piece the ball joints are like $68 ...Not much savings
Today I put 4 Michelin Tires , by the way it rides so nice !!I noticed when you move the Knuckle where the upper ctrl arm sits you can hear that knock I was talking about..the knuckle is fine...
I ask an Acura Mechanic he said its better just to replace the upper ctrl arm doesn't have to be an original OEM part..but I found an OEM Acura CTRL ARM FOR $153
The right ctrl arm is fine. Should I replace them both?
Thanks again guys for all your inputs really appreciated