Hey guys. 2 questions really.

first off, i did search but am having trouble locating which part exactly the lower ball joint is on the parts site. everyone i talk to says that it only comes with the lower control arm. (everyone being NAPA and Acura). now i had read some other posts that said the lower bj could be pressed out and purchases individually. is that not true for the type-s? the stealer wants me to buy a knuckle at $1600 for p&l, but i'm not believing the story.

secondly, how hard is it to replace? it doesn't look all that bad but maybe i'm not getting the right idea.

Bob

 

Moog sells the lower ball joint (and the upper which I think I'm going to do) which is a lot cheaper than the whole knuckle. They try the same thing with the upper ball joint as to sell you the whole arm.

I had a shop install the lower joints and endlinks, but I think I will attempt the upper myself. Mine has a clunking noise that is driving me mad, so I'm going to replace all of the bushings as well.....but that will be a spring project. That means I have to buy the right tools for the job.

OntarioTL

 

OntarioTL, thanks for the update. unfortunately i have to resolve this by Saturday, as i will be going away for business sunday. so i can't wait for moog to deliver the joint but i can get the lower arm from NAPA by tommorow for $130 and have my guy do it saturday morning since i'm short on time to do it myself. better than $1600 from acura. that's really disappointing that they insist on lying to people that way. or maybe some of them don't know any better. i dunno.

Bob

 

Thats wierd, I thought NAPA would carry just the joint, or even a Pep boys or something that we dont have here in great white north!

But if you have a guy do it and only cost $130 then even better for sure than the con of $1600

OntarioTL

 

Thats wierd, I thought NAPA would carry just the joint, or even a Pep boys or somewhere that we dont have here in great white north!

But if you have a guy do it and only cost $130 then even better for sure than the con of $1600

OntarioTL

 

51220-S84-A02 JOINT, FR. BALL (LOWER)

This is what you are looking for. Shouldn't run you more than about $20-25. It is not listed on the parts site, but they do sell them. I think the most difficult part about replacing the joint is the fact that you'll have to remove the axle to get the clearance you need to pop out the old and press in the new.

 

well here is my update, i got the ball joint from autozone for $25. had a local shop put it in for $100. i think it took about 1&1/2 hours. I wasn't there when they did it. i also got two new tires and an alignment with it for $400. sure beats the $1200 more acura wanted for a knuckle. those guys are all f'ed up. i'm really considering filing a complaint against them but i want them to do my timing belt and i'm a little worried they'll try to screw me when i bring it in if i do file a complaint. we'll see.

thanks for the help guys!

 

Call the parts department up and ask them for the price of the front knuckle. Then when you get the price call the service dept and ask them where they got their price from. My Dealer list is like 380 for the part. You can get it here for 310 new
http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...catdisplay.jsp

 

Excellent source to purchase discount OEM parts. Even better for me since it is a local dealership ten miles down the road from my house I simply place the online order and go in the next day to pick up!

 

well i'm pretty sure the quoted $1600 included parts, labor (i was told about 6 or 7 hours) and alignment IIRC. i've never gone through the work of changing a knuckle but i'm sure it's somewhat labor intensive. i should ask what their itemized prices were though.

 

6 to 7 hours to replace that?? Are they HIGH?????? they can replace a tranny in that time. thats a Hr job tops for a mech at the dealer, hell i could do it in my garage in under a hr. Plus maybe another hr for alignment tops

 

Agreed!

 

you guys can replace a knuckle in an hour? that's pretty good. i've never replaced a whole knuckle before so i don't have any experience on that myself.

i knew it was BS from the start though when the dealer said "unfortunately this doesn't come as an individual part." usually when it begins with that it's all downhill from there. luckily i have you guys here to fill me in.

Bob