yeah i dont see how it would cause a problem since they ar barely pressed in lol. mine are just laying in there and im sure you could tap them out very easily.

just another way for honda to make money i guess since mine are fine

 

^^^^ u have the link to those ebay bushings?

 

I would post up but they are gone like I bought the last set. I cant find them now but their are a few selling some kits for like 20 bucks one side

 

Fastline bushings still look like new here, just did the brakes and took a good look at them. Around 30,000km and over a year and still look good and feel tight, have ISC coil overs to go on hopefully the first week of November, so they'll be getting a thorough look then and I'll update if theres any issues.

 

Good to know for those of us "on the edge"! Thanks for the upate

 

Agreed......

I have to buy and install my rear brake pads and rotors and after that my next upgrade is the fastline bushings....

 

Am debating between ordering the fastline or saving $200 and getting OEM from dealership...any update after you looked at them recently? Thanks!!!

 

I'm going to dealer to tomorrow to get lca bushings checked and try to get my alignment corrected.

 

I hit a pothole and mine completely detached, I know it happened because of the pothole because I had just checked them when I rotated the wheels the day prior. I also bent 2 wheels BTW, it was a serious pothole. Thanks New York!!!

 

I've had to replace the compliance bushings in every Honda/Acura I've ever owned, so much so I bought the tool to do it easily, no press needed.

They're really easy to replace, I normally just undo the axle nut, push the axle back through the knuckle. Then I remove the front and rear lower control arm bolts, lightly pry the arm out and let it hang by the lower ball joint. Use the linked to tool to quickly press out the old bushing, and use the tool in reverse to install the new ones.

Normally only takes 1/2 hour per side...Acura charging $500 is straight up rape.

I'm doing mine on my 07 NBP TL-S tomorrow, so I'll make a write-up with pics.

 

That would be great! Thanks for the link to the tool. Are you replacing with OEM or something different?

 

Make your own tool for about $50:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=910

 

Does it matter how short the bolts are?, couldn't I just get a 10" bolt and use it for both sides? Or maybe I don't exactly understand what is happening. I am hoping my tractor supply has the 2-1/8" socket and then I was going to try the 3-1/4" socket on amazon with extra washers.

 

A bit late of a reply, but I'm glad it worked for you. I tried like hell and even used my impact gun and they would not press out for me on either side. Then again, my impact gun also has trouble removing lug nuts sometimes when the dealer uses theirs to put them on so maybe it's not really that strong. It drives me crazy cuz I always stupidly put the car up on stands without loosening and can't get them off. Anyway, I made like 3 attempts before finally giving up and taking it to a shop.

Immediately after replacing the bushings, the same shop (not dealer) did an alignment and I got the car back and still had vibrations at 70+ mph. They did however decide to balance my two front wheels while they were off (guess they were just being nice) which I didn't really want because they do not have a roadforce machine. I eventually went in and got another balancing and alignment at the dealer, and now for the first time in over 5 years I feel very little if any vibration. Go figure. Maybe the bushings did fix the vibration and they just balanced the wheels incorrectly.

That being said, since the parts worked for mzilvar, if anyone wants to buy the parts for the tool off of me, shoot me a PM. My car has 152k on the clock now and I won't be replacing these again before I sell it so I have no use for the "tool" anymore.

 

The 1/2" impact I have is a pretty serious electric impact, everyone I've talked to that I've told I've been able to press out suspension bushings using it has been extremely surprised.

It also pops that crank pulley bolt like its nothing.

 

Checking in to say that mine are also ripped. Stupid design. Will be waiting until its warmer out to replace them.

 

How do you recommend getting the arms popped off the ball joints? I'm replacing both arms this weekend after finding all 6 bushings to be torn/cracked severely on my '07. I was thinking of using the ratchet/jack method but I definitely don't want to damage the balljoint boots. Any pointers would be hugely appreciated. This winter has been brutal on my suspension, despite weekly undercarriage washes

 

Use a hammer and just hit the lower arm where the ball joint goes through it. Of course remove the nut first. The impact will cause the arm to pop off.

I dont get why people are so scared to remove the lower arm to do this... Its super easy.

 

That has never worked for me once, and I've been working on my own Hondas for around 15 years (yes lots of suspension work). I live in the desert and there is zero rust out here. I always torque to spec.

The best way to get it separated is to buy a tool called a tie-rod lifter. You can get them on Amazon for ~$24. You can also rent them for free from Oreilly Auto Parts (part of the 5-piece front end service set).

 

This is how Acura tech's admit to popping off control arms, I was hoping to try it but my service manual explicitly states to not strike the arm with any hammer. In fact, that was one of the only steps listed for LCA removal. "do NOT use a hammer/mallet on the joint or arm". Seems likely that the hammer would misshape the sleeve/joint enough to not go back in the same way ever again. Honestly I wouldn't be nervous about popping the arms at all but I've been seeing lots of hype in these threads about not letting the ball joint sleeve pop out of the control arm, seems completely inevitable though, unless you get lucky.

 

It amazes me that people are so scared to hit the control arm with a hammer... I use a 5 pound hammer and hit it as hard as i can and I have yet to bend a control arm or not get one loose (and I live in MN where everything is covered in rust). I could see that separation tool ruining a ball joint. I guess everyone has their own way of doing things but I have never had an issue separating ball joints of any kind this way and I have done it well over 200 times.

 

Wow, well I'll go ahead and take your word for it and report back when I do the new arms. I bought a nice 5 lb. mallet to do the job, I figure with some PB Blaster beforehand they'll pop off nicely. Has the sleeve ever not come off, stuck to the BJoint?

 

I have never had an issue with a sleeve not coming off, but I have had to use a propane torch to heat the arm up before. Also be sure to not hit the threads on the ball joint with the hammer, I keep the nut on, just loosened, so I do mess up the threads.

 

Sweet, thanks for the suggestions.
Also, nice g35 in your avatar. One of my favorite coupes

 

Mine are surprisingly still in same shape as 2 year ago,,, but


Will MOOG be making one for us?? (since TSX, accord, and TL have same problematic bushing?)


http://www.moogproblemsolver.com/548...l#.Uy31sk2PI95


Honestly i'd buy the heeltoe one if it had covers.

 

Would it be necessary to replace any of the other bushings since I am already going to replace the compliance bushings? I.E. Lower front arm bushing (51393-SEP-A01) and or front shock absorber bushing (51810-SDA-A01)

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

 

Personally I wouldn't bother unless they looked shot. The lower-arm shock bushings tend to sag (hole in the middle gets of center) from the weight of the car, but that happens very early in their life. It doesn't mean they are toast. If they look deeply cracked & dried out, it couldn't hurt.

At $15 & $22 each plus the cost to press them, it's completely up to you. If you are buying a press yourself (harbor freight 20-ton coupon $154 till March 31....get the silver version), then what have you got to loose.

 

Gracias.

 

That is rad. You've been immortalized on Heeltoeauto.com

 

Covers? Why? They aren't needed.

 

For fast and easy ball joint separation, watch this video:

 

The only downside to that method on the Integra/Civic shown is that it puts all the tension directly through the ball & socket of the lower ball joint. Not necessarily ideal for ball joint life.

Also on the TL, that method will pull the steel stud-sleeve out of the arm. Honda says that's bad and requires the arm be replaced. They don't explain why.

 

I plan on doing my bushings next week. What is the general consensus on the best method for separating the ball joint? Pitman puller? I was going to try the method in the video above, but now i am hesitant.

 

Rent this tool set (5-piece front end service set) from OerillyAutoParts for free and see which one of these tools fits and still grabs the sleeve in the control arm. If it's not grabbing the sleeve on top of the arm (just below the boot) then it's wrong.




I drew this picture to illustrate the idea of pressing the sleeve (magenta) back into the arm (green). But it does give you an idea of how the tool should be setup with the claws grabbing the sleeve.



This Image shows the $500+ Honda tool. But the red lines someone drew are incorrect as they should be on top of the sleeve instead of next to it.

 

This pictures show the bad news when the sleeve comes out of the arm.

Still attached to the ball-joint stud:
CAM00602_zpsc1e8b02e.jpg?t=1374625512

After being cut off:


Another shot of 1 missing and 1 pulled arm sleeve:

 

Anybody know are bushings covered with powertrain warranty?

 

Can the tool to press out the bushing be rented at any auto parts store?

 

Not that I've ever seen. You could just buy one and sell it again here on the black market. It will probably sell very fast if you knock $20 or $30 off the new tool price. It's $140 on Amazon, or you could build your own for $50 as mentioned above.

 

No it isn't. It isn't a powertrain part (engine).

The force of pulling out the ball joint is much less than that of getting the sleeve out. I believe it is perfectly safe and have done it a bunch of times.

These images are NOT from popping the ball joint loose. This happened, I am assuming, when (Yawsport?) installed extended ball joints in their TL with the provided nuts, which were not large enough to capture the sleeve, and it came loose during a high-performance climb event.

 

I saw the part moog sent and returned it and opted for a boot replacement instead. To be fair my ball joint was fine it was the boot that was messed up. No place for a cotter pin and the differences in threading was a deal breaker for me!