So, from my other thread, I've said that my lower ball joint is shot. Went ahead and took everything about and got the ball joint replacement from Napa. My concern: it has no hole for a cotter pin and no castle bolt. Just a regular bolt and nut. Has anyone ever seen that? Don't want to put my car back together and have that damn thing pop off running down the interstate...

 

The nut that came with your replacement lower ball joint is probably self-locking. My guess is that there is a nylon insert in the nut, which you should be able to plainly see. If this is the case, I would have no problem using it. Just be sure to torque it properly and I would even recommend using some thread locker (blue) on the threads.

 

go to home depot and get one for 2 bucks or less

 

How did you get the old one out? My Oreilly rental tool didn't work. The adapter doesn't fit properly into the inside of the arm to support me pressing it out.

 

I had a terrible time getting mine out. I ended up taking the steering knuckle off and putting it in a vice on the bench. Then I took a deep impact socket and fit it over the ball joint and beat the !@#$ out of the socket with a hammer and the ball joint popped out. Ball joint was destroyed in the process. The new one can be pressed in really easily with the Oreilly ball joint kit + honda adapter.

 

Does the bolt have deformed threads at the end? Does it thread on the entire length smooth?

Sometimes in lieu of a pin they can just smash the last bit of thread on the nut. It works, but its probably not as reliable as a pin.

 

I had to take it to the shop that I use. They had to press it out with a hydraulic press. The tool from Napa and my impact hammer couldn't do it. They said it was the hardest one they had ever done. Screw suspension work, I'm paying someone else for it from now on. Wasted an entire weekend trying to get that thing removed....

 

I had my lower ball joints replaced and the replacements have no pins either. My wheels are still on the car so I'm guessing everything's fine.

 

Interesting. After my initial post, I called my Acura master mechanic friend (who is AWESOME and he has a shop in Libertyville in Chicago... got to know him when I lived there) and he just told me to "whack the shit out of it." Guess what? That's exactly all I needed to do. Take the knuckle off and brace it against a piece of wood against my garage wall (concrete). Then, I went to town on it around the ring. Making sure I hit it towards the inside and not outside (which would prevent it from coming out). After the initial bulge, it came out pretty easily.

Oh and disconnect the speed sensor from the clip inside, don't try to disconnect it on the hub... it will not happen.