I just failed inspection because of the passenger-side front ball joint.

1) Am I correct that the entire upper control arm should be replaced?
2) Does OEM vs aftermarket matter for the UCA? If yes, I'm having a hard time finding the OEM part online.

Thanks.

 

I would do OEM BallJoint
https://www.acuraoemparts.com/auto-p...t/knuckle-scat

 

Is the boot ripped? You can replace just the joint and boot, but the cost of an UCA is pretty cheap so it's easier to swap the arm if DIY'ing. Generally OEM is better quality/more durable and if you plan on keeping the car would be the way to go.

 

Thanks! Is #21 the entire UCA assembly? I don't want to deal with getting the ball pressed into place.


No idea on the boot - literally just went to get it inspected at lunch and they told me the upper ball joint is borked. I'll stick with OEM - definitely want to keep the car long-term and as reliable as possible. Not sure if DIY-ing... normally I would but I don't have much free time these days; we'll see.

 

Buy the whole arm from Acura, is what I'd recommend. I've been using curryacuraparts

don't re-press ball joints into the arm unless you have the means to tack weld or fasten it somehow.

There's a reason acura only sells full arms.

 

5 and 6 say Arm, R Front (Upper)ARM, R. FR. (UPPER)



#21 says Joint, Front Ball

Also picture :

 

for $60 per side its pretty cheap, I would buy the whole control arm.

 

21 is the LOWER ball joint.

Not the upper. Upper joint isn't sold seperately.

 

Thanks!

I should have clarified. OP asked if 21 was the arm assembly and that's what I was referring to

 

That's what I figured. I'm no longer 19 driving an Accord so I want to do this right - buy once, cry once.


Yessss. Looks like I need #5.


Well $80 but still a good price.

 

Do TL's have the holes in the unibody that are used to hang a rod, in order to install the UCA at the correct angle?

 

peeps...good post, OP not trying to hijack your post but I am in the same boat...long story short....lot o s rattle from front end....replaced the compliance bushing, replaced the shock rattle still exists, ...so I am assuming it is the UCA ball joint...bought a set on moogs from RA.....but now after reading this post I am confused.....I have a press to press in the ball joint....... but tack weld??? didn't know you have to do that.....please advise I can return the ball joint since I am still in the window and get new complete control arms......but the only thing is to install the UCA's you have unmount the front suspension....doing just the ball joints is much simpler and can be done easily.....
Please enlighten me to make the correct decision........I am so annoyed with the rattle don't know where it is emanating from....

sandan...

 

How was it "borked"? What criteria did they use to make that statement?

Good luck, but I doubt an upper ball joint is the issue. Do you happen to have a CAI installed?

 

NO! no CAI installed......but the rattle is killing me only happens if you go over obstacles like a rummbler strip...like a lot of mini puddles....

The only thing left is to closely check LCA's other 2 bushings......any good method that you guys would recommend...besides the traditional crow bar....

sandan...

 

Lift the wheel up and punch it on the tire at 3/6/9/12 oclock. You should hear a metal on metal resonate from the ball joint play.

 

you got it....will try today...

 

here's my reasoning for tack welding re-pressed joints:

-You will likely deform the control arm as you press out the old joint. This is ESPECIALLY true for cars exposed to road salts.

-Its a stamped steel arm. So the likelihood of deforming it is high.

-Aftermarket OE style joints come with C-clips (usually) as a safety measure. So...the clip will likely catch the joint if it comes loose from the bore. But you'll get a rattle.


Just buy the whole replacement arm from Acura. Its the most simple/solid solution.

 

OP and Sandan, I agree, buy the OEM assembly, but only if it's truly necessary. I am skeptical that the upper ball joint is really bad for either of you. The failure rate for these on a TL is extremely low....

 

Somewhat related question. When I turn my wheel lock to lock, I hear a click from the drivers front. My upper ball joint looks to have grease on it so i thought it was going bad but after reading through this, doesn't sound like it may be the case. The boot looks ok and no play when grabbing the wheel at 12 & 6'clock either. Guessing the ball joints not my issue?

 

OEM all the way. Under $100 and lasts much longer. No question at all.

 

upper ball joints are best tested with the car on level ground. with the car up in the air, the UCA is being pulled on hard enough to sometimes hide a bad ball joint.

grab the wheel spoke at 12 o clock, or grab the inner sidewall of the tire and yank/pull and push back and forth on it hard. Use sudden movements.

 

Will try that. Thanks.

 

My 08 TL developed a rattle at about 110,000 miles. I replaced both front swaybar endlinks and the rattle disappeared.

 

Got '08 with ~90k miles. In recent inspection I found out that LF upper arm ball joint is loose, and RF tie rod end.

It just starts, but with $70 for upper arm and $40 for tie rod, I'm gonna replace both of them (2 arms and 2 tie rods). (and $15 for all new bolts, nuts, and pins)

Anybody did upper arms themselves ? Service manual says to remove struts, but it seems like it's possible to maneuver out those bolts if I loosen up strut on the top. (only thing on the way is spring) (small adjustments and I can fit bolt between spring)

 

OP here, I just did this a few weeks ago. You definitely have to move the coilover out of the way because otherwise you won't be able to get the UCA bolts out. That said, I did exactly what you say: unbolted the coilover from the shock tower under the hood, pried it down, and moved it around as necessary to get to the UCA bolts. Prying it down out of the bolt holes so I could move it was NOT easy - took me prying on the LCA and a friend prying at the shock tower to get it low enough. Aside from that, it's an easy job.

 

Do you think that removing the strut would be easier? Assuming that bolts will easily leave bushings.

​​​​I probably won't have any helper, and no idea if I will be doing it in garage on Jack stands or in the shop on proper lift. (rather garage, getting into shop might be tricky)

 

Why ride the struggle bus?

Remove the shock. It doesn't save any time...and certainly doesn't save any effort to attempt to leave the shock in and pry on it.

You need to set the angle of the UCA before tightening the bolts anyway. This is 100000000X easier with no shock in the way.

Don't tighten any of those (UCA or LCA) bushing bolts with the parts drooping or at random angles or you'll damage the bushings.

 

^how would you tighten the upper without the front end jacked up? (And if your lowered)

 

I guessed that you can predict where UCA should be. Or use screwdriver/wire/rod like service manual suggests.
(and it also says to remove strut/damper)

Service manual pages:

I thought that I can leave those bolts slightly loose, then put car on the wheels. It will be supported with LCA and strut, but no idea if I can reach UCA bolts then.
In that scenario UCA will be push inside, but I care only about the rotation, as position can't really change.

Question is because I'm afraid that strut/fork bolt will get stuck in bushing, and I won't be able to remove it without destroying that bushing. And I didn't think enough to order it.
(it happened once in other car when I tried to replace struts. Otherwise I have no experience in suspension [did only simple shocks so far][other than alignments]).

I'm probably just overthinking this.

 

I think I know what you're asking.

1.) Before starting...before jacking the car up....measure your hub to fender distance with your car at whatever static height you run.

2.) Remove the shock, replace the UCA...including re-attaching the upper ball joint to the spindle. Leave the bushings loose.

3.) Before installing the shock...jack up the spindle to simulate your hub to fender distance. Tighten the bushings

4.) Re-install the shock.





Try loosening it. If its stuck, move to plan B.

But definitely try first. It shouldn't be stuck. I have seen more pinch bolts stuck than LCA thru bolts. BUT...I have seen it the other way around too haha.

 

Small update:

I was spraying bolts that I could see without raising car up with PB blaster twice 2 days before the job, and then one more time right before removing the nuts.

I decided to remove the strut. All bolts came loose easily. Getting strut out of fork is kind of tricky.
Upper arms and tie rod ends were really easy to replace. At one point I was fighting with pin for tie rod nut, and that was the hardest part.

To position upper control arm I used straight piece of brake line, and then torqued bolts to spec.

With 2 upper control arms, 2 tie rod ends, and all nuts and bolts and pins (except for strut and fork) it costed me $255 with shipping, and little bit more than 3 hours.

 

Damn, that's a buff ass bungee cord