on a side note, this tool from harbor freight is only $20 and works perfectly with the rear ball joints on the s2000. I suspect it will work well on many hondas.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=99849

 

so why did you decide to replace the ball joint instead of the A arm with the oblong worn hole? i mean yeah, it's cheaper, but...is the ball joint bad? even if you replace it, you're still going to have a lower A arm with a hole that's oversized...

not to mention, people are parting out entire cars on here all the time. i'm sure you could find that lower A arm pretty cheap if you look around

also...knuckle. KNUCKLE. you're not talking about the hub!

 

knuckle! KNUCKLE!!!!!!!!

and I am replacing both the ball joint & the A-arm. I don't trust either piece to be reused. Tuesday I paid a member on here for a used A arm, but since sending the money haven't heard anything back. Oh boy I hope I get screwed in finding replacement parts as well!

 

now you're talking

probably a good idea, no telling about the integrity of that ball joint.
yeah getting screwed on here is no fun, it's happened to me twice. you can't make people be honest though, unfortunately. good luck, i hope everything works out for you

 

quick update - the A arm arrived a few minutes ago and is exactly what I need and in great shape, so I didn't get screwed after all

now comon hardtopguy with my ball joints so I can finally go driving again! It's been 4+ months!!! aaarghhh

 

did you ever remove the rear lower ball joint? when i separated my ball joint to replace my bushings the ball joint separator messed up the threads on my rear lower ball joint screw. Now the castle nut cannot go on. I rented a ball joint remover kit from an auto parts store, a HUGE kit, powerbuilt i think, but i still could not get it off! i thought replacing bushings was hard! but that was cake compared to tying to get this ball joint out! any advice?

 

Habit

It is very possible that the ball joint is fine. It is hardened steel, much harder that the LCA.

I would replace the LCA, then put it together and check the ball joint. I'll bet it's fine.

I have done a rear s2k ball joint without removing the knuckle.

 

thanks for the tips, Bill. I actually got this resolved several weeks ago. The guy that takes care of all my alignments & tire work replaced the BJ for me for free. I just brought the knuckle to him. total time about 10 minutes.

His technique:
- cut off the threads of the BJ with an acetylene torch, then hit really hard with a heavy hammer (he didn't heat up the knuckle, just hit it REALLY hard). cutting off the threads results in a much mroe "square" surface to strike

- to install it he used the BJ press, but he had numerous adaptors he had collected over the years. the kit I rented from Autozone wouldn't have been able to take care of it.

P.S. this was banging around as far back as last WTD!

 

how? I can use some help!

 

without the right tools, your best bet will be to just remove the knuckle & take it somewhere. you can use the press that you rented, but without the exact right size adaptor (something like a 49mm with a section cut out of it... don't remember exactly) you won't be able to press the old one out.