Ball joints
 

Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold but
most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt they
last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
joints ?
Thanks for any info.

Re: Ball joints
 

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:18:05 -0600, "scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote:

>Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
>changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
>lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold but
>most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt they
>last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
>joints ?

I don't know about a recall. My 1993 Accord four cylinder has over
251,000 km and is still on the original ball joints. I just had the
dealer go over it in detail. Considering how much they charged for the
things that did need fixin', I imagine they would have thrown in ball
joints too f they were even a little worn.

Hope this helps.

Elliot Richmond
Freelance Science Writer and Editor

Re: Ball joints
 

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:18:05 -0600, "scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote:

>Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
>changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
>lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold but
>most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt they
>last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
>joints ?

I don't know about a recall. My 1993 Accord four cylinder has over
251,000 km and is still on the original ball joints. I just had the
dealer go over it in detail. Considering how much they charged for the
things that did need fixin', I imagine they would have thrown in ball
joints too f they were even a little worn.

Hope this helps.

Elliot Richmond
Freelance Science Writer and Editor

Re: Ball joints
 

"scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote in message
news:LWGAd.6795$Ka6.49154@news1.mts.net...
> Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
> changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
> lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold
> but
> most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt
> they
> last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
> joints ?
> Thanks for any info.
>
>
Has the steering been getting vague lately, with a shaking sensation when
you go over railroad tracks and similar bumps? If not, I'd be dubious about
the ball joints being bad. The usual reason for ball joints failing is torn
boots - and that isn't common if the front end hasn't been worked on.

Mike

Re: Ball joints
 

"scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote in message
news:LWGAd.6795$Ka6.49154@news1.mts.net...
> Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
> changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
> lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold
> but
> most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt
> they
> last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
> joints ?
> Thanks for any info.
>
>
Has the steering been getting vague lately, with a shaking sensation when
you go over railroad tracks and similar bumps? If not, I'd be dubious about
the ball joints being bad. The usual reason for ball joints failing is torn
boots - and that isn't common if the front end hasn't been worked on.

Mike

Re: Ball joints
 

i am not sure about hondas but if you can raise up your front end, put one
hand on top and one hand on the bottom, then shake the wheel back and forth
vertically, but not too hard if you hear any clicking with alot of play then
the ball joint prolly is bad.

"scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote in message
news:LWGAd.6795$Ka6.49154@news1.mts.net...
> Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
> changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
> lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold
but
> most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt
they
> last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
> joints ?
> Thanks for any info.
>
>

Re: Ball joints
 

i am not sure about hondas but if you can raise up your front end, put one
hand on top and one hand on the bottom, then shake the wheel back and forth
vertically, but not too hard if you hear any clicking with alot of play then
the ball joint prolly is bad.

"scapa" <scapa@mts.net> wrote in message
news:LWGAd.6795$Ka6.49154@news1.mts.net...
> Hi all, took my 2001 Accord four cylinder in to have the transmission oil
> changed at 96,000km as per drivers manual, dealer told me that I needed
> lower ball joints replaced. I live in Winnipeg, Canada and it gets cold
but
> most of my driving is on decent roads and I have good tires. Should'nt
they
> last longer than that and has anyone heard of a recall for faulty ball
> joints ?
> Thanks for any info.
>
>

Re: Ball joints
 

Hi Scapa,

I'm in Winnipeg too, which dealership did you go to?

t

Re: Ball joints
 

Hi Scapa,

I'm in Winnipeg too, which dealership did you go to?

t

Re: Ball joints
 

The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
ball socket.

t

Re: Ball joints
 

The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
ball socket.

t

Re: Ball joints
 

disallow wrote:
> The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
> going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
> without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
> checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
> ball socket.
>
> t
>

there's another test that doesn not require disassembly. jack the wheel
just off the ground with a block under the lower arm so the suspension
remains compressed. then use a long lever under the tire to put load on
the wheel itself. any play should be evident at that time. have an
assistant operate the lever if required so you can see up close.

Re: Ball joints
 

disallow wrote:
> The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
> going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
> without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
> checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
> ball socket.
>
> t
>

there's another test that doesn not require disassembly. jack the wheel
just off the ground with a block under the lower arm so the suspension
remains compressed. then use a long lever under the tire to put load on
the wheel itself. any play should be evident at that time. have an
assistant operate the lever if required so you can see up close.

Re: Ball joints
 

Hi - I'm in Toronto, and had a "ball joint misadventure"
with my '92 Accord about six months ago. After my wife
had curbed the left front tire rather badly in a parking lot,
I asked the local Honda dealership (in Markham, though
the exact locale shall remain, um, nameless...hint hint...)
to look things over for any signs of damage. They stated
that the front ball joints (upper) needed replacing, and to
illustrate the point, the mechanic took a wrench and
demonstrated the *slightest* bit of play in the upper
joint, which was really hardly detectable at all. Not
knowing anything about ball joints, I acquiesced to the
tune of about $350 USD ($425 CDN) for a replacement
of both upper ball joints. However, I now feel that this
work was probably unnecessary. In all fairness to Honda,
I should mention that I did have over 150,000 miles on
the car, but basically I think they just saw an opportunity
to push some repair work and took it. Bottom line is to
always do homework on any proposed repair which is
not 100% critical. I have learned the hard way that if you
really know what you are talking about (as I did not),
they usually won't bother trying to rip you off. - Paul

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:57:55 -0800, jim beam <nospam@example.net>
wrote:

>disallow wrote:
>> The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
>> going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
>> without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
>> checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
>> ball socket.
>>
>> t
>>
>
>there's another test that doesn not require disassembly. jack the wheel
>just off the ground with a block under the lower arm so the suspension
>remains compressed. then use a long lever under the tire to put load on
>the wheel itself. any play should be evident at that time. have an
>assistant operate the lever if required so you can see up close.

Re: Ball joints
 

Hi - I'm in Toronto, and had a "ball joint misadventure"
with my '92 Accord about six months ago. After my wife
had curbed the left front tire rather badly in a parking lot,
I asked the local Honda dealership (in Markham, though
the exact locale shall remain, um, nameless...hint hint...)
to look things over for any signs of damage. They stated
that the front ball joints (upper) needed replacing, and to
illustrate the point, the mechanic took a wrench and
demonstrated the *slightest* bit of play in the upper
joint, which was really hardly detectable at all. Not
knowing anything about ball joints, I acquiesced to the
tune of about $350 USD ($425 CDN) for a replacement
of both upper ball joints. However, I now feel that this
work was probably unnecessary. In all fairness to Honda,
I should mention that I did have over 150,000 miles on
the car, but basically I think they just saw an opportunity
to push some repair work and took it. Bottom line is to
always do homework on any proposed repair which is
not 100% critical. I have learned the hard way that if you
really know what you are talking about (as I did not),
they usually won't bother trying to rip you off. - Paul

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:57:55 -0800, jim beam <nospam@example.net>
wrote:

>disallow wrote:
>> The test you mention is more likely to detect an upper ball joint
>> going bad on a honda. The lower is harder to diagnose
>> without actually disassembling the steering knuckle and
>> checking the actual balljoint for excessive play in the
>> ball socket.
>>
>> t
>>
>
>there's another test that doesn not require disassembly. jack the wheel
>just off the ground with a block under the lower arm so the suspension
>remains compressed. then use a long lever under the tire to put load on
>the wheel itself. any play should be evident at that time. have an
>assistant operate the lever if required so you can see up close.