Originally Posted by Momobile
...Understood, but this is A LOT of sloppy slack....
It appears to me that the (#4) ball joint will bolt to the (#3) control arm?
Okay, hold up. I just looked up 1990 Accord DX Four door and I get this:
Which looks basically like mine, with the UBJ pressed into the upper A-arm. Is this what yours looks like, or does it look like the picture you posted? (I'm guessing one of the websites has it wrong).
If it's like the pic I posted, then you'll press the UBJ out of the arm and press a new UBJ into the arm (with or without removing the arm). If you are gonna improvise with a hammer or vise or whatever, you'll likely need to remove the arm. If you use a ball joint press (I got mine for about $30 from harbor freight tools) then you can do it on the car.
If it looks like your picture then either
1. The UBJ is pressed into that little extension bar (#4) and you replace it as described above, or
2. The UBJ is part of the bar like you said might be the case (I'd be suprised if this is the case).