Ok...so I had this weird knocking sound coming from the front of my car...it 's not the spring/strut like I thought it was, it's not the tie rod ends, like I hoped it wasn't...I was told today it's a
the upper ball joint on the front right.
The guys at honda looked at me with a massive look of fear when I asked "how long can I drive like that before I need to replace it?" They thought I was nuts! But...was I being nieve or am I justifed in the question.
I guess what I'm asking is which of these things do I do first?

Front Pipe Replacement (exhaust) $260.00 CDN
Wheel Bearing Assembly $310.00 CDN
Upper Ball Joint $240.00 CDN

Hellllllllllp!

??? Jason ???

 

Magik,
I'd go with the wheel bearing replacement first if that's about to go...although if the ball joint goes, you won't be able to drive either.
You really should take care of both of those first and then the exhaust when you can. I have seen those ball joints go a while, but if it's already detached, it should be replaced ASAP. You should be able to do the ball joint yourself and save some cash...
Unfortunately, it's pressed in to the upper control arm and the whole arm needs to be replaced...hence the cost.
Bogatyr

 

Mechanic told me just the ball joint...going to do it Monday I guess...I've been driving with the bad wheel bearing since November.

I don't understand why the front pipe is so expensive...it's like a foot to a foot and a half long...sweet geezuz 200 bucks for that!

As far as doing the ball joint myself...outta my league...I leave stuff like suspension, steering, electrical to people who have more of a clue than I do...

Jason

 

Anyone else have an opinion or an alternate suggestion?

Jason

 

what pipe for the exhaust to replace?...you could be a cheapo and get one from a junkyard that looks in good condition and get both gaskets and install it yourself (should take an hour or 2 depending on your level of experience)

as for ball joints and wheel bearings...you have to choose between a collapesed front suspension or a hub locking up causing that wheel to completely lock up...you could get replacement hubs and a ball joint from the auto parts store and have a normal mechanic install them instead (pay less in labor and parts)...moog makes good oem replacement ball joints...however...when i did my ball joints and hubs i did the complete front suspension (but my car had some 300k miles on it when i bought it)

 

The front pipe...it's the one that comes directly out of the manifold and connects to the rest of the exhaust via a flex joint.
>I tried the local yards and none of them have them.

As far as the ball joint...it's been this way for about two months and I had no clue what it was...only found out today. I may see if my Dad can do it (he used to be a mechanic for 15 years) just buy the joint at Honda.

The wheel bearing, as I said earlier, I have been riding on that since November...wanna get that gone too.

My car has 275K kms (171,000 miles)
on it...1990...

Jason

 

Another question my Dad just asked me...if he was to change the ball joint...which he said he had no problem doing:

Do you need a spring compressing tool, do you have to compress the spring at all, or is the ball joint something you just remove & replace?

Let me know this could happen as early as tomorrow.

Thanks guys.

Jason

PS> If any of you have ever done this, could you jot down a quick step by step...to do this or refer me to a link that shows a step by step?

Get back to me asap...thanks guys.

 

Anyone?

 

do you have a helm manual? that will show you how to replace a ball joint

here was an online repair manual for a 91 crx si if it still works...i'm getting server not found error right now

http://24.95.142.82:6080/manual/2gsm/default.htm

 

Nope...link doesn't work for me either...

Anyone any suggestions/knowledge/theories?

Jason