Added to the FAQ. Your DIY's are amazing and well detailed.

 

Yogi, brilliant!!

 

Glad you wrote this up. I saw all my lower control arm busings were cracked when I did my struts.

Matt

 

Excellent details in the writeup.

 

I'm about to undertake this project myself. The bushings are cracked pretty bad and causing my tires to wear horribly. I was just going to replace the bushings as it would be much much cheaper. The ball joints appear to be fine. I guess I'll find out for sure when I remove the control arms.

 

Keep us posted converted!!

 

Well it turns out that not many shops want to tackle replacing the bushings for me. The lip on the bushings is really small making it more difficult and it would be about an hour labor for each arm. Looks like I'm going to take them back to Acura and hopefully they will refund me. I found new control arms for about $200 each. I'll have to order those and wait. One thing that bothers me is that one of the shops I talked to said that my tire wear shouldn't be a result of these bushings being cracked. He said it is probably my alignment. He asked when/where I last had that done and I said 5k miles ago at this shop. He was like "Oh". I explained how the inside edge of my tires had wore completely down and he still seemed to think it was an alignment issue. My question for all of you is how many of you are driving around with these bushings being cracked like shown above? Are your tires wearing incorrectly?

 

Looks like full replacement is about the only option. Thanks converted. I have about 108K on mine and am not seing any abnormal tire wear. If your tires wore completely down in 5000 miles I would think it is an alignment issue as well.

 

It wasn't like they were new 5k miles ago. They have 40k miles on them but the inside had wore so much in that 5k miles that the tread began separating from the sidewall.

 

Bringing back an old post, but wouldn't it be a lot easier to realign the lower control arm if you disconnected the strut from the knuckle? This would allow you to align the compliance bushing and front bushing first without fighting the spring, run those bolts through, and then allow you to place the knuckle onto the lower ball joint. Thoughts?

 

After 5 years, I finally replaced my lower arms. The arms were fairly easy to replace once I disconnected the struct from the knuckle.

 

I think i agree with @cooper4x4 but I have not gotten into this just yet. This is because I am not sure if this is the problem I am having. I get a clunking noise when on rough roads or when the front suspension deflects. I inspected the rear mounting bushing on my wife's car and see the checking and cracks that the OP shows in his first pic. I tried to shake the wheel when lifted to see if it was the ball joint but couldn't verify this. Are the ball joints replaceable or does the whole A-arm need replaced? Anyway, it looks like a nice write up and a fairly straight forward swap - come-along notwithstanding. I'll do some more digging and see if the ball joints are doable.

 

Definatly try replacing the endlinks first, These thing might look fine but it can clunck under pressure and load. it might even move freely. Anyway its about 50 bucks, replace it if your car is over 100k

 

Bigringking,

For me, it was also the clunking noise and also sudden steering wheel movement / shift while driving (really dangerous). One of my balljoints was completely broken, about to fall out of place. The rubber boot was completely ripped, killing the joint soon after. Originally, I was not able to pinpoint the issue... I've even had a 25-yrs experienced mechanic look at my suspension and he did not detect it! (he thought it's my tie rod ends making the clunk, the broken ball joint would only shift/move when the car was being driven). Only a smart alignment guy had figured it out when he grabbed my wheel while raised and gave it a strong jerk when grabbing the wheel with both of his arms.

I'd say, if you're keeping your X for a long time (like I do... it's such a sweet ride... Almost 10 yrs into it, I still love the looks of this SUV, second to only new BMW X5) - do the entire LCAs. If you fairly assume that this is only done once in 10 yrs, the cost and complexity of the full R&R is well worth it. My ride is butter-smooth now, and I know it super safe again as well.

 

I had the car in the air and jerked on the wheel to see if it was the ball joint. I have had issued with ball joints on my Ford F350 SD and knew that was a good test. I talked to a friend of mine who works on Pontiacs at a Honda dealer and he suggested that I look at the sway bar links. Had to replace those on a 97 Expedition I had, so I'm familiar with that. Another suggestion was the sway bar bushing. I haven't looked to see what that entails but imagine that to be a fairly easy fix as well. I just want to get it nailed down the the actual cause and not spend more money on replacing everything than I would pay a mechanic to diagnose and fix the right thing.

I'll repost after this weekend when I have time to dig into it. This day job is really getting into the way of the fun stuff I want to do.

Big

 

Keep us posted Big! I'm very interested in seeing what you find out! :29:

 

Thanks for this thorough Post with pictures.

I'm eyeball deep into this now and I'm in trouble. I cannot attach the front link
when the balljoint and rear link are connected. When I use the the come-along technic I can see my transmission strain against the half shaft pushing into it.


I'm thinking about taking the entire spindle off and freeing up the lower control arm to mount it then re assemble everything from the bottom up.

This is way more work then I was expecting and I still have to do the other side. UGH.

Why would there be so much pressure on the control arm that it's impossible to bolt back in?

 

I'm eyeball deep into this now and I'm in trouble. I cannot attach the front link
when the balljoint and rear link are connected. When I use the the come-along technic I can see my transmission strain against the half shaft pushing into it.


I'm thinking about taking the entire spindle off and freeing up the lower control arm to mount it then re assemble everything from the bottom up.

This is way more work then I was expecting and I still have to do the other side. UGH.

Why would there be so much pressure on the control arm that it's impossible to bolt back in?

It's been a long time since I did it, but reading my own DIY just now... it seems that you need to connect the front bushing first, put the bolt through it, THEN go back to the rear one. I could only get it in in that order.

If all else fails (I don't see a reason why it would though), you may need to use the recommended suggestion of separating the strut from the knuckle. Again, I tried to undo as little components as I could so come-along came in handy. Try that other order and it should work.

 

Hi! I'm new to the forum and might be posting on and off. We just bought a 2001 MDX and are replacing the LCA's right at this moment. We were able to get the RW and FW bushings entirely in place by (after wedging them mostly into place) reconnecting the wheel and lowering the car til it had weight on the wheel and then pulling on the arm with a tow strap til it popped in (because putting a jack under the ball joint didn't seem to work well enough). Push the bolt into the FW first and screw it in and then the RW bolt should pop in easily.

Does anyone happen to have the torque specs for the bolts, by the way?

 

For those planning on replacing their LCA please read: Simplified method which will reduce time to half hour per side!!

First off let me thank Yogi and the rest of the folks in this thread for taking on this project and documenting their process; their efforts provide the necessary platform for refining the process.

After eyeballing the rather massive cracks in my compliance bushing (round rubber at the rear of the LCA) while trying to figure out what was causing accelerated front tire wear, I decided to replace the LCAs as well as the inner and outer tie rods.

For reasons on ignorance/stupidity which I won't bore you with, I ended up replacing the LCAs a total of six times (three times each side) in the span of a couple of weeks. The first of six I followed the Yogi method which had the predictable result of pain and aggravation, not to mention time. The other five followed my updated method and were completed in 30 minutes (could have been much less if I did not move so slow) with almost no skinned knuckles and minimum of slithering around on my dirty garage floor.

So let’s get on with it. In overview, the amended process simply removes the ball joint from knuckle before removing the other bolts.

Step 1: remove the castle nut from the ball joint and release the ball joint from the knuckle. You can use your favorite method to accomplish this but I have attached a trick at the bottom of this post that was very effective for me.

Step 2: with the car on jack stands and the wheel removed (and ball joint released) back out both the forward bushing bolt and the rearward compliance bushing bolt that hold the LCA onto the vehicle. Just a few rotations, not removing yet. This is just to help release a little tension for the next step.

Step 3: Step down on the LCA (pushing against the tension of the compliance bushing) to clear the ball joint from the knuckle. Once clear, gently push the knuckle forward an inch or so to gain a little clearance such that when you release the LCA it will come up behind the knuckle. Caution: the half shaft/CV joint are connected to the knuckle and you don't want to push/pull these very far or risk damage.

Step 4: Remove the forward bushing bolt; it should be quite easy to remove. Once removed you can pivot the LCA out on the rear compliance bushing bolt which is still attached but loosened a bit (see step 2). You will probably want to turn the steering wheel in a fashion that will provide some clearance to pivot out the LCA and you may have to nudge the knuckle forward as well.

Step 5: Once the LCA is pivoted out you can now remove the rear compliance bushing bolt, it will help to support the weight of the LCA and the bolt will come right out with little resistance. Once that last bolt is removed the LCA will come right out (watch your toes!).

Installation is the reverse as they say.

If your new LCA shipped with a guard on the ball joint to protect the boot I would recommend leaving that on until after you have the two bolts in.

Step 6: Slide the new LCA into the rear compliance bushing slot and screw the bolt in part way (note that the service manual advises to tighten the compliance bushing bolt and the forward bushing bolt when the car is on the ground with weight on the suspension).

Step 7: pivot the LCA into the forward bushing slot. I use a screw driver between the LCA and the lower flange to line up the hole in the vertical plane. Tugging in and out on the ball joint will line up the hole on the horizontal plane. Drive the bolt in part way, final torque is done with the car on the ground (see step 6 note).

Step 8: remove the boot guard and castle nut (if left on for protection) and then step down on the LCA (against compliance bushing tension) to gain clearance for guiding the ball joint into the knuckle. I like to put a jack on the LCA to push the ball joint together before torqueing down the castle nut.

Step 9: with the wheel back on and the car on the ground I torque down the forward bushing and compliance bushing bolts.

All done; have a beer!!!

Ball Joint Removal Trick: found this on the internet (You Tube and other locations). While the car is on the ground climb under and remove the castle nut on the ball joint. Then slide an appropriate sized drive socket between the LCA and the knuckle just inboard of the ball joint. The socket should be as tight a fit as is reasonable with your fingers (no hammering necessary). Now simply jack up the car; the weight of the wheel/suspension and the changing geometry will release the ball joint, easy as pie.

 

gbarone,
Great addition! I may have to tackle this sooner than later and this will help! :29:

 

Wow my compliance bushings are a little torn and I have been looking into my options. I probably won't end up doing anything until earliest next summer
maybe as I don't have any clunking or steering issues. I just stumbled upon this DIY and it is absolutely informative.

Just one comment, but don't you need to get an alignment after changing out the LCA?

Thanks.

 

Just one comment, but don't you need to get an alignment after changing out the LCA?

Thanks.

You absolutely must!

 

I followed gbarone's method over the weekend, VERY easy! The ball joint removal trick worked beautifully, I found that the blade of a chisel I had in my tool chest was just the right size to slip in between the LCA and the knuckle.

Replacing the LCA I didn't follow the procedure and put the front bolt in first, that makes it very difficult to get the rear bolt lined up. So I had to back up, take out the front bolt, put in the rear bolt (step 6) as documented and then the front (step 7), easy. My Acura service manual gives torque specs for everything but doesn't mention doing the final tightening under load.

While I was at it I replaced the sway bar link, the monkeys at the shop who had last worked on the car had put in non-oem links and must have used the impact wrench on max to torque the nuts down. I got the lower nut loose using a breaker bar and my jack to apply pressure to the breaker bar, but the upper one wouldn't budge, even with an impact wrench. So out came the angle grinder followed by the cold chisel. Not going back to that shop again. That took up so much time that I'll have to do the other side next weekend.

Net of it is that I still have the front end clunk as before, but at least I know what it is not. And I needed new LCAs anyway as the compliance bushings had deep cracks.

 

. . .

Net of it is that I still have the front end clunk as before, but at least I know what it is not. And I needed new LCAs anyway as the compliance bushings had deep cracks.

Have you replaced your sway bar bushings? Easy job and only $8 in parts. I ask this because I changed my LCAs in hope of eliminating front end clunk along with end links, struts and a motor mount chasing the cheapest easy fix for the MDX front end, sway bar bushings...

 

Sorry to open this back up again. Compliance bushing was cracking under load. What did people do for replacement? OEM? Mevotech? Dorman? Also, there's a little bit of oil on the shock tower? Replace? Springs too? Car was "inherited" from my brother. Have slight feathering wear on tires (almost brand new with just 3K miles). Any advice is appreciated. By the way this thread is great! Dealer price for LCA, $309, Mevotech $109. Your thoughts? I don't mind spending more if I am really getting a significant diff in quality.

 

Might want to check your Inner and outer tie rods. These will often cause feathering in your tire tread. And if you're going to do all of this work, might as well do these at the same time.

 

Personally, I would replace just the struts/shocks (no springs). LCA probably fine unless there is a tear. Mine shows crack under stress (lift) as well.

 

This question was asked earlier in the thread, but not answered directly: Is it possible to only replace the ball joint in the LCA, without replacing the LCA itself?

 

Just finished replacing struts, LCA on my 03 MDX.
Few notes who might benefit from my experience.
First thank you for Yogi's excellent write up and pictures.
Without that LCA would have been impossible to put back.

gbarone - I tried your method and liked simplicity of it. However the knuckle was far enough that I could not get the bolt for ball joint back in no matter how much I tried.

Luckily I had bought the come-along specified by Yogi.
I started with attaching LCA to knuckle first.
Even with come-along I was stuck. I managed to get driver side LCA in.

However passenger side rear bushing would NOT go in.
The instructions for come-along said not to wrap-around the wires and the hooks provided were very thick. Finally looking at Yogi pictures I wrapped around and it slid in.
Took me way way too much time but I am glad I did it.
I also changed rear shocks, unfortunately on the test drive rear is making clunking noise which was NOT there before. I need make sure I torque it correctly or I got defective shock.

Robert

 

Did my LCAs yesterday as well. Thanks to this thread, it was a snap.

I used the socket between the LCA and front knuckle trick gbarone mentioned and it worked like a charm. One thing I did differently was I jacked the front end up, put it on stands, then used the jack to lift the LCA back up to ride height. Then I wedged in a socket, lowered the jack, and the ball joint popped right off. Seemed easier than crawling under the vehicle while it was on the ground to get that socket in place.

I also found the order of bolt removal/reinstall made all the difference: off with the castle nut, loosen the other two bolts, pop out the ball joint, then take out the front bolt (what the OP called the "FW" if you want to refer to his excellent photos; I just remembered it as being the one that ran horizontally), then the rear bolt ("RW" as the OP called it, or the one on the compliance bushing/the one that goes vertically). Once you have the ball joint out and the FW/horizontal bolt out, you can wiggle the LCA out of that FW knuckle and swing it free, which makes getting the RW/vertical bolt out a snap and pulling the LCA free simple.

Putting the new LCA in is the exact reverse. Like gbarone, I found a screw driver essential for lining up the FW/horizontal bolt, but all in all it was a breeze. I also used the jack to raise the LCA to ride height (approximate anyway; couldn't find the actual measurement) before torquing down the bolts.

And with 156k miles on my '06 (and, since I'm pretty sure the LCAs were original--got her used ~10k miles ago so can't be sure), swapping them out has made a huge difference in ride quality. Many thanks to the contributers here for making my first LCA replacement a snap.

 

Thanks everyone, especially Squaw Ski.. His method worked easy. I tried on my own for a day.. Failure. Finally looked it up, and this method was a breeze. Still not sure on the ball joint removal part, I had to use the fork and hammer method. Two new LCAs on my 06 mdx now. Saved me 400.00 in labor. Yah!!

 

Does anyone have the torque values for the Ball Joint nut, and the Lower Control Arm bolts?