I believe I found that awful thumping noise. 03 civic both sides.
Posted Oct 4, 2019, 9:50 PM UTC
61088
I hope those arms are OEM. If not they wont last 10k miles.
25
OEM 205k.
17
He meant the new ones. If you bought cheap aftermarket they won’t go anywhere near that long.
19
They were cheaper than oem but should be able to get 80k out of them. This car only needs to last 3 more years.
9
Even if they fall apart, it’s not like you REALLY need them.. it’s an option, kinda like fresh oil and actual coolant.
22
A lot of times the aftermarket part store junk will be loose even new. The rubber is trash.
6
What brand are they?
1
The shiny replacement ones look like garbage.. Hope they don't mind doing it again soon.
-6
So other than black and shiny what other colors have you seen?
9
I like how everyone that's shitting on your new arms can't give you an actual reason why they are poorly made or will fail soon. Don't listen to the bullshit.
10
I find them to be funny. Some people live by after market parts and some love to pay stealership prices. This is my pos car I’m doing all the repairs and saving $$.
6
Those welds are trash on them. They’ll probably last the 3 years op needs. But those welds are atrocious
-3
Most OEM ones aren't that shiny, or poorly made...
-2
I have an 03 civic with 225k miles.
What causes the thumping?
What was wrong with the car?
22
The bushing on the top right wasn’t connected and it allows the control arm itself to flop around in the slot it is in. That mixed in with blown struts made it feel as if I was driving a farm tractor with no suspension at all.
31
Oh wow. I'll have to check mine out when I lift it up for it's oil change soon.
7
Dude I'm doing a press in wheel bearing change right now and I'm so pissed that I'm going to harbor freight and buying a 20 ton press to finish the job
4
You can press bearings in with a mallet and a bench vise. Trick is to clean and grease everything. It’s not the best way but effective.
3
But not out ;)
1
Check sway bar links too
6
As OP said, definitely bushings. The arms themselves should be fine as long as they’re not incredibly rested or cracked at all, or dented.
2
I have a 2001 civic, and the control arms are the first thing a replaced! There was this terrible “popping” noise that occurred during take offs and stops. I’ve redone the entire front end now and it’s perfect. If you do anymore work let me know, I have a lot of experience on replacing half that car.
8
Will do thanks.
3
hey man. I got an 05 civic with absolutely finished shocks. The thing is literally only riding on springs at this point. any advice on what to look for when changing all of em?
Im a student with a penny budget. should i go aftermarket? or chinese ones? Tbh with you i can only afford the chinese parts.
Besides all that,is there anything i should be mindful of? any surprises? and how long is it gonna take
2
The rear shocks are the easiest thing in the world. However, the front shocks are going to be ridiculous. I took me about 5-6 hours(a pop) to get them done. Not to mention you’ll have to align them as well afterwards. You can buy the rear and front shocks (full assembly) on 1AAUTO.com for like $250. I’d recommend them for most parts of you’re looking for OEM quality parts. If you can buy those and afford the $750 for Honda to do the fronts, go there. Otherwise it’s gonna be a fun day.
2
And I’ll tell ya what, the spindle itself, has a ball joint in it. Honda will tell you that you can’t replace them. Fuck them, buy it on 1aauto, go to harbor fright and buy the ball joint remover/installer, and replace them. If not they will pop like crazy. And it’s a lot of work to free up the spindle so if ya got it out, DO IT. Make sure you grease the ball joints before you install them.
1
Thanks a lot brother. but i live in bahrain. We dont have harbour frieght. And i dont think 1aauto delivers here. Plus they dont rent special tools here.
1
Oh damn, sorry bout that bro. But yeah around $200-$250 should be about right for OEM quality. And if you don’t replace the ball joints it’s not gonna be the end, but you will need a ball joint puller. Go with full assembly’s and you won’t have to worry about compressing the springs.
2
Oof that'll do it!! Glad you had the sense to replace the whole arm instead of pressing in new bushings.
5
Why do you say that?? It’s not had to press a new one on.
5
By the time you press in new bushing the labor and cost is the same if not more than buying new arms and installing those and you get brand new parts all the way around.
2
Pressing in a new bushing? That makes me cringe.
0†
They really aren't that bad if you have the right tools. The Honda/Acura specialty shop I took my cars to did my TL front arms for $150 per side (/w OE bushings) and the rear arms on my CR-V were I think $150 for both since they were significantly easier.
2
I bought these in February and finally made time to get to it. I believe it was about $90 for both from rock auto.
3
Rock Auto??
Wait, you got non-OE bushings and arms? If so, get ready to re-do this job in short order.
3
You need a press. That's pretty much it. If you don't have one then buy the bushings and pay the machine shop $25 tops (ea) to press them in.
2
Yeah, I only had an apartment parking spot where I couldn't work on my car, and I didn't feel like buying a tool I would only use once or twice.
1
Why that? The control arm is fine, it's not like it'd wear out. Fresh OEM bushings pressed into old control arm > cheap aftermarket control arm with equally cheap bushings.
0
By the time you press in new bushing the labor and cost is the same if not more than buying new arms and installing those and you get brand new parts all the way around.
2
If you pay the same you do get brand new parts, unfortunately they are way worse and won't survive half as long as the OEM parts did. Even my beater cars get top brand aftermarket (Lemförder as I'm in Germany) or OEM suspension parts as cheap parts are a waste of money and labor. Edit: Fuck yeah, downvote a professional mechanic that f does this shit every day. I don't fit cheap customer sourced parts for one single reason and that's that I don't wanna deal with complaints after 10k. OEM parts or gtfo as it's not worth my time and nerves.
-1
I agree with that but you can get top brand aftermarket and still save money on the labour it would take to press the bushings in and it will definitely last as long as oem.
2
So satisfying finding out exactly what is wrong.
5
Oof. Maybe thats what Im hearing in my Tercel, havent looked in a while
3
If you are driving a tercel, then yeah probably.
4
Prolly,its pretty rusty at this point
2
Yup! Just needed to spray it black and it's good as new!
3
Pump her full of urethane and send it.
3
Well there's your problem
2
is it me or civics/integras and 90s/2000s hondas in general have shit balljoints and bushings?
2
Those bushings look like the ones on my Cobalt when I replaced them, at 90,000 miles...
1
I know a junk yard with those control arms, with energy suspension bushings with less than 2k miles on em
1
[deleted]
1
those bushings can be replaced without the whole arm being changed out. They're like $50 bucks for both and a shop can press the old ones out & new ones in in about 15 minutes
1
I have an 03 lx thats keeps heating up, this ever happened to you
1
Wrong. It's the guy in the trunk making the noise. It stopped after the repairs because he finally passed.
1
Trunk monkey?
1
The rear shocks are the easiest thing in the world. However, the front shocks are going to be ridiculous. I took me about 5-6 hours(a pop) to get them done. Not to mention you’ll have to align them as well afterwards. You can buy the rear and front shocks (full assembly) on 1AAUTO.com for like $250. I’d recommend them for most parts of you’re looking for OEM quality parts. If you can buy those and afford the $750 for Honda to do the fronts, go there. Otherwise it’s gonna be a fun day.
0
I've always done civic struts, fronts take 30-40min per side. Why is everyone saying they're a bitch? What's difficult about them?
I've had a 92, a 98, and an 05... All dead basic jobs.
5
You are right.
2
I mean... It's what, 5 bolts? Lol.
1
For the uninitiated, what am I looking at here?
Lower control arm for a Civic.
Yup. Doing both with struts, bearings and brakes.
How much is it costing you?
I think I spent $4-500 with the rear struts and bearings along with everything I mentioned.
Edit: forgot about ball joints.
For real though, f*** civic wheel bearings.