anyone here changed their own lower ball-joint?

[h22sparkle]

Well its come to my conclusion about the clicking /clunk noise in the front lower left side of my car is the ball-joint. Im real anal about maintenance when it comes to anything out of the ordinary on my car. I plan to change the lower left balljoint. Im positive it snot the axle the axle will click but not clunk. I observed this problem with glorryaccordies car. And now I know for certain its my balljoint on the drivers side. What tools do I need to attempt and complete this task on removing the balljoint and replacing it myself? cause from what i here its pressed in so any help would be appreciated

[aero]

To DIY you would need: c-clip pliers, a vise and a press.

you are going to have to remove the knuckle from the car.

Then take the hub/bearing assembly out of the knuckle, and take the dust shield off.

Put the knuckle in a vise and hit the ball joint out with a BFH (remember to take the c-clip off, its under the boot).

Now putting it back in... Some autozone stores will rent a ball joint press. I wouldnt suggest hitting it back in with a hammer, since you will probably end up with the same problem. If you dont have a press, I would just take it to a shop, and have them press it in. It shouldnt cost much, and it should be quick if you have the knuckle and ball joint out.

Some people say you can freeze the ball joint in the freezer and it'll shrink enough to fit in there easier, but I still wouldnt want to hit the ball joint with a hammer.

[asleepz]

May be a bad front strut also.

[bruno8747]

In this cold its a bitch to change anything. Just take the knuckle off and take it to a shop, They normally charge me 8 bucks to take out and put one in.

[Granite CB7]

If you're willing to take the knuckle off (in the cold ) and bring it to your Honda dealer, buy the balljoint, they will have no problem pressing that in for you. It should be free, my local dealer did that for free.

[Accord R33]

i got em off my integra, while on the car, with a 14mm socket, a big hammer, and a bit of swearing.