Thanks for the tips. What control arms brand did you use?

 

I bought from Honda.

 

how much did you pay for them? They're super expensive, right?

 

Yup... dealer mark-up and Canadian mark-up....then high taxes on all of this.

 

I just have a quote from my local tire and suspension shop (Les Schwab) to replace the lower control arms with balljoints and a 4 wheel alignment for $940.06.

 

Ask around more. Lower control arms and alignment should be approximately similar to axles and alignment. Parts and labor, for control arm and alignment should be around $500 or below. I am quoting that number out of NJ prices, where everything is expensive.

 

I just replaced these on my 2006. Here are some tips to help you do the same:


Removal:

0. Get two floor jacks. 3 works even better

1. Jack up both sides of front at same time. Remove wheels and disconnect end link (sway bar to strut connector) at the top connection. (Allen key and 17mm wrench I recall). This allows for easier installation of new control arms... trust me!!! EVEN IF YOU ARE CHANGING ONLY ONE CONTROL ARM, BOTH END LINKS MUST BE DETACHED AT THEIR TOPS.

2. Pull cotter pin and remove castellated nut from ball joint.

3. Use a large pickle fork to separate the ball joint from steering knuckle. (I have a few ball joint tools for cars but nothing big enough for this truck... a big unused pickle fork did the trick).

4. Unbolt the large front and rear bolts holding control arm to frame. Front is 22mm and rear is 19mm wrench I recall.

5. Press the control arm down and man-handle the ball joint towards the back of the truck so that it is outside of the cup in the bottom of the steering knuckle.

6, Swing the control arm's front out of the front recess where the bolt went and continue to rotate it backward from the truck.

7. The control arm should now be hanging only from the recess where the rear bolt was. Pull the control arm away from the truck.

8. Repeat for other control arm if replacing two.



Installation:


1. Clean the threads and apply Grease/Antiseize the 2 bolts and into their respective holes in the control arm as well as in the recesses in the frame where the control arm will fit. Also grease/antiseize the threads on the new ball joint.

2. Insert the new control arm only in the back recess and install the shorter bolt. Just turn it ~ 4 threads. Do not tighten it. This point will now act as a pivot. IMPORTANT: Make sure the bolt is grabbing some threads, not just pinched in place. This is very important as it is nearly impossible to insert this bolt after this step.... I KNOW!!

3. Swing the control arm's front end into its recess in the frame. The new ball joint will hang-up on the sagging steering knuckle. The trick here is to man-handle the control arm's ball joint so that its threaded shaft goes up into the cup in the underside of the knuckle. Pushing down on the control arm and twisting the ball joint's threaded shaft favourably will help. A friend lifting the strut would not hurt either.

4. Push the control arm into the front recess. I had to use a hammer and long rod to drive it into position. By this time the ball joint's threaded shaft should have worked itself up into the steering knuckle and you should see the top of its threaded shaft peeking through.

5. Loosely install the castellated nut on the ball joint.

6. Install front bolt on control arm. A second floor jack under the control arm near the front bolt can help align it with the holes in the frames front recess.

7. Turn the two bolts and castellated nut so that they are just less than snug (~ 0.5mm from their final stop).

8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for the other control arm if replacing two.

9. Use the second floor jack and place it under the new ball joint area.

10. Jack up the 2nd floor jack so that all of the load on that side of the truck is on the 2nd floor jack. (i.e. It should visually have lifted the the truck not just compressed the front strut).

11, Torque the 2 bolts and castellated nut (rear bolt 84 ft-lbs; front bolt 119 ft-lbs; castellated nut 69ft-lbs)

12. Install cotter pin in castellated nut.

13. If replacing two control arms, make sure you have completed all of the steps above for both sides before proceeding to step 14.

14. Install top end link on one side of truck (clean threads, apply grease or anti-seize then torque to 58 ft-lbs)

15. Install wheel on this side and lower it to ground.

16. On other sided, use second floor jack under control arm to raise it so that the end link can mate against its hole in the strut.

17. Install top end link (clean threads, apply grease or anti-seize then torque to 58 ft-lbs)

18. Install wheel on this side and lower it to ground.

19. Torque lug nuts.

Done!

Help!! I have loosened the top nut and removed it no problem but I can get my ball joint separator far enough to engage the nut to pop it. I also have three different forks and none of these work. The angle between the ball joint and assembly and the wheel spindle assembly seems off kilter. Any suggestions are welcome please chime in!!! thanks.

 

Maybe the type of separator this fellow used would work for you? It's shown in action early on in this video.

 

@Timothy Jerome , just two weeks ago, I replaced both the front lower control arms and this is what I did.

• unscrewed, but left the castlenut on the threads
• used a very generous amount of Liquid Wrench and let it penetrate the balljoint.
• Remove the front rotors to prevent damage
• Used a 16-oz Ball Pein Hammer (Harbor Freight # 69010, 61304) and wacked the lower control arm, right where the ball joint is.
• Used the balljoint fork (like a Harbor Freight #63420) and the joint separated.

NOTE: If you are working with jackstands, then here is a tip. Once you remove the rotor, use a floor jack and push on the hub enough to compress the suspension. Then use the fork to separate the lower control arm. When the control arm is preloaded, it is easier to get the balljoint to pop out.

Very important. If you are working with jack stands, please ensure you are fully securing your vehicle from any motion.

 

@Timothy Jerome , just two weeks ago, I replaced both the front lower control arms and this is what I did.

• unscrewed, but left the castlenut on the threads
• used a very generous amount of Liquid Wrench and let it penetrate the balljoint.
• Remove the front rotors to prevent damage
• Used a 16-oz Ball Pein Hammer (Harbor Freight # 69010, 61304) and wacked the lower control arm, right where the ball joint is.
• Used the balljoint fork (like a Harbor Freight #63420) and the joint separated.

NOTE: If you are working with jackstands, then here is a tip. Once you remove the rotor, use a floor jack and push on the hub enough to compress the suspension. Then use the fork to separate the lower control arm. When the control arm is preloaded, it is easier to get the balljoint to pop out.

Very important. If you are working with jack stands, please ensure you are fully securing your vehicle from any motion.

If you were getting these parts from rock auto (or another internet parts shop) what all is required for assembly? My local shop quoted me 1,665 for control arms and tie rod ends. I'm trying to build a parts list to bring it to my local shade tree guy to see what it would cost to have done that way.

 

Thank you I thought the jack under the wheel control arm would help, it does make the clearance better, I will try the hammer trick. Thanks again!

 

@Timothy Jerome , Unless I misread your post, did you mean the jack was under the control arm? Where you want the jack, is on the hub itself.

Below is a picture of a vehicle (Not a Ridgeline)t, but is for information purpose only.

The red circle is the balljoint area of the control arm. DO NOT place the jack there
The green area is where the hub is exposed. Once you get the rotor off, you should be able to place the jack on the hub and push it up. You could also use the tie-rod end area to lift the hub up. Another thing is the ears where the brake caliper bracket bolts up; you can use that too.

 

Ahhh thats what you meant! A picture is worth a thousand... I finally managed to bang it out, I turned the wheel all the way to the right and had at it with a rental pickle fork. The ones I had were to narrow. It came off and funny thing there wasnt even much corrosion on the inside surfaces. I will post pics later. Thanks man!

 

Glad you got it worked out. I found the removal of the control arms rather easy, though when putting it back in and juggling the hub/suspension was daunting.
The rental fork is what is needed. My passenger side came out good, the driver side joint was a bit difficult to get out and good thing I go to the gym.
BTW, what brand control arms did you go with and where did you get them from?

Now you need an alignment!!

 

Rockauto
I did Cardone for the CV shafts $53 each
Mevotech control arms about $100 each

 

Did you get the GS601014/15?

 

Yours is the value line I got the supreme line, frankly I dont know the difference but it wasnt much more.

 

Cool, that's the supreme version. Any reason you went with those, than the regular ones?

I went with the basic OEM replacement and had some irregularities on the passenger side one.

 

What kind of irregularities like fitment?

 

The best way to install the lower control arm, from what I found, was to install the Vertical first, Horizontal second, and the balljoint last. The video did help a lot for me (same one that @eurban posted).

The irregularities were on the passenger side control arm around the balljoint area. For a stock brake rotor, this will not be evident, but the rotors I run are 52mm hat height (compared to 47.3mm on the OEM) and thus the control arm started to make contact with the rotor. You should not see this issue on yours, even if the control arm has irregularities. I saved the old OEM control arms so I could press in the bushings and ball joints in the future.

 

The best way to install the lower control arm, from what I found, was to install the Vertical first, Horizontal second, and the balljoint last. The video did help a lot for me (same one that @eurban posted).

The irregularities were on the passenger side control arm around the balljoint area. For a stock brake rotor, this will not be evident, but the rotors I run are 52mm hat height (compared to 47.3mm on the OEM) and thus the control arm started to make contact with the rotor. You should not see this issue on yours, even if the control arm has irregularities. I saved the old OEM control arms so I could press in the bushings and ball joints in the future.

Thats interesting... so the difference in the grade of part, is yours is warranted for 3 years mine is limited lifetime and mine had a grease fitting, otherwise the same.

 

Im glad i took it in to the mechanic, the bolt was only holding together by friction it coul dhave fallen out. The Control arm was bent. He had to take it out bend it back and then install it the right way, obviously my way was incorrect. He said you have to remove spindle and the wheel assembly to get it out of the way then do the vertical , horizontal and lastly ball joint attachments in that order. Boy I got lucky only cost me $43.

 

Now if i could just find a replacement dust boot for my torn one without having to buy a new ball joint i would be in high cotton!

 

I did not remove the spindle, tie rods or axles.

I was able to change just the control arms by itself. Also, the control arms are cast, they do not bend, they would just crack. Where did he say it was bent?

At least you got it all squared out.

 

I did the other side ( Driver's side) today and it went much quicker and easier. This time I was sure to follow Blue's procedures, i.e. ( "Remove wheels and disconnect end link (sway bar to strut connector) at the top connection. (Allen key and 17mm wrench I recall). This allows for easier installation of new control arms... trust me!!! ") Thank you Blue! To make things a bit more complex I was replacing the front CV Axle at the same time. So I took the spindle off. This made it even easier to get the Arm off and back on again. What a difference taking that end link off! The ball joint separation took quite a few whacks with a 4lb Wilton short handle sledge but it separated this time with no real difficulty.
Thanks guys for your suggestions and sharing your experience, couldnt have done this nor even try to attempt this without your encouragement. This is why folks come to this forum and participate. Great place. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

 

Mine have been replaced for free with a 4 wheel alignment after about another 125,000 miles. No squeaks, rattles and drives straight down the road with no pulling. It still drives just like the day I drove it off the showroom floor and my KYB shocks and struts are free the rest of the life of my RTL.

 

<<<<<<< WARNING! >>>>>>>>

MY FRONT LEFT BALL JOINT IN THE 2 YEAR OLD $600 CONTROL ARM ASSEMBLY JUST FAILED AFTER ~ 40,000 KM.

I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED AND CAN NOT RECOMMEND THESE PARTS. HONDA MUST BE LETTING CHINESE METAL IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN!!!!

 

. Thank goodness you typed them in caps; would not have been able to read them otherwise. Yeah.................... it must be them Chinese metals....................................... 🤦‍♂️

On a related note, care to provide more detail?

 

FYI Honda ball joint failed less than 2 years of mostly highway driving on the control arm changed above ... crap Chinese metal must be getting into the supply chain.

 

I'm just about to order a pair of LCA's for my 09.... so I'm real interested in exactly what failed.
Was it one or both of the bushings, or the ball joint, or did the control arm break in some place?

 

NEVER grease the ball joint taper!!
It's designed to press-fit into the spindle arm.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

OK so what brand of lower control arms would be recommended for a 2014 Ridgeline? Would like them to last longer then two years and not cost $600.00 each.

 

I have the Mevotech lower arms on my G1. When I removed them this past weekend to replace my axles, the balljoint and bushings were still intact.

On RockAuto, you have CMS601014 and CMS601015 (premium) and GS601014 and GS60101 (original grade) are the part numbers for the fronts. RockAuto's shipping has gotten a bit crazy over the months so I would recommend that you cross shop multiple carriers .

When I got mine back in 2019, the cheapest was in Summit Racing. I got my GS units for $65 and $59 with free shipping.

 

Thanks for the recommendation I will order the Mevotech CMS601014 and CMS601015 from Rock Auto.

 

About 6 months ago/ 6000 kms I hat a pair of Mevotech LCA's installed. Most of my driving is forth and back to a remote village on the west coast, through some pretty rough logging roads. Recently I noticed a thumpy and banging sound getting worse from the driver's side, turns out the rear bushing on that lca had separated from its sleeve and there was also some play in the ball joint on that side. So now the Mevotech quality control is pretty suspect for me. I had that LCA replaced again, this time with Moog parts which are just a few bucks more expensive.... we'll see how that goes, but now I anticipate early failure on the passenger side which is OK for now.

 

@Saltyal how are the suspension bits holding up?

 

I've driven about another 4000 km's on those rough roads without any further suspension problems, but because of the Mevotech problems last summer I can't recommend that brand; their quality control is inconsistent.