If you've ever replaced the lower ball joints on your 6th gen

After 255 000km the OEM ball joints need replacing as they show a bit of movement but no creaks/clunks/squeaks etc. The play can only be felt with a prybar as the push/pull method shows nothing.

I've got a pair of the moog problem solver ball joints which come with a nut, C clip and pin.

I've also got a pair of OEM ball joints that only come with the ball joint, I bought the nut separately for the sake of it. The oems seem to not have a C clip and you can't even install one as there is no grove for it.

A TSB for our cars released on June 2006 states that if your current OEM ball joint has a B engraved on it then you must replace the whole knuckle. If the ball joint doesn't have a B then you can replace it with an OEM one once.
TSB link - http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/3243/balljointtsb.jpg

I've called 6 Honda dealers locally and spoken to 4 Honda dealers in the USA. Seven of them told me that not having the C-clip as a safety feature is fine and that I could replace the ball joint as many times as I wanted and the TSB is just "old news".
Three told me that not having the C-clip as a safety feature is fine and that I can only replace the ball joint ONCE.
Four told me that as a safety feature since the OEM ball joints do not have a C-clip i can tack-weld 3-4 spots on the ball joint(to the knuckle) to keep it from possibly moving if it wanted to.

I've also spoken to and called 4 different shops locally that are all recommended for their workmanship .
Three of them told me to use the OEM and not the Moog even though OEM does not have a C-clip. They claimed they've had a few Moog fail and people had to warranty them.

One told me to throw out the OEM and use the moog as the OEM WILL pop out without a C-Clip. He also showed me 17 OEM ball joints he had in storage that he claimed he WILL not use on any customer car and is just stuck with them as he purchased them awhile ago.

Hence the above leaving me undecided on what to use lol...

Now my questions/worries/concerns being...
-Has anyone used the oem replacement ball joints without the C clip? have you had any issues with it possibly popping out? Have you replaced it more then once and had no issues or did the holes bore on the knuckle get too big and the second time around the knuckle does really have to be replaced?

-Have you tack welded the OEM with 3-4 points as a safety feature?

-Has anyone used the MOOG replacement ball joints? have you had any issues with them? Where they a tight fit when pressed in?

I've used OEM & Moog, in fact, I installed Moog on another members car while doing his 5spd swap. Pounded the old ones out with a socket and pounded the new ones in with a mallet after being in the freezer. Never heard of this babble about C-clips and replacing spindles. Sounds like old wiseman talk. Never had a ball joint pop out, that'd take quite a bit of force once it's worked its way in there and settled.

Personally - I'd use Moog over anything else, they come with greasable fittings so you can extend the life of that ball joint, tie rod, etc.

i've had more trouble with the upper ball joint starting to pop out of those shitty 'stock replacement' uca's that tas sells. my lower ball joint on the passenger side was replaced with an oem one and it's been fine for the past year or so.

Though I can't remember what I used, but I think Moog, I replaced mine some time ago. like Blk I just pounded out the old and in with the new. When I did the 5 lug swap I just used the 5 lug knuckels and have the oldL4 lug ones in the basement. Once the 5 lug ones wear out I'll go with Moog once again. I also used Moog for the tie rod end links, the upper ball joint as well as the sway bar links.

Installed Moog on left and right side. After a year I had to replace the right one and decided to go with Raybestos Pro, without the C clip. I might replace both with oem this spring.

Thanks for the replies guys...getting mine done tomorrow so we'll see how my luck turns out. I figure ill measure the diameter of the bore with a caliper of the OEM and Moog and use the one with the biggest bore...hence hopefully meaning tightest fit.

001Stunna said:

hence hopefully meaning tightest fit.

Click to expand...

maybe you should look for some virgin knuckles?

Sketch o5 said:

maybe you should look for some virgin knuckles?

Click to expand...

While I can see your point...who puts up with all the bleeding etc













...from my hands trying to get the ball joints in of course.

Well just finished getting the lower ball joints done.

The MOOG K9643 ball joints are 1mm smaller then the OEM ball joints. To make sure this wasn't just the set I got i went and asked to see 2x more at the parts place locally. The same result and they were also 1mm smaller then the OEM. This is with regards to the diameter of the ball joint body which gets pressed into the knuckle. Both moog and OEM had a smooth machined body.

I ended up using the OEM and pressed them in with the ball joint press tool and the Honda cups for it. I ended up also putting 2 tack weld dots 180deg from each other to cure my paranoid mind.

I guess the Moog will join my parts storage box until they need to be used again.

Once again thanks for the input erryybody.