Replacing Upper Control Arms (Honda Civic 1999 D15B).

The factory installed upper control arms on my Honda Civic 1999 are quite old and its time to do a proactive replacement.

The preparatory work is:

1. Engage Handbrake, Chock rear wheels, Raise the car and remove the tire.

2. Support the side lifted with a safety stand (no need to lift the car high).

3. Spray all involved bolts with penetrating oil and allow to soak for a couple minutes.

Loosen the Flange Bolts and Remove the Ball Joint Nut.

The ball joint's castle nut I removed by taking out the cotter pin and backing out the nut using a 17mm socket.

The 14mm flange bolts are accessed in the engine bay, at the damper's tower. I loosened both bolts but didn't remove them as yet.

Removing the Old Arm.

I whacked the ball joint bolt a couple times with my hammer to get it off the knuckle.

Comparing the Old and New.

The old arm bushings are totally busted. The new one is compared to the old in the last 2 pics.

Installing the New.

I coated the 3 bolts plus the knuckle hole with bearing grease. Installation of the new arm was the opposite of removal and quite easy. I used my car jack to 14inches from inner tire well to spindle nut. This is to simulate the Car resting naturally on its wheel. At this point I torqued the flange bolts then I torqued the castle nut to 40Nm.

Each side took half hour.

Now the car handles way better and I'm happy for this affordable job.