Honda Accord 03-08 Upper Wishbone Replacement

I'd noticed a clunking noise from the front suspension of my accord. On investigation I found the universal joint on the upper wishbone had far too much play. I bought the replacement arm from eBay - £28.99 with all the bushes and UJ in place rather than faffing with removing UJs etc.

Step 1: Jack and Support

First jack and support the car and remove the wheel - in this case the passenger side.

Step 2: Remove the Strut

First job is to remove the strut. I undid the bolt that pinches the lower fork onto the bottom end of the damper first. Be careful! On the other side I sheared the head off this bolt and it caused a lot of pain!! No pictures of this, but you'll find it easily.

Next remove the nut and bolt that attach the lower wishbone to the fork. 17mm pictures 1 and 2.

Then remove the five bolts around the top of the strut(under the bonnet) next picture. Remember that the strut will drop when you undo the bolts!

When everything is loose, the fork should easily separate from the damper, allowing you to remove the strut.

Step 3: Split the Ball Joint

Next job is to split the ball joint. Remove the split pin that runs through the castilated nut which holds the knuckle to the upper ball joint. Then loosen the nut. When there's some clearance between nut and joint separate the ball joint. I used a ball joint splitter fork.

Step 4: Remove the Wishbone

Remember to remove the wheel sensor bracket from the wishbone. It's a 10 mm nut and should come off pretty easily.

Remove the two bolts that hold the wishbone to the car. Bolts shouldn't be too tight - they're 14mm from memory.

Step 5: Reassembly.

Reassembly is reversal of removal. Make sure the upper wishbone is in the right place before torquing up the bolts to 23lbf.ft you can do this by putting a bar through the (usefully positioned) holes just outboard and down from the wishbone bolts.