George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message news:<4nkj7058np53kojrfc0i64mdl34f61avh4@4ax.com>. ..
> On 11 Apr 2004 14:45:06 -0700, adrew@frontiernet.net (Adam Drew) wrote:
>
> >George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com> wrote in message news:<qv1i70dh0hd1133ruqpbgk3utbtmf1usi8@4ax.com>. ..
> >> On 10 Apr 2004 16:31:17 -0700, adrew@frontiernet.net (Adam Drew) wrote:
> >>
> >> >Hey, y'all.
> >> >
> >> >I was at the dealer this morning getting an oil change/tire rotation
> >> >when they called me and said that both of my lower ball joints were
> >> >blown, there was grease all over the inside of both front rims, and
> >> >that I should come in Monday to get it fixed.
> >> >
> >> >It only has about 9000 miles on it. I drive pretty gently and don't
> >> >drag race or go mud boggin' or anyhting like that. Most of the miles
> >> >are interstate.
> >> >
> >> >Any ideas what could've caused BOTH of 'em to go? I've never had ANY
> >> >suspension problems on my old cars, and neither has anyone in my
> >> >family.
> >>
> >> Is this a U.S. Civic Si - made in Swindon England? Gawd, I hope it's not a
> >> sign of English car disease. I thought Honda was on top of the U.K. OE
> >> suppliers but maybe not - this was typical of quality issues back in the
> >> bad old days, when Rubery Owen supplied the U.K car industry with atrocious
> >> junk. What does "blown" mean?... rubber boot tore open or came off?
> >>
> >> AFAICT from the parts list here http://tinyurl.com/36ggw the ball joint is
> >> not a separate part from the knuckle assembly so you want to be sure what
> >> "fixed" means. If the boots are busted there's dirt & water in the ball
> >> joint so you don't want just a new boot fitted.
> >
> >Thanks for writing back. Yeah, it's a UK-built, US-market Si
> >hatchback. Apart from this issue, I have no complaints about it at
> >all--seems very well built.
> >
> >I believe the tech's actual words were that they had both "collapsed."
> > I'm really pretty ignorant regarding suspension components, never
> >having had to work on them before. I took the wheel off when I got
> >home and didn't really see anything that looked out of the
> >ordinary....just a lot of grease everywhere--especially all over the
> >rims and brake caliper.
>
> Hmmm, I didn't think there'd be that much grease in a ball joint. Are you
> sure it isn't the C/V joint boots that are torn?
>
Thanks for the input, y'all. I thought it sounded a bit weird, too,
so I took it to the dealer I bought it from--Grainger Honda in
Savannah--and they said it was the CV joint boot. I thought it looked
like a bit too much grease to be the ball joint. The ball joint did
look all deformed, but I guess it just looked weird from all the
grease on it.
I didn't notice that the CV joint was leaking because it apparently
had a little one-inch slit in it and there was no grease on it. They
said it looked like someone had cut it, but I told them that I hadn't
taken it to Pep Boys or anywhere like that. It's only been serviced
by them and the other Honda dealer.
Right now, they're just replacing the boot. I wanted them to replace
the whole axle in case water or crud got in there but they said that
it looked okay. I'm gonna make them write me a letter in case the CV
joint goes at 40,000 miles or so.
On a side note--thankfully--they gave me a loaner car since they
didn't have the parts in stock. It's a brand new, automatic '04 Civic
LX sedan. I don't know how people can stand driving these
things---it's so boring! The engine is rough and noisy and barely has
any pickup. The Si--especially its K20 engine--is just so much
better. It's hard to believe they're the basically the same
car...really illustrates how crappy American-market cars are compared
to their Euro counterparts.
Anyway, thanks again for the help, y'all.
Adam