Steering / Suspension Ball Joint Covers

[PreludePete]

Hi guys,
Have an mot advisory that all steering and suspension ball joint covers are perished or split on my 99 5th Gen manual.
Any ideas of availability of parts and cost of fixing?

Thanks
Pete

[EddieMunster]

Hi guys,
Have an mot advisory that all steering and suspension ball joint covers are perished or split on my 99 5th Gen manual.
Any ideas of availability of parts and cost of fixing?

Thanks
Pete

They're all readily available, try eBay, Mister Auto or Auto Doc, but be warned it's better to have the rubbers in hand before you order so that you can see what they're telling you is the correct part is actually correct. Regarding the ball joint cover, you may well have to remove the wishbone and joint itself as I've had a few where the cover has been an integral part of the joint and as such it's joined to the base rather than held in place with a circlip.

Cost-wise, peanuts really, it'll be the labour of getting them off and back on that'll tickle your wallet. If you can afford it, it's better to check ALL of the bushes/joints in your suspension and replace everything that's worn or on its way out. Changing a ball joint on a wishbone is a fair amount of labour, changing the bushes/tie-bars connected to it would be no extra labour as you'd already been taking them off. I've done the same job, front and rear on my 4g, and in parts it was around £120-150 and about 16-18 hours labour.

[vanzep]

you can change the boot on the wishbone as the cover is just push on/pull off - well it is on the 4th gen ones i have here;)
steering rack ball joints are on the track rod ends and prob best to replace them - cost for aftermarket ones is about £25 a side.
or would just be a few quid for new covers on the old track rod ends.

2 suspension ball joints either side - one at the bottom of the knuckle/hub and one on the upper wishbone.
Upper wishbones cost for aftermarket is about £50 a side for the whole front wishbone (bit more for the rears) or again it would just be a few quid for the boot.
Bottom ball joint boot will be the most time/trouble to fix but again only a few quid for the cover.

I would expect most garages these days to carry a selection of different sizes so sure they would have one that fits.
Either that or try ebay.

[PreludePete]

Thanks Eddie and Vanzep for such comprehensive replies. Appreciate the time and interest taken.
Pete

[wurlycorner]

Yep, can change just the covers if that's all that's gone. That's quite an easy job, provided you can split the ball joint in the first place.
They're available from Honda.

If you want to change the ball joints fully, langdon4x4 on ebay, is your man!