You gotta love how honest and unedited Eric's vids are mistakes or not.

Not gonna lie Eric, watching you struggle is extremely entertaining to me. Watching you finally win the battle is satisfying as hell! I think anyone that has worked on cars or motorcycles can relate to the all day struggle of man versus metal!

@snorman1911

8 жыл бұрын

+BadShadd1 It is encouraging to see that the mighty ETCG also struggles with stubborn parts.

@arntkjrem8622

6 жыл бұрын

BadShadd1 not enough bleeding knuckles tho

Thanks Eric. This video convinced me to buy a lower control arm with fresh bushings and ball joint already installed :-)

@MyPhysicsBuddy

5 жыл бұрын

lmao :)

@attackroflchopter4403

4 жыл бұрын

You lazy sack!

@VortechBand

4 жыл бұрын

Heh, for my car the entire control arm with bushings and ball joint costs all of 69 euros :D Just the time spent in knocking the old ones out would be more than the price of the arm.

@jeroen7699

4 жыл бұрын

Exactly, I just ordered both left and right control arms after watching this. What a hassle, even with all these correct tools. But I appreciate the great instructions.

@joelethalcruz4417

4 жыл бұрын

Thats a lot of work..just buy the control arm with every thing..in it.

I think many of us driveway mechanics who will normally only encounter a job once or twice, imagine it's almost always plain sailings, for the professional that is. Watching a professional hit the same problems we do, and more importantly how they overcome them is refreshing. You watch this stuff on TV it is sanitized, and edited. I know I learn more this way. Thanks for all you do Eric! Have fun at Sema...

@thesilentobserver93

3 жыл бұрын

Best comment ever! So true to reality! Glad to see even a professional can run into hang ups on, what should be, rather easy jobs.

Eric, god bless your soul man. Honestly the amount of patience that you have when things arent going your way just baffles me. If it was me i would have threw it against a wall, used the impact cursing my ass off, set it on fire, put it on the car and purposely totaled it for the amount of freakin fraustration it has put me through. I have to say i wish I wish I had the amount of patience you have on some of my customers beat up, rusted up; duct tape together p.o.s cars. I kid you not sometimes certain cars make me want to cry. I am a mobile mechanic so I work out of my car until I can save enough to have my own shop.. and I wish i had some of the tools you have. I have to rely on cordless impact guns, strenth, pipes and most of all cursing and watching youtube videos. I applaude you man. Bravo.

"I make these mistakes so you don't have to" this is what I like about this guy's vids.. he does it REAL. No hiding things that are hard to do like most DO TO videos and missing out steps that are going to stop another person. he shows it, he talks about it. thank you. And after watching this Video.. I'll leave this one for someone else to do on my car. so I learned a lot.

ERIC I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for having the exact same car as me and for being a mechanic that likes to work on cars as well as does an excellent job of filming every aspect of your projects I can say for certain watching you has saved me a lot of time and head aches not to mention you have given me courage to do things that I would have procrastinated on for ever. You have a knack for taking the most difficult approach which is very educational. You HID lighting video for example was epic.

About halfway through this video, new control arms are looking pretty good to me. Haha

@jamestyndall529

Жыл бұрын

Once you add up the price of the individual bushings and your time is cheaper to buy a whole lower control arm

Thanks Eric. What great is that I have the same year Element. I recently watched your video on the stabilizer link repair , because of the same symptoms. What I found is that what made the links fail is that the passenger side strut mount bushing broke . Thus putting all the stress on the links. What lead me to this video is that while doing the repair I noticed how bad the control arm bushings are. After watching your video I feel super confident that the job will be a snap. No pun intended. Thanks again

This demonstrates the skills Eric has, the average Mechanic would just buy the new control arm to save time which would probably be more economical in a busy shop, but that would not show us how it can be done for someone who has plenty of time to work on their own car and has the tools, you are a real professional Eric with mechanical and video skills, the best on KZread in my opinion.

God bless you, Eric, very helpful. You can't do bushings without a press, folks - I tried hard and 24" breaker bar didn't do it. Had to get 12 ton press from harbor Freight for $99 and it was easy except the pushing it back in. Bent first bushing, but second one went OK after watching Eric's step to push with the press on the high crooked side. Thank you, Eric!

I just got done doing this job on a 03 CRV. I used a drill to get out the rubber bushing and then a hack saw to cut the sleeve. She popped out with a couple light taps after that. Love the vids eric.

Thats what i love about Eric's videos, he shows his mistakes so we can learn from them! Great video Eric!Keep up the good work.

Whenever I see a video that has a two minute montage of Eric progressively leveraging in more and more impact tools you know it's gonna be entertaining. Then he finally resorts to the nuclear option of "let's cut it out". Classic.

I miss your prime years on this channel Eric, timeless videos which will be helpful for many years to come. Glad you 'made it' and found well earned success

That looked like it just wasn't your mechanical day man. Keep up the good work! I've been watching your videos for years now and its always interesting and educating. Thanks man!

today on ETCG, Eric drops many many things :-)

You make a great point in this video -- all this is possible and could be fun, but even with a spacious shop, a lift, powerful air tools, and a shop press, it was a challenge for a seasoned mechanic. I think if I undertook this at home in my garage on jackstands with hand tools, it would be an entire day filled with frustration and despair. I am getting to the point where replacing assemblies is more appealing and cost-effective than replacing components. I think I will replace the entire arm. Thank you!

Not gonna lie. It’s pretty encouraging to see you wrestle with this. Took me a whole day to get 2 to press and I thought it was just me. ..I’m doing bushing installs for a new rear subframe on a modern Durango, and to press them in, here’s what i ended up doing. rental set cup/sleeves weren’t big enough. Thusly introducing field ingenuity and there began the creative process and approaches similar to what remotely deployed field technicians need to implement -> I ended up using the long rod bolt, spacer disc and nut from the kit on the bottom. Up top (for the empty subframe corner) *here’s where it gets interesting* i used an old giant rear (drum in hat 🎩) brake rotor and cut the center hub hole out bigger to match the bushing size.. with a steel plate with a hole in the middle bridged across. Then finally used one of the cup sleeves and top disc - for added hight - with the top impact spindle nut (that has a ball bearing ring and double washer / ball track rings for friction reduction.. i held that low nut and impact blasted the top. The spacers and steel plate held against the rotor disc while the rod and bushing were pulled, through the subframe and into the rotor drum space -> and there we have it…

so many mechanics on youtube just use editing to jump ahead - past the hard parts to the finish line. and i learn so much more by seeing the process and experimentation; and watching while you make mistakes and think out loud. thank you - your therapist would be proud! "you were very vulnerable Eric and i think we made real progress here today. see you next week then?" :)

What a great contribution Eric has made to us students of auto repair. Thanks Eric.

Great episode. Thanks for including the mess ups. It really shows everyone what to expect when tackling the same job. -John

Struggling to solve the problem, and getting it back together only to realize you messed up and have to do it all again is the worst. I did a rear bearing this year and had to undo it all because I forgot to put the dust shield on first. Some times I ask myself if it's worth the cost. Unfortunately, the answer is always yes, and I keep on wrenching. Thanks for the great videos, and making mistakes so I don't have to.

Great video! Just did a similar repair to this on my '05 CR-V and just wanted to add a bit of info. The OEM stabilizer links have a little hole at the end for a hex key to hold it in place while you put a wrench or open end socket on it, so you don't have to ruin the links to disconnect them.

I just changed the upper and lower control arm bushings on my tacoma from stock rubber to urethane, and I ended up having to heat up the rubber with a torch and press the center of the bushing out with a ball joint kit like the one in your video. I had to leave the steel sleeves in the control arms so that the urethane could sit in them so I had to take a burr and grid out the rest of the rubber once it had cooled off.... SUCH A PAIN... though next time I need to replace the bushings all i have to do is pull off the arm and slide the bushing out and slide a new one in. easy peasy. Anyways... good work Eric. thanks for the vids and keep kicking ass.

The bushing that gave the most trouble is easily removed with this..Schley Products Honda/Acura Front Compliance Bushing R&R Tool (SLY-68100). About $140. It worked for the front control arms and also helped with doing the rear trailing arm bushings as well. $140 was a bargain since we have 2 Elements, a Pilot, Accord and a Fit in our family. They will all need this sooner or later. Kudos to Eric, I've learned a ton from you!

hi eric! I've followed you for years, great work again... I had to change my bushings on Honda pilot. by the time I would have got bushings n ball joints. then press out, mind I don't have the shop.... I had found moog brand A arms on line with new bushings n ball joints. great price n free shipping. it was like 10 or 15 dollars more per side, but no special tools, press, shops needed.

enjoyed the video. there are a lot of good tips. Unfortunately when I did the passenger side I installed them in the opposite order. It made aligning the front bushing a royal pain. Live and learn. Thanks Eric.

Eric your timing is amazing... I had my '06 CRV at the dealership for service on Saturday and they showed me where the fronts were in the process of tearing, so I may be looking at doing this in the not too distant future. Great info, as always!

@paulbradford5692

Жыл бұрын

The job is simple to do mate 👍

Thanks Eric for this valuable and helpful guide. Hoping to see you back online one day. Many blessing to you.

Eric, Thanks for the helpful video. This video was the deciding factor, I went with the complete lower control arm assembly and I was much easier than the battle you had replacing the bushings. A little more money a lot less headache.

Reality TV right here. It can never be as real as this with mechanics and DIYers as well! This is why Eric is the man! Thanks Eric!

I actually get happy and can't wait to get home when I see a new ETC video in the timeline :)

Thank you Eric. I am having to do this this coming weekend. (the easy way, replacing the whole control arm) I also have to replace the ball joints. Well you know what that means, I have to remove the steering knuckle. I hope that I can press it out and press the new one in. I have noticed that not all kits come with the retaining clip and wondered whether it was necessary. I guess I should have said it is a 2003 Honda CR-V. I hope you are getting things done that you wanted to during this period and look for to the next generation of videos in the near future.

Eric is the truth and I love how he tries the hard way even though he doesn't need to for us poor folk. Thanks for everything I've learned from you.

Awesome video. I realized I'm never going to replace pushing the minute I saw Eric painfully working on that first one lol. Then he read my mind at the end of the video

Bro that looked like hard work and you had all the tools and experience. I've got not much of either so I will if required I will take your advice and buy the whole control arm. Thanks muchly for all the effort it takes to make these videos. You're a hard worker so 👏👏👏.

That is an honest auto tech that actually tells ya if it is really worth doing it cheap or not.... Keep up the good work, Eric. And that is the correct installment of a front lower control arm for a Macpherson front end, rather than the bad mechanic one (cheating in installation).

Hi Eric, love your videos with all the straight hard facts good and bad. Good to see that you can self critique without just editing it out. Gives us, the end users, a real life measuring stick on the difficulty level involved. Many thanks and for producing these informative videos!

Eric, The ball joints looked tight and replacing only the rubber is also an option for around $8.00. The parts are readily available on Amazon or E-Bay and will save you much disassembly of the Rotor assembly, etc. Bought myself a Harbor Freight 20 Ton press and its a joy to change bearings with it. I go to Auto Zone to get the Bearing removal kit, then return it so I don't have to own that tool.

Thanks for excellent instructions and a nice organized clean service area! I am looking at getting upper control arm and ball joints for 2000 Honda CRV front and I am not a happy camper! Thru Pep Boys!

Great video. It's nice to see mechanics that actually show the problems they run into. There's always problems and I want to see them so I know what I'm getting into and it was a fantastic video thank you.

I’m on a bushing, strut, ball joint, and suspension video watching binge!!!! Way to go Eric on posting these videos; they’re keeping me sane through this coronavirus pandemic! :-)

I did mine the other day on my jazz, found it so much easier after some heat ! Also you should leave nut loose on the thread on ball joint so if you miss with hammer while breaking the ball joint taper You do not damage the end of the thread ! I'm guessing you knew that ??/ keep up the good work Eric,

OMG this is every repair for me! Thank you for all that you do and for just being real, it absolutely makes all the difference.

You are the best. I thought no no he forgot to orientate the bush....but then you fessed up to doing it wrong and showing the fix. Awesome honesty and great work. Used your site heaps. Thanks from Oz

Thanks, I just ordered the lower control arm w/bushings.

A warren county plate, that's sick. I'm from Waynesville, I just started watching you not too long ago and didn't know that. That's awesome man!

thx eric u are a youtube allstar! u have saved me so much money on repairs. Keep up the good work!

Great video!! That seemed like a slight battle!! I'm glad I just got the whole new uppers on my ford truck when it needed ball joints. Already assembled with the new ball joint and bushings.

Changing just bushings is a job that most people only do once. Putting the bushings in the freezer definitely helps shrink them for easier installation. Using a hole saw to cut out the inside of the bushing then carefully making a notch in the outside of the bushing with a Dremel is the fastest way to remove them if you don't have a C clamp kit or press. Personally, I just budget for new control arms but I do appreciate the reminder of how stubborn those things can be when trying to save money.

Honda now sells ball joint boots separately for these vehicles (both upper and lower) so you don't have to replace the whole ball joint. Easy to install and way cheap!

Kidding aside in my last comment, I do love watching you work!

I think this is the best video to guide me on how to change the lower control arms on my 05 crv. Plus You Erick give us details on how to do it and why to do it like that. Like why to tight the bushing while the car is on the ground. I bet mechanic shops dont want to spend more time on the car and they just do it while the car is up on the lift, cuz they just want to be done with the job and dont care if the bushings have more pressure than what they need to. Best videos ever from you. I have a questions about a subaru engine that i am swaping and engine, but i will finf a video of a subaru from you and i will ask the questions there. Thank you.

Working on so many neglected early model cars like I have- parts like *@**17:11* are very common. Nothing comes apart easy. I feel your pain, Eric!

You the man Eric! We appreciate your honesty, and didn’t edit the video.

7:19 Yes, it was harder than it needed to be. Did the control, arm bushings on my '01 PT Cruiser and when I noticed how hard it could be to remove the horizontal bushing and that it was intact anyway, I just left the old one in there. It's still in there to this day after 150,000 miles. Sometimes it is best not to be a perfectionist and to leave well enough alone.

Man, that rear bushing makes you question everything bahahaha pushed the center out(I have the same kit) then cut it with my sawzall...went a little too far but I'm not worried about it, I'm pooped gonna do the front on the press at work, THANK YOU ERIC!

It's nice to see I'm not the only one who's run into major roadblocks trying to get a recalcitrant bushing out of a Honda control arm. Makes me feel a little less like an idiot. :D

Thanks Eric........you make all of us mechanical guys smile.....cuz we know.......lol........and since I just got an 08 Element.....I for one really appreciate your vids........cheers !!!

i know this was posted a long time a go but i appreciate the video it helped make switching my control arms fast and easy, my first time ever doing it and i did them both in a hours without a lift but i put brand new arms in, i was planning on pressing the bushings out myself until i seen this video lol

had to do this on my TSX about a year ago. Moog sells the whole arm and new bushings in place for a lil over the cost of getting the three bushings I needed and pressing them in and out manually.

Great video, and the “die, gas pumper” reference from The Jerk was most appreciated.

Just took my car to inspection and it failed due to the same flat bushing featured in this video. Thank you Eric for making the mistake's you make so I don't have to.

Hi, Eric when you replace the triangle put the bolt in after you entered the first part. Then it is a lot easier for the second one. I always lube the outher ring of the silentblocs before pressing.

I feel like this is an hour job if you just replaced the control arm in its entirety? I am facing this job on my EP3 and it seems like removal and install of the control arm is pretty simple.

hey Eric, in that kit there is a an adaptor to take out the one-sided bushing out so you don't have to damage the whole control arm with your various tool investments.. oh and viewers never use an impact wrench on Bush removing tools to reduce thread wear

Getting ready to do this on my 04 MDX - thank you for the excellent video!

I enjoy your vids, they’re unedited, explanatory and full of mechanics mistakes. I would have use the press to get them out, one just have to align the cups right.

those control arms from Honda are $$$. having the means and know-how to replace just the bushings is huge.

Great video, but you can buy both control arms with new bushings installed AND both ball joints for around $85. Remove old replace with new. I like the KISS method. But its neat paying with presses etc.

I have used a drill bit to cut through the rubber bushings and than used a wheel bearing kit to press it out. took about 3 hrs to finally get it out. I recommend just getting a new control arm and save time and the headache.

I had to do the front bushings on my car, it ended up being only about €20 more expensive to get both control arms instead of just the bushings, so it was well worth installing all new arms to save the effort of having to replace the bushings.

Heat the control arm slightly and put the bushings in the freezer for half an hour and they go in easier. Coming out, the bushing will slide out if you have the right insert which is available with the kit rented from Auto Zone. I bought a 20 ton press to accomplish this project on my HOnda 2007 SC. Note Many parts on the Element SC are different from the CRV and the Element LX and EX.

Those compliance bushings are notorious for failing (my ride is 04 TL 6MT). I once changed mine with OEM and it was starting to crack only after 20,000+ miles/2 years. I replaced them with PCI's all-metal bearing-type bushing and it improved handling as well (a hefty $300 for 3G TL but well worth it if you plan to keep your Honda/Acura for a long time). I use the OEM bushing as removal/installation tool (heat & melt the rubber and use the metal part as a driving tool). I replaced the stabilizer link rods with MOOG, which come with grease fittings and are not as poorly designed as the OEM (the OEMs come with allen key hole which of course rusts out and becomes useless during removal). When I remove LWR/UPR ball joints, I use Honda ball joint separator tools to avoid damage. Forget OEM steel cotter pins, I use stainless steel pins I get at True Value. Rubber parts, in general, are known to start deteriorating after about 5 years. I do my bushings at every 10 years/100,000 miles unless damaged/deteriorated. I do ALL of them when I replace suspension bushings. Honda/Acura sells a can of spray type silicone lube, which is extremely handy in winter (spray the hell out of the under-carriage [except the engine, CAT or whatever gets hot] once/week in winter where salt is used on the road).

Just a little FYI: The compliance bushings on my '05 Pilot were showing wear but the lower ball joint and the other front lower control bushing were perfectly fine(unlike the CRV and Element the lower ball joint on the 1st Gen Pilots is attached to the lower arm and isn't replaceable). I have just over 200K on the Pilot but the ball joints are still extremely tight so there was no need to scrap the entire lower arm due to worn-out compliance bushings. I picked up a pair of Honda OEM compliance bushings on Amazon for a great price and then picked up the KTC Tools Honda bushing tool on ebay for $50 shipped. I applied some moly grease to big bolt on the tool and it effortlessly pushed out the old bushings and pushed in the new ones. I mention this because the tool also works on '02-'06 CRV's...any Honda which uses the 65mm bushing. Counting the cost of the tool the job only set me back around $100 and my time. Keep in mind Eric also replaced the smaller bushing and in his admission he stated it really wasn't necessary and he only did it to show what was involved. I honestly was pleasantly surprised how easily the tool handled those large compliance bushings...no stress to the large bolt whatsoever as far as I could tell...no flex or grinding.

I have not had the pleasure of having to do the smaller control arm bushings on my TSX but if I had to I would use my drill press and a hole saw to cut that collar off instead of the air chisel method to save a bit of aggravation. Thanks for the video Eric.

I just purchased new thrust arms for my E90 BMW, the cost of the arms were like $30 more than the bushings. For the reason of avoiding some extreme effort.. I went with the arms lol. Now my 2003 civic which has a similar setup as your Element, will need replacing.. I'll take it to an independent shop for that. Those arms are surprisingly more involved than the BMW.

ERIC!!!!!!!! Haven't you told us many times in the past, to always mark down the orientation of the old bushing before removing it so you know how to install it? Or were you too excited about getting to play with your new toys? LOL

@glasser2819

4 жыл бұрын

it was just a senior-moment 👍🏼

Since I'm replacing them using floor jacks, couldn't I tension the lower ball joint with a floor jack and a piece of wood before I lower and tighten the final bolts?

@tbradsent

3 жыл бұрын

Yes. This is how I approached it when doing the repair on jack stands. I took a bottle jack and put it under the control arm (one side at a time) and jacked up slowly until the suspension was under load then tightened the bolts.

If you have a spare a/c compressor pulley it makes a good base/hole to push the bushing out into. Works very well with a press. It's a big enough hole for the bushing to fit into but a small enough hole that it supports enough of the control arm while pressing.

The same lower control arm design is used on the 04 Accord/TSX, I had the passenger side arm replaced when I was hit on the side. Now the driver's side is creaking and is cracked and in need or replacing, looks like the alignment will not be affected by swapping out the bigger bushing.

Thanks, Eric. Another great E fix that's keeping me on the road!

Love to watch your chanel. I always feel like I got the real info I'm looking for and can trust you.

Yes, it's easier to replace the control arm, but most after market control arm bushings probably won't last long. Plus the steel/engineering/dimensions from the OEM ones are much better.

@TheDalk

2 жыл бұрын

OEM Honda parts are worth it. The originals last almost forever, and so will the new part.

yes I did this job on my 2003 accord. same exact setup. lucky I bought whole new arms as you said I don't have the tools you do. problem for my I had to cut out one of the bolts as it seized in the bushing. not fun. can you recommend a die set? I slipped and ruined my lower ball joint thread and had to replace it as well since I couldn't find a dye in time.

Hi Eric, thank you for this video! I had a garage about a year ago fit lowering springs and I said at the time they must torque down the bolts with the car's weight loaded down on the suspension. Well they didn't which I saw when I fitted coilovers last weekend. So I have upper and lower wishbone bushings to replace, is your method applicable to all suspension bushes? The ones I have to replace are rubber on the outside with a metal tube in the middle... One other question, as I don't have your set up torquing up the bolts after is dam near impossible on the ground so I was thinking if I loaded up the suspension with two trolley jacks lifting the car slightly off of the jack stands and then cranking the bolts down would that suffice?

I replaced the trailing arm bushings on my pathfinder, had to take the whole thing out, air hammer the old bushings out and press the new ones in. Took a couple of hours but my car doesn't wobble anymore so I'm still alive, which is nice.

Do you recommend sticking with oem LCA’s? Or do you think the moog equivalents are good enough. I know that for ball joints I would probably have to get aftermarket since Honda doesn’t offer them separately for the gen 2 CRV

Eric, Your voice and explanation is awesome!!

I've learned from working on 1990s hondas, that its best to tighten the bushings when the suspension is in a droop position, might be different for newer hondas

Nice to see the air impacts come out. I was wondering if you ever still used them. Battery power is ok, but air impacts are still the heavyweights!

Thats nice you can do that yourself now. My Chevy POS Cobalt lost both its control arm bushings and cost me a lot of money to have them fix it. New Control arms, new tires, mounting, balancing labor. 900$.

Since that Eric has his lift the show should be called "EricTheMuscledCarGuy" XD Always trying to force something on lol

Lol the yellow dot. You're awesome Eric, I enjoy your videos! From Ron jr. at Ron & Joe's auto service in red lake minnesota

Well thank you Eric for convincing me to just replace the whole control arm 😅

Hi Eric, i was looking for some info here on youtube and your video came across, very instructive and I appreciate you taking time to do it. also i have a question, my 03 element shake like crazy about 50mph and I am sure is the ball joints but after seeing this video I wonder if I should replace the bushings as well ? thanx Leo.

Have you ever had any issues with shaking on acceleration with this car? I have an 04 element w/ manual trans and nobody can seem to figure out why it shakes on acceleration. (Already tried changing the CV Shafts. No change)

hey eric i was changing the rear strut on a honda crv but when i removed the bolts to the rear control arm one of the bolt on the bottom i stripped out can i tap and die the underbody?

what would you have charged for labor to just replace the control arms? what about the other bushings. I want to buy my first E but it seems they all need one thing or another in terms of TLC and I'm wondering just how much extra to set aside for suspension all the way around.