[ThunderBolt84]

After 271k miles, both the factory upper ball joints in my '08 Accord have a good deal of play and need replacement. Apparently aftermarket ball joints are to be avoided, so I plan to go OEM. But Honda appears to only sell the entire upper control arm, which on HondaPartsNow is $350!

Upper control arms are $35 a side at my local junkyard - after making sure the ball joint has no play I could replace the boots and grease. It'd be an improvement over what's on the car currently but I'm not sure it's a good idea long-term. Maybe someone's tried this?

It would be great if there was a way to get just the upper ball joint. Maybe the same ball joint was used on another model? Or maybe the OEM isn't actually Honda, and sells under their own name (in a similar manner to Idemitsu ATF)?

Has anyone found a way to source the OEM upper ball joint for an 8th gen without shelling out $350 per side?

 

[WiiMaster]

If it's going to last 271k, $350 doesn't sound so bad.

 

[08 v6/6]

I remember a grump old customer of mine and he had a saying I live by.

buy cheap buy twice

aka

you be cheap it costs you more in the end anyways.

I’d go oem. You get The whole arm, so the bushings, ball joint. No hassles.

You could also go aftermarket arm with adjustable camber and likely get one extra feature Included for the price with no compromise on the quality. Buying the whole arm makes install much more pleasant also.

 

[KW2004Accord]

555 Sankei ball joints that were made in japan were the oem supplier as I remember another poster saying. Many fakes out there, you would need to find an authorized dealer. Probably not any cheaper than oem & the additional tariff cost.

 

[desertres21]

555 Sankei ball joints that were made in japan were the oem supplier as I remember another poster saying. Many fakes out there, you would need to find an authorized dealer. Probably not any cheaper than oem & the additional tariff cost.

HeelToe has a bunch of 555 Sankei products, good prices, no tariffs.

I think these might be what you need

https://www.heeltoeauto.com/roll-center-adjuster-zero-bump-steer-kit/555-oe-replacement-ball-joint-front-upper-honda-cr-v-SB6191.html

 

[DerekWildstar]

I remember a grump old customer of mine and he had a saying I live by.

buy cheap buy twice

aka

you be cheap it costs you more in the end anyways.

I’d go oem. You get The whole arm, so the bushings, ball joint. No hassles.

You could also go aftermarket arm with adjustable camber and likely get one extra feature Included for the price with no compromise on the quality. Buying the whole arm makes install much more pleasant also.

Or, as the CarTalk brothers would say: “the stingy man spends the most.”

 

[KW2004Accord]

NAPA use to sell the Sankei 555 (3 fives) made in Japan under their Altrom brand.

 

[JEL01]

Advanced Auto sells the entire 555 upper control arms for about $130 each, I’d trust those just fine if going non-OEM. As mentioned they’re a good brand (like Denso or NGK) so avoid scamazon due to counterfeit

Sankei 555 - Advance Auto Parts

Save on Sankei 555 at Advance Auto Parts. Buy online, pick up in-store in 30 minutes.

shop.advanceautoparts.com

 

[visionguru]

Apparently aftermarket ball joints are to be avoided

That's for lower ball joints, which experience heavy load and impacts. For other ball joints, such as tie-rod ends, sway bar links, and upper control arm, aftermarket is not that bad. Most shops and owners of older cars are picking non-OEM upper control arms. Read online reviews.

 

[82 KID]

My 7th Gen are $152 each side. I checked. My driver side one failed last night.

Everyone says to avoid aftermarket ball joints... enlighten me as to why? Both sides of my car are now with CarQuest Premium ball joints and axles.

I've got it in the back of my head to be spendy and replace both side ball joint with Honda ones ($300 parts alone) and then the labor to put them in.

If they last then.. well again, why are aftermarket ball joints verboten?

 

[Mathrules]

MOOG parts are $44 each on Rockauto.com. I'd trust MOOG - really good suspension parts.

 

[Thomas_R.]

On my 97 Accord I just went with the SPC offset style upper Ball joint around 80k miles ago. I have no problem with them and they fixed my negative camber. I believe you can even run them at zero so they will sit just at the right spot when you do your alignment.