I guess I should've listened to Keith's advice

That upper arm looks bent to me - twisted. Grab a new one. NA and NB are the same, left and right are the same. We have them in FM Salvage.

I already checked that . I'll be ordering one tomorrow...

Can someone direct me a source for 2002 nb inner tie rods and nb upper ball joints ? I don't want to replace the whole upper control arm.

thanks

The upper ball joint isn't replaceable, although the boot is. Inner tie ends shouldn't be difficult to find.

I would like to replace the upper because the lower popped out, inner tie rod i can only find the left one to right one. Unless the listing comes from another car.

thanks

The upper ball joint can easily be pressed out of the arm. Wonder why Mazda and the aftermarket don't sell it separately? Heck, you can buy press in joints for just about every other car on the planet. Even the lower press ins for my J-H are readily available.

Curmudgeon wrote: The upper ball joint can easily be pressed out of the arm. Wonder why Mazda and the aftermarket don't sell it separately? Heck, you can buy press in joints for just about every other car on the planet. Even the lower press ins for my J-H are readily available.

It's my understanding it can be bought separately............but why is the conventional wisdom not to replace it? I understood it was how it was mated to the upper arm?

I'd definitely like to save some money that way, but it makes me nervous.

They seem to last a long time as well. I replaced the boots on my uppers at 192k, and the joints were still stiff.

Joey

I've pressed them in and out more than once with no issues. When I was building the Abomination and the rotary Opel, I used Miata knuckles etc and at the time (~2004-2006 or so) the upper ball joint was only available with the arm. Maybe that's changed?

Curmudgeon wrote: I've pressed them in and out more than once with no issues. When I was building the Abomination and the rotary Opel, I used Miata knuckles etc and at the time (~2004-2006 or so) the upper ball joint was only available with the arm. Maybe that's changed?

Still that way, I just assmed it was like the E30 guys, where they found an equivalent ball join to press in.

My 91 CRX Si was the same way. Had to replace the entire arm when the ball joint had play.