DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints

Bjørn

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Brian
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I am a mechanic by trade. I used a drive on lift for the install as I work in a shop. It took me about 6 hours to do this job including an alignment. I took the entire knuckle off since I was doing the ball joints at the same time. My car only has 20k miles on it and I live in the south. So rust is not an issue for me. Take your time and be careful. Springs can be dangerous when under load.

Tools I used-
Jack
Jack stands x2 at least
Springs compressors
Ratchet
Impact gun(not needed but is quicker)
Impact driver(picture below)
10mm socket/wrench
12mm socket/wrench
14mm socket/wrench
17mm socket and wrench
18mm socket/wrench
19mm socket/wrench
Pry bar at least one foot length
Wd40
Pliers
Trim tool
Punch or small screwdriver
Breaker bar/ lug wrench
Torque wrench
Hammer
Air hammer
Washers x4
Rotor screws

1. Loosen lug nuts 1/2 turn while wheels are on the ground. I did the front first.

2.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 3E2A5689-2416-4925-B0B6-D7F5CB04A39E

Move to the engine bay. Remove rubber cap.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 9F46BFC6-D6D2-4F6E-A7D8-70CB0CB90DC2

Loosen 17mm about 3-4 threads. Do NOT fully remove. This is all that keeps the spring under load.

*Optional-remove camber studs
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 3044AA5C-71F3-45CC-85D4-0B0B7791558E

Here it is removed. It will be the only stud around the struts without a nut. I forgot to take a picture with them installed. Place washers around the stud until only the threads are visible. Place nut on threads and tighten nut until stud comes out.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 7D7B736B-F7B4-4B22-A860-66CD74027606

Here is the setup I used.
3. Jack up vehicle and place Jack stands at the pinch weld points(they sit lower than the rest of the pinch weld).

4. Remove lug nuts and wheels.

5.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 9402342F-AF8B-4AF7-86C4-45F1B9E20727

Remove wire from bracket.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints C1718634-9033-4B17-94CF-A60A258BD6C8


6.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 5F85F888-13E6-4890-8019-F41EF44EF71B

Remove connector.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 3AF00179-9075-4F81-A731-CEBEDF2711B2


7.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints DC3D35E3-983C-4F21-9824-2947684064D0

Use pliers and release clip from strut.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints B5C62F50-EA56-4D47-A16C-18EF4AEA5DAA

Place wiring away.

9.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 37B4058C-BB18-46C4-9DE8-ECFEAE1F6FF4

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints E79045EA-9CEB-43C0-8397-3C76940BC446

Remove both of these 12mm bolts.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 5CCF80A4-BD93-4EC9-A567-7DE69E673E28


10.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints FCD3DD0C-510C-4855-AF97-5FD4AE17B52A

Remove 10mm bolt holding sensor in place. Gently remove sensor and place out of way.

11.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints CA4F7EDD-3297-45A8-905A-782F5355787F

Remove both 17mm caliper bracket bolts and lay caliper to the side. Do not put tension on the brake hose. I had enough slack to let the caliper sit on the lift.

12.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 574815D8-442C-4A10-92D2-DF11023F9CB3

Using impact driver, remove rotor screw.
Remove rotor from hub.( If the rotor is stuck to the hub, mine were not, there are two threaded holes in the rotor. Find bolts that thread in and tighten them down side to side until the rotor starts to move off the hub)

*Thescrews easily round out. I replaced my rotors at 9k and I had to drill one of these out. They were about $2 each at my local H dealer. Always a good idea to have some extras when removing rotors.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints B4C7CF18-E5A2-4AEF-893B-F913B7E7F5AC

Impact driver.

13.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 847A6B1D-47BF-4100-A41B-3794953FC784

Remove cotter pin using pliers.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 249BA35E-A70A-4A80-A76D-1C326C7B68E3

Remove 19mm nut.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 7C8042DB-8CAF-4F22-BEE7-756EA2F5E098

I used a puller to remove the tie rod end. A hammer can be used by hitting the KNUCKLE, NOT the tie rod end.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints CF43D4C9-5995-46C4-AF16-C7C2C419507C


14.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints FC6775D8-6BD4-4941-9B24-6312DFFEEBBA

The axle nut will be staked to the groove in the axle. I used a punch to make the nut “round” again.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 28730B9E-51C2-4FFE-AFB6-2CE18BD91EF4

Remove axle nut. I used an air impact gun to do this.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints BBF04FFF-9CA1-445D-91E8-1DD8D8F88AF2

Thread nut back onto axle shaft about 5-6 threads. Place punch or similar tool in to the dimple in the axle. Hammer punch until axle moves inward slightly. Just trying to “ free” axle so that it can be moved by hand later on. Remove nut.

15.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 7F4F15C4-64FB-497F-9BD7-651C4039A1C5

Remove 14mm sway bar link nut. Remove link from strut and move out of way.

16.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 1BC625DF-0CAD-4FF2-9DC6-4A2616C9F505

Remove the three 17mm ball joint nuts.

17.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints AC0CCF3A-E443-49ED-81E9-975D2AE2B56F

Before lifting the ball joint off of the lower arm, be aware of this bracket with the hole in it. It can contact the boot and damage it.

18.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints F1F087E7-7762-4C45-B569-76D9CC5B69BB

Push down on the control arm and pull the knuckle away from the vehicle while being aware of the bracket. Rest the ball joint against the control arm.

19.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints C4B50521-BF8B-4EF5-A72E-7903A022C718

Pull the knuckle away from the vehicle while being aware of the bracket. Slide the axle out of the hub and rest it on the sway bar. Rest knuckle against the lower arm.

20.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 92EEB763-AC32-4AC1-95A4-901F2A482124

Loosen one of these 14mm nuts until it can be spun off by hand. Leave the nut threaded to the stud. Then, remove the other two nuts.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 6BAE7542-ED6C-4DAA-B5BB-DC36B9BAEEF1

With one hand, support the strut/knuckle assembly. With the other hand remove the last nut and remove the assembly from the vehicle.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 8C6ECC94-F358-4D0A-8D6B-B9197B5D28C0


21. Note-These next few steps are for replacing the ball joints and are not necessary for spring replacement.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 5D811F22-F0E8-4560-A19A-B470BDB1870F

Remove cotter pin.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 64DEB9D8-5B27-4EC8-870A-991BA72C4237

Remove 19mm nut.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints B5D88C42-43ED-44D7-9BA8-542623A2F8FD

Place studs on a block of wood so they are not damaged when hammering.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints D2582979-7A90-4AC3-970B-BA44AA2AC884

Hammer on the knuckle, NOT the ball joint. I only had to hit it a few times for the ball joint to free itself from the knuckle. Take care not to hit the bearing.

22.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 87B0C615-98B7-4244-A297-DDC218211735

Install new ball joint and thread on the original nut. Tighten down nut. I used an air impact and 19mm swivel socket to do this.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints C51BD77E-2A57-4FA4-A80B-9E07A0D3BB2B

Line up castle nut with hole in the ball joint and install the cotter pin. I had to tighten my nut a little bit more to line them up.

23.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints CECE569D-5B51-4E56-A654-1FABFA368527

Place strut assembly on table and support strut in some way.

24.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 2C0D8CB3-8B70-4C32-90A9-06EB2542FE9D

Install spring compressors on spring. Tighten them down going side to side until the spring no longer has tension to the strut.

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 0775C933-17F9-4D4F-9AB8-BA78CD009A7D

Do NOT stand in front of the strut mount. Move to the side away from the springs potential path.
Remove 17mm nut.

25.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints E7A61CF3-839D-415D-885D-DFFECE9C61FC

Remove the strut mount.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 86ABC3E6-70C1-4C2C-917F-08F472D20A38


26.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints CEE0F6CB-6121-42EC-A490-0C739445186E

Remove dust boot from from lower portion of the strut.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints F9314A25-56F7-4523-83D6-0AF642A9C6F0

Remove spring assembly from strut.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 24B321AA-4C6E-48EA-8C60-F88DCED176F4
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints EEFB3789-D55E-4B96-98E1-024C256F41F1

Take note of where the springs sit.

27.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 14DC3717-6F8E-4580-AEC7-6EFBECD2897C

Install upper bushing to the new spring.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 97610229-DF3E-4B7D-8EFF-D6821DDD666D

Install the spring to the strut assembly.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 1C207A5A-63DD-4CED-8A62-1576F5E57DAB

Install the strut mount to the strut/spring assembly and thread on the nut.

Note-I did not need the springs compressors to install the springs to the struts. The whitelines are shorter and have no preload while the vehicle weight is not on the struts.

Note-I did not cut my bump stops. Whiteline is only a .8 inch drop. Refer to the manufacturer for cutting the bump stops.

28.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints B94C9F07-C876-438C-B5E1-4EC0A6E74CC3

Tighten down the nut as far as you can. I fully tightened the nut once the strut was back in the vehicle and it was sitting back on the ground.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 31F4EDDD-A8E1-4143-A417-82CCA90FEFB6

Install dust boot to the lower portion of the strut.

29. Install in reverse order of removal. Remember to be careful of the bracket on the lower control arm when installing the axle shaft.

30. This next step for finishing up the the Whiteline ball joint install.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 3C367B5D-92A6-4553-8D6B-91150A3309AB

These joints have bolts instead of studs. Bolts go through the control arm and then through the joint. The nuts go on the bottom. The ball joint is slotted to allow for more camber. I wanted as much negative camber up as I could get.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints AA8E11EB-8509-4592-9300-673C5732E5B1

I pulled the ball joint all the way out and then held the bolts using a 17mm wrench and tightened the 18mm nuts using an impact. I then tightened them fully with a torque wrench. Can’t remember the torque at the moment. Will edit later.

31.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 9C29E58B-40AF-4336-9730-637592DDE4B6

Don’t forget to tighten the strut top nut and the three strut mount nuts after the wheels are back on the ground, wheels torqued and the full weight of the vehicle is on the struts. This should provide enough resistance to tighten the strut nut to specification.

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 40437ED3-BCDD-4950-BE08-3277C788441F
 
Last edited:
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Bjørn

Bjørn

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Time to do the rears.

1. Loosen rear lug nuts half a turn.

2.Jack up vehicle and place Jack stands at jacking points.

3. Remove the lug nuts and rear wheels.

4.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 2418177F-5ED0-4C42-9BB2-4586F38D53EA

Remove the two 12mm sway bar end link bolts. There is one on each control arm.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 1C725A28-8647-40D8-8A7D-C5AA7E3C5B6C


5.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 4403E6DD-C67F-43D1-90A2-1D93461AD512

Place your Jack underneath the right control arm. Apply just enough pressure that the control arm moves up slightly. Not much. Remove the 17mm bolt.

6.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 7B0D0C97-2CB9-4A63-A270-DBC515EE7294

*Note-the spring tension is being released, so take your time
Slowly lower the Jack and make sure that the control arm is coming with the Jack.

7.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 4962CBBB-D300-4125-84B4-43D54BBF7F93
Separate the control arm from
the knuckle.

8.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 08CC5ED1-4B27-4D13-AC07-6693BC2F36CC

The tension on the spring should be gone. Pull the control arm down enough so that you can pull the spring out. Take note of which is up and which is down. The bottom bushing has two locating knobs on it.

9
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints 78805E75-53E7-47A6-950F-7F6F272ACB9E

Remove the bushings and install them on the new spring.

10.Install new spring. Jack up the lower control arm and install the 17mm bolt. Do not fully tighten at this stage. Leave about two threads loose. Leave the 12mm bolt out.

11. Move to the left side and perform steps 5-10.

12. Install the 12 mm bolts to the sway endlinks. Do not fully tighten yet. Leave about 2 threads loose.

13.Install rear wheels and lug nuts. Lower vehicle and torque lug nuts.

14. Tighten 17mm bolts and 12mm bolts to specification.
 
Last edited:

Memogiyi

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Great write up! Thank you for putting this together. What has been your experience with the upgrades?
 
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Bjørn

Bjørn

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Thanks! The springs feel like oem to me when in normal mode and a little stiffer than oem when in sport. I like them a lot. Perfect drop for me. The ball joints gave me the clearance/room I needed for my tire/wheel setup to prevent rubbing. I’ve got the rear sway bar from whiteline as well. Really happy with all their products.
 

Memogiyi

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Thanks! The springs feel like oem to me when in normal mode and a little stiffer than oem when in sport. I like them a lot. Perfect drop for me. The ball joints gave me the clearance/room I needed for my tire/wheel setup to prevent rubbing. I’ve got the rear sway bar from whiteline as well. Really happy with all their products.
Thanks for the reply. I recently acquired the same springs. Was curious to hear some real life reviews.
 


st4xor

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I pulled the ball joint all the way out and then held the bolts using a 17mm wrench and tightened the 18mm nuts using an impact. I then tightened them fully with a torque wrench. Can’t remember the torque at the moment. Will edit later.
I think I see 47 ft-lb in the factory service manual:

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints Screenshot_20221001-193640


But there is also an SPC install video that specifies 90 ft-lb.

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY-2020 Si 4dr Whiteline Springs and Ball Joints Screenshot_20221002-075132


Haven't done mine yet, but I'm assuming I will find that the aftermarket fasteners are beefier than the OE ones for the purpose of locking down the adjustability--hence the higher torque spec.

How does this line up with the experience of others?
 


 


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