Is alignment needed after replacing upper control arms?

Question

My yearly NY inspection revealed a bad upper ball joint and the shop gave me a quote to replace it. One of the line items on the quote was an automatic and irremovable item which read "Auto: alignment required".

After some research I decided it would be better if I replaced both of the front upper control arms (bushings and ball joint included) on my 2011 Honda Accord by following https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZGr8Xf2ip8

If it matters my car has 120,000 miles and this is the first time it's ever needed suspension work. I drove it around a bit after the repair and it does not seem to pull left nor right.

Should I go in for an alignment anyways? I've read several online forums and some people say that it's required while others claim that since I didn't touch the tie rod nor any alignment items then it's not needed.

Answer 1

ABSOLUTELY

Yes, when you do any major work to the front suspension, you need to have the alignment done. Even though the parts are "basically" the same, they are not exact. Newer parts will be tighter than old (less deflection and no wear), so will put the alignment into a different position. The only thing you are going to cause by not getting the alignment done is worn out tires.

When doing front suspension work, always include the alignment as part of the cost of the work. You cannot go wrong by doing it.

Answer 2

While it used to be the case that an alignment was warranted, and I had to get one done after replacing links on a car I once owned that had a mess of shims under the mounts for each of the wishbones, modern manufacturing practise is to tighten down the tolerances of the components, and the mounting positions on the body, such that they can be assembled on new vehicles without any setting up, saving time and labor costs.

Your Honda follows this approach. Castor and camber are fixed, if an alignment shows that they are out of spec, the indication is that something is worn, and can only be fixed by replacing parts with new ones. Of course, if your car has ever had any accident that has distorted the body such that the suspension mounting points have been moved, replacing suspension components won't bring the alignment back, and there are often aftermarket parts available with maybe eccentric bolts or elongated mounting holes that do allow for some adjustment, but factory parts are fixed geometry.

The only parameter that can be adjusted on the Accord is the toe-in, since this is affected by quite a number of tolerances, and this is then the one thing that does need checking. I've found that replacing track arms or ball joints generally doesn't require any change in the toe, but given the mileage on the car, it's worth doing the check to find out if anything else does need attention.