HOW DO I REPLACE THE LOWER BALL JOINTS ON MY 97 HONDA CIVIC?

You are going to have to replace the ball joints. It would be a more reliable option. If you want to do it yourself, make sure the castle nuts are off, separate the lower control arm from the steering knuckle, remove the tie rod end joints, and the upper control arm joints, and remove the whole assembly. The ball joints pop out with a good whack. Pop the new ones in and do that procedure in reverse. The nuts all torque down to 40-45 ft-lbs. Check shop manual for exact torques. Hope that helps.

Mr Honda
March 2008