I replaced the rear strut rods and carrier bushings today on my 91 LS... When I got the right rear strut rod off, it became obvious that the upper ball joint is bad. There's a lot of info on the site about R&R of the front UCA's but not so much about replacing the rears. Has anyone ever done the rears themselves and how much of a PITA was it? Checked the DIY's on lexls.com and I didn't find anything there.

If anyone has had them replaced by a mechanic, I'd be interested to know what the labor charges were.

From a diagnostic standpoint, I've had a vibration from the rear between 25-30mph for quite some time now. Would a bad rear UCA ball joint cause this kind of vibration?

Thanks

 

labor should be the same as or less than the front for the UCA. a competent mech. should be able to do it without removing the axles or LCA or anything like that, just unbolting the balljoint and MAYBE taking the rear shock out (though an impact rachet should solve that problem).

unfortunately OEM is the only choice you have for it, arnott doesnt make the rears and no aftermarket company i'd trust makes it.

 

Thanks... As far as the rear end vibration goes that I have between 25-30mph... How likely do you think that the rear ball joint being bad could cause this? If I jack up the car and put a lug nut wrench on one of the lug nuts, and tourqe on it like I'm tightening it, the whole wheel/knuckle turns about 3/8 of an inch I guess. Compared to the opposite wheel which has no movement at all. Once I had the strut rod off, I could grab the bottom of the carrier and move it about 3/8" in either direction. I could see that the top of the carrier where it bolts to the ball joint was loose and is where it was pivoting from.

Does the OEM Rear UCA come with the ball joint installed?

Thanks