ovalnegri

iTrader: (1)

My Zs rear ball joints are failing and the only replacements that I have found are the: Febest 0220-777 Rear Upper Control Arm Ball Joint. My question is, has anyone just replaced the ball joints or have they changed the whole control arm? I've checked and haven't found a single thread concerning this nor the durability of this ball joints. Would appreciate a little help, thnx in advance.

Frostydc4

iTrader: (3)

I'm interested in answers also. I thought Nissan's solution for this was to replace the entire control arm

zakmartin

If you don't have access to a shop press and a ball joint press-out kit (along with a puller to yank out the cone washers and some various other tools), then just get the Moog rear upper control arm assemblies. They're a LOT cheaper than OEM and from personal experience, they seem to be every bit as good as OEM, which for the record is something you'll HARDLY EVER hear me say. FYI, you'll need to get new cone washers with the Moogs or use a puller to yank the ones off your factory ball joints and re-use those. Personally, I'd recommend you just get new washers. The control arm assemblies include the bushings, ball joints and arms. Here are the part numbers I used on my 2008. Before you purchase anything, make sure they apply to your year and trim as well - you can check for fit on Moog's website. The control arm assemblies are about $50 each:

MOOG-RK621762 Rear Upper Control Arm and Ball Joint - Driver Side
MOOG-RK621689 Rear Upper Control Arm and Ball Joint - Passenger Side

Here's the part number for the cone washers you'll need if you don't want to worry about pulling and pressing the old ones (they're a tighter fit than the washers listed below.) The Nissan cone washers (ball joint seats) cost about $20 each and you'll need one for each side:

Nissan 40173-33P00 Ball Joint Seat

I recommend whenever you're changing out your control arms, you do them in pairs. If you're only interested in changing out the ball joints and your bushings are still in good shape, and you have access to all the tools you need, then yes, the FEBEST 0220-777 replacements are fine. I have a pair of them I'm using to swap out on my OEM rear control arms when I have some time to kill. They're Made in China, but for what it's worth, the quality seems equal to or better than OEM. dboyzalter has done a pretty lengthy write-up on pressing out the ball joints on the "What have you done for your Z today" thread starting around HERE.

Follow the FSM and make sure your wheels are supported and unladen when you do your final tightening of the inner control arm bolts. Since you'll have to take your axles off to get to the ball joint bolts anyway, now would be a good time to clean and apply moly lube to the axle splines.

Have fun.

zakmartin

That's generally Nissan's answer for EVERYTHING.

ovalnegri

iTrader: (1)

Rightttt....Is that all? Dam seems a lot less hassle just replacing the entire control arm than just the ball joint. I thought is would be like replacing the lower front ball joint. Apparently I won't be replacing them for NOW since I gave it a thorough look(for me at least) and they are still good(i think). The sound was coming from my NEW front lower ball joints. Re-greased and re-tighten them and the sound is gone.