Is this a matter of determining if there hand-play in these connection points? How do I diagnose whether a bushing (or all of them) needs to be replaced? Is there a recommended order to replacing them (start with the control arms?) or do I just buy all 34 and have at it? I see aftermarket kits that range in price and material construction dramatically
Given this is my DD, I want to get it right. I would expect there is a big difference in ride characteristics between OE rubber and aftermarket polyurethane or the like.
For clarity... from a visual inspection only, I can see the rear axle is off left to right. Tires are new so can't see any irregular wear.. yet.
First thing that comes to mind is if they didnt center the axle, what else is wrong. Not slamming the vehicle, just be wary...it may not even have a rear track bar. People do crazy crap , or simply forget to put bolts in, etc.
you can roll the vehicle, slam the brakes and see the control arm move sometimes if they are real bad , but hand force won’t show much usually , 3700 lbs moving at speed is the force involved. A pry bar can help.
At 21 years ozone, heat, etc. can compromise bushings-
The track bars just stabilize the axles left to right and adjustable track bars give you adjustment of that , control arms do the same thing front to back- the bushings are the critical part and the bolt torque as well.
the kits tend to be urethane-squeaky and hard
i lean toward carefully diagonose and then replace with stock or higher quality
look really close and you will see cracks in the rubber and signs of age, as well as arm to bracket markings indicating the joint isn’t stable possibly.
First make sure everything is there, all bolted up tight, then consider shocks, sway bar bushings and control arm bushings as needed ...a complete stock arm with bushings from omix-ada is pretty cheap...and they tend not to all fail at once.
Also you may have one in the front that is significantly bad allowing it to pitch forward or several that are slightly bad all over- so be aware the problem can appear to be rearward but be up front. If you will take the time to get familiar with it you will be glad you did now and later...it is intimidating at first but not that complicated.
You are on track that something is wrong and you are looking in the right direction....and watch those brakes as well. Sounds like they need work.
Stay on here...As a reference I know little, I just grasp the concepts sometimes-we have some awesome guys on here.