Awesome post... just outta curiousity, the brands on Rock Auto seem to be cheaper for LBJ's. LBJ's aren't something I want to skimp on, of course. But are any of them of OEM quality? I need to do a good bit of front end work on my 99', so I'm trying to save $ but not go cheap in the quality dept.

The answer you will get is LBJs is one thing not to mess with and just get OEM. I know some run the Napa ones and are happy. Basically if you say you run any LBJ other than Toyota plan on a mailbox full of hate mail and this thread to quadruple in size in 24 hrs.

I went ahead & ordered my LH side from a toyotapartsdeal.com. This isn't my DD, so I'm gonna do 1 side at a time since I'm doing LBJ's, Struts/Coils, & CV's on both side. I've gotta do a rack & tie rod ends too, so it's gonna be a minute before she's back on the road.

Has anyone purchased a front suspension kit off ebay from Detroit axle; kit 98 Toyota 4 rnnr 6 cyl., includes upper lower b/j for r and l, inside/outside tie rods ends... total bill $114, no ship charge.

This has helped me so much you guys are awesome

I need to replace my inner/outer tie rods on a 1999 4Runner LTD. What is the best non Toyota part? I'm hoping something like the Detroit Axle kit is good enough for a vehicle with 230K miles and gets only about 10K miles use in a year. It's been a great vehicle and in great condition. Thanks.

p.s. I just replaced the rubber bushings on the steering rack and it made a huge difference. Symptoms were that floating feeling and clicks and clunks while driving, especially on rough pavement.

This is a great post. thanks again.

Check out the price on the toyota when you shop. I needed some tie rod ends in a pinch and priced out some from the local dealership and it turned out they were half what the aftermarkets were going for. Wasn't able to get the inners locally so had to go with aftermarket on those.

I subscribe to the OEM only camp for LBJ's. You might get away with aftermarket but do you really want chance it? I understand some folks have financial constraints but I can't put a dollar value on the confidence I have riding around on my new OEM LBJs, OTRE and ITRE, knowing the first ones went 180K without issue.

toyotapartsdeal for the LBJs and OTREs
amayama (as crazy as it sounds) saved me bundle on OEM ITREs

thanks for the quick replies above. I shopped Amazon and found the Toyota OEM outer tie rods for around $53 each. The inner's are around $113. I'll do the outer's first since they are starting to gush grease but still usable for a few more miles. The inner tie rods seem to be OK. I've read all about the problems with upper & lower ball joints but they seem ok too. Like anything automobile, ya gotta keep an eye on maintenance and symptoms to keep it on the road and stay safe, while at the same time practicing a little economy. Since I now do all my own maintenance (I'm retired and out of work, or the other way around) it's a balancing act between that and lining Toyota's pockets. ;-)

If you do both at the same time you save the cost of an alignment!

My steering has been pretty solid over the years, and my tires have worn evenly even with the left hand tie rod starting to wig out of recent. I originally thought some of the clicks and clunks and float might be due to worn shocks and installed new Bilsteins a few years ago but they are stiffer and may have exacerbated the problems I'm seeing now. Some of this work might be double duty but I've learned quite a bit in the process, and then of course there's the whole having the right tool for the job thing. I get more efficient over time. ;-)

Question:
I'm going to consider buying the Moog EV433 inner Tie Rods as well. The OEM ones are pretty spendy at roughly 3-4 times the price. Does anyone have experience with these?

thanks.

That's crazy pricing for OEMs! Moog isn't exactly cheap themselves. I actually just ordered Moog inner and outer tie rods so I was cross shopping these parts.

Moog doesn't actually make many (or all) of the advertised chassis parts for our 4Runners but they charge a premium for the brand. I wouldn't be surprised if the Moog and Quick Steer branded parts (both with the same EV433 part) are actually the same part, but with different warranties. They're both Federal Mogul owned brands.

I need to order 8 new bolts as well but for my 2002 4wd. Which one of these parts is correct? I want to use the post recall part or most up to date one.

I have a '99 and mine are the flanged bolts. Never had any issues with them. But, to answer your questions, I believe the bolts with washers are the "newer" version.

There is a decent bit of unclarity due to these bolts. I will most likely just go with the washers.