it was definitely a hard turn to the right. and yeah replacing both and the other things mentioned. I want to keep this as Vehicles right are stupidly expensive due to the shortage.

I have seen ones fail on the highway from the images on this board, but yeah I agree the intense turning seems to put pressure on them. I was complaining about a my turning and feeling a weird sound a while back.

I am also curious to see if the other joints were OEM once we get them off.

its funny just before it failed I did a left turn and then a right turn before the fatal left turn. The vehicle felt like it was floating so that sensation makes sense. In hindsight I should have pulled over right there. Might have saved me a little bit of money on some of the other parts.

my issue is I really like the Gen 3. The way it drives, frame on body and the size. All the new SUV's are much larger. I am hoping the Gen6 redesigns and takes some of the gen3 style, sizing and ride feel.

Any idea how old the right side was then? Do you remember why you only replaced the left side?

I would replace both sides with oem lbj and bolts and call it good for another 10 years. If you really feel the need you can check the play with a jack stand, pry bar, and dial indicator like previously said.

Hope springs eternal... but given the trends, I wouldn't hold my breath. It's all about "safety" now... as if you were a baby in angels arms. Kinda hard to do while hurtling through space at 60mph next to other 1 and 2 ton objects doing the same thing, and relying on a Human to pay attention and maintain control.... lol, right.

Expect vehicles to get bigger (more "crush zone", more room for airbag deployment), with worse outward visibility (higher windows for better crash protection). They're already overloaded with complex electrical communications systems that will disable the car if the radio croaks (2018 Mazda, sold it while in warranty because I didn't want to foot the bill out of warranty), and add all sorts of distractions... I mean "driver aids". If you're lucky, you might even land in one of the vehicles where if you want to use the key fob that cam with the vehicle, you have to pay a monthly subscription for the service. This isn't through an app, but with the fob... that works Exactly like the fobs on the 3rd gens, but functionality is turned on/off at the vehicle over cell by Toyota based on your subscription.

You might just want to take care of what you have and realize there will never be anything like it again. If you Really love the 3rd gen, you might want to seriously consider picking up a parts car of two... depends on how old you are (spend a bunch of time Now overhauling the vehicle and it'll last 20 years with minimal input.... I'll probably be on the verge of unfit to drive due to age in 20 years so I'm not too worried). Might be a totally different world by then, where ICE vehicles are relegated to approved events and locations only, with large costs to attend.... you just never know.

@Colorado buff , hind sight is always 20/20 don't beat yourself up best lessons learned.
Floating I mentioned was road surface roads that cycle the suspension up and down.
Ran across fellow 3rd gen owner at Lowes on main drag needed to move to parking spot to discuss LBJ's
he was right turning into spot LBJ popped out. Him and young son were headed for interstate 3 blocks away.

I feel you on liking 3rd gens, new ones will never go backwards in US majority market rules.
Ha, we gotta make em last.
If the one I have gets totaled or crazy dollars offered it'll be lots of tubing cutting welding time for me.

They were both supposed to be replaced in 2015. When the old ones come out I am going to verify if one they are OEM and two is both were replaced. Now getting OEM so not worried for 5 more years

You all drinking the OEM coolaid over ball joints is entertaining

I’m sure I’m going to step on toes….but every non-greaseable ball joint I ever had f****g failed. Every one of them. It didn’t matter the make or model. Plus every Moog Greasable ball joint died from water infiltration causing it to rust.

Every vehicle has its list of only OEM parts VS napa etc. experience and not Google tells you what works and what don’t. Example is the radiator cap…every 3rd Gen 4Runner I bought came with a dead Rad cap…..That is three of then. One 96 and two 97’s. TPS’s ad O2 sensors are an OEM thing to me. But with the O2 sensor, The sensor type has more to do with the sensor type and sensor design. The switching frequency of different brands causes some ECU’s to interpret the O2 signal incorrectly. Which is why I will never buy a Bosch O2 sensor unless it’s German.

The lower ball joint doesn’t care much which is left or right. They both will bolt up to the hub. What matters is the angle of the arm for the tie rod. One 4Runner had two Right hand Lower ball joints. When I replaced it with a correct left the toe was off 3/4”. Toe’d out.


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This guy gets it. I try not to but I could go on for hours on the current and future automotive trends and the three way tug-of-war between safety, emissions and power output. Current electrical systems and over-computerization of everything too, that gets me particularly annoyed. Did you know over 40% of the cost of a new car is purely attributed to the electronics? Really makes those $60k+ price tags more annoying

It good coolaid when one can last 200k mi others don't.
Along with install and forget about em for at least a 100k mi.
Your right though nothing lasts forever.

I’m repairing the passenger side of my 2001 Runner after an LBJ failure and when taking off the knuckle, the UCA didn’t “pop” upward to full articulation like the driver side did, does that mean the UCA is bad and needs to be replaced? When using a pry bar, it takes a good amount of effort to muscle it upward and it will not reach the top of the coilover shock well. The lower UCA seems to be ok and has same range of articulation as the driver side…. Some advice would be greatly appreciated..

The ball looses its grease or the phenolic plastic looses its lube quality’s and the ball joint seize’s and the power of the steering pump breaks it off.

Simple, I grease mine every oil change never been a problem.


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You grease the oem ball joints?

No he doesn't run oem ball joints.

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No when they fail I buy ball joints that are greaseable.

Im 55 years old and been wrenching since I was 10. Never done me wrong except for the Moog balljoints that got water in them and rusted in the D60 front axle of my and my Ex wife’s Dodge Rams with the cummins.


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Ah.

Well I was going to say I always wondered if you could just simply pump grease up to that gap between the bolt and the boot