Has anyone try to replace the lower ball joint without replacing the whole control arm? Is it difficult or a DIY thread?

I 'was' going to refurb my arms with new BJs and bushings after reading this, but after almost breaking the ball joint press trying to even budge them a millimeter and hitting 3 out of 4 seized bolts on the arm, decided to go to plan B: cut them off and replace them altogether. I went to Toyotaonlineparts.com and picked them up for ~$251 a piece.

I suppose I'd play around with them if I had the extra time to heat n beat em, but after 8 years of winter roads, knew they were pretty much fused together.

I had the same question and it was answered today. Was thinking about a DIY project at first but realized I would end up way to deep over my head. So, I thought about saving money by not buying oem parts, or do I? That and many other questions. Called Will at Sierra Expeditions here in the Phoenix area. They specialize in the offroad and expedition area. The diy answer came quickly since it is my wife's dd. Burning out the bushings works, but by the time you factor in labor costs you will end up the same amount as a new lca. Also, buy oem. They had problems with the non-oem lca parts failing. Even the moogs. Was quoted $1200 to $1300 initially but will know better after they look at it on Friday.

I did this although ended up replacing the entire LCAs shortly afterwards. Mine were rusted pretty badly so I had to cut the old c-rings with a grinder to get them off, but it really wasn't that bad otherwise. I just borrowed the puller from autozone and used a 4-ft cheater bar (old snow shovel handle).

The risk here is that there could be other problems with the LCAs. In my case the bushings were worn and clunking, and some of my alignment cams were frozen. If you are in that situation then cutting the entire LCAs off for a total replacement becomes a lot more appealing. If your alignment cams are not frozen than I'm guessing your LBJs will be easier to replace than mine were due to lower overall rust.

AFAIK Toyota does not sell 4th gen LBJs a la carte - just the entire LCA for ~$400. I used Moog arms for half that price. I am not personally aware of any issues with the Moog LCAs or LBJs on 4th gens. I know there were some catastrophic LBJ failures on 3rd gens but 4th gens are not subject to those since our LBJs are set up to compress under load.

Fellas......thought I'd throw this in there for someone reading this thread trying to get ahead of things. I replaced my control arms with new OEM units a few months back.
I saved my old control arms.....thought someone might want them to rebuild ahead of time off the truck and then be able to put them on quickly.

Box is 22x19x12 weighs ~35lbs. Shipping from 71129.
They are YOURS for $10....plus shipping.
I just hate to throw them away but I will never use.
PM me if interested.
Would prefer if someone has a UPS or FEDEX account number that goes to them and I just throw the label on and ship.

Thanks for everyone help. I'll just replace the whole lca. My lower ball joint is not too bad i believe. Slightly oozing grease a little bit but not torn or anything. Think it will be fine for a while? I have a 3 inch lift with 1 inch diff drop.

I got some questions...look for a PM

at 115K miles, I just changed my whole LCAs with OEM. My truck feels new and tight after an alignment. Highly recommend.

You can buy a boot replacement kit if the ball is good. Noticed your local. Pm me, got lots of tools.