3rd gen upper ball joints (UBJ) the easy way!!

[yosh2000]

i purchased a '99 limited w/ 210k back in November. knew the UBJs were trashed as both boots were damaged and i heard a noise from the drivers side and driving didn't feel planted. i am not a seasoned mechanic by any means, but i have installed drop bracket lifts, complete rear suspension setups and even do the LED swaps in the 05+ tacoma clusters, but i was a little timid tackling this job after reading the handful of good posts. i rented the tools to attempt it myself, but also picked up a 35mm socket just in case i got in a bind and needed to remove the spindle and have them pressed in.

well all i have to say after doing both yesterday...this was so easy!!! i am now ashamed how timid i was before hand. the key to the entire thing was the "4WD ball joint adapter set" from o'reilly's. i have read that vatozone doesn't carry this extra set, so i made sure to rent my tools from o'reilly's. because of doing this so easily, i thought i would do a little mini writeup of how i did them both in under 3 hours (it was my first time...lay off!!!) to maybe help others.

besides standard 10mm, 12mm, 19mm, 21mm and 22mm sockets and a 4-1/2" grinder w/ cutoff wheel, here is a picture of the only tools i needed to complete the job.

Tools
4wd ball joint adapter set (o'reilly's 67048)
3 jaw 5ton puller (vatozone 27078)
Ball joint removal setup (o'reillys 67045)
24" 1/2 drive breaker bar

tools required

cut ball joint (i used a 4-1/2" grinder w/ a cutoff disc)

removal setup (ball joint press, press plate from ball joint press, "B" adapter).

installation setup (ball joint press, "A" adapter, "C" adapter or piece of thick steel). one side i placed a piece of this steel on the bottom of the ball joint, the other side i used the "C" adapter. the "C" adapter will work, but after doing both, i prefer the metal piece on the bottom.

my process (after truck is properly on a jack stand and tire removed):
1) unbolt the two 10mm and one 12mm bolts holding the ABS sensor to the spindle. unclip from lower mount so that this line will not stretch in the below steps.
2) remove castle nut and press ball joint from UCA with the 3 jaw 5ton puller.
3) tie up the spindle so that it will angle out just enough so that the screw of the ball joint press will be accessible just outside the fender well
4) setup BJ to be pressed out. remove the boot and snap ring and cut as shown in the picture above.
5) set up the BJ press for removal as show in the above picture, again with the screw facing up just outside the fender well
6) use the 24" cheater bar and press the BJ out.
7) clean up the spindle in preparation for the new BJ to be pressed in
8) place new BJ in the spindle and setup the press for installation as shown above
9) take care to ensure everything is lined up for a square press in of the new BJ
10) use the 24" cheater bar and press the BJ in.
11) install snap ring and fill boot w/ grease as instructed. install boot and secure as instructed.
12) attach UCA to BJ w/ castle nut and tq to spec. (i believe its 80#, but others can comment and i will edit if necessary.) install cotter pin.
13) reinstall all the ABS just you removed in step 1.
14) install tire, tq lugs and remove truck from jack stand.
15) pat yourself on the back for tackling the infamous UBJ replacement!!

hope this helps others. again, this was the way i did it that worked great for me, but as always, follow at your own risk.

 

[Srabai]

Looks good, thanks for the writeup, I'll probably end up doing this once the snow is finished up.

 

[yosh2000]

you wont have enough room in the "C" of the removal tool to slip a socket over the threaded area if you use the same setup I did. There are other writeups that use a slightly different setup that may work for you.

a grinder is only $15 at HF or a PC one for $30 at lowes.

 

[Park]

you wont have enough room in the "C" of the removal tool to slip a socket over the threaded area if you use the same setup I did. There are other writeups that use a slightly different setup that may work for you.

a grinder is only $15 at HF or a PC one for $30 at lowes.

Wow,I didn't realize they were that affordable. Thanks bud

 

[Park]

I just got this done yesterday. I took me a few hours to get done but i was really taking my time. I'd say this jobs takes about 1-2 hours a side.

The only hiccups I ran into was really just the snap ring. I ended up cutting it off with a grinder. And when I was putting the new one on I cut a portion of it to make it easier to put into place.
[MENTION=30225]yosh2000[/MENTION] thanks for the writeup and getting back to me

 

[rossgoldie]

I'm about to do some ball joint replacing. Where did you cut off the ball joint and at what step? I am a little confused about that. Otherwise great write up!

 

[D Farms]

you could cut it off before you disconnect it from the uca, then use the big press to get it out.

 

[JayRolla]

After doing this multiple times I found a set of aftermarket UCA's to be the easiest way.

 

[OrangeChicken123]

I'm about to do some ball joint replacing. Where did you cut off the ball joint and at what step? I am a little confused about that. Otherwise great write up!

i disconnected my ubj from the uca and took the whole spindle out before cutting mine. taking the spindle out with the ubj just makes life a whole lot easier

 

[gamefreakgc]

This was very helpful!

Though I found no use for the 3 jaw puller. After messing with it for 10 min I just grabbed a hammer and pounded it out of the UCA.

 

[etc.]

First off, I know this is an old thread but I wanted to give some feedback on this tutorial.

Use a pickle fork to disconnect the UBJ from the UCA prior to cutting it. With a 4 1/2 cut off wheel, I was coming in contact with UCA and I had to change disks to get the depth. Once it's out, then cut the UBJ and press out.

Second, buy/use a 19mm open ended wrench for the ball joint press.

Next, use a piece of thick steel instead of the adapter when pressing it in.

And lastly, if you're like me and have to work alone, find the wire from the old ball joint's rubber boot and put it off to the the side. Place adapter "A" over the ball joint and run the wire through the cotter pin's hole and over adapter "A". This will hold it in place for your to use your other hands to concentrate on holding the thick piece of steel and tightening the press. The wire will flatten out once you start the pressing, but not prevent you from going in straight.

Hope this helps.

 

[indawire]

Grinder comment

Yes the HF 4&12" grinder is cheap but - bought one just to keep a wire cup wheel on. I have two Ryobi grinders with different disks on them, they run smoothly -ie very little vibration. The HF grinder shook so bad I threw it out, it was unusable for more than 20 seconds. Spend a little more $ and get something that you can actually use. YMMV.

 

[D Farms]

check out this guys videos.

 

[IsaiahC]

First off, I know this is an old thread but I wanted to give some feedback on this tutorial.

Use a pickle fork to disconnect the UBJ from the UCA prior to cutting it. With a 4 1/2 cut off wheel, I was coming in contact with UCA and I had to change disks to get the depth. Once it's out, then cut the UBJ and press out.

Second, buy/use a 19mm open ended wrench for the ball joint press.

Next, use a piece of thick steel instead of the adapter when pressing it in.

I don't see where the difficulty is with the separation of these. I sprayed mine the night before with wd-40. To separate the two, I threaded the castle nut upside down then proceeded to give it a couple good whacks with a medium weight hammer/mallet/ball peen. It separated in a couple whacks. To press the stock ball joint out, I did exactly what the original poster suggested.
I replaced my upper control arm with the one from SPC/light racing. To press the ball joint adapter into the spindle, I used the same adapters as the removal process. A ratchet strap around the spindle to keep movement down and a crescent wrench to crank down on the press.
The most difficult part for me was the placement of the snap rings on the SPC spindle adapters. It didn't help that I don't own snap ring pliers. It's easier with 2 people but it can be done alone with a set of needle nose vise grips.

 

[AZBub]

check out this guys videos.

I'd hate to watch this guy try to buy a tomato at a grocery store....

 

[tx_john]

Thanks for the writeup, this was extremely helpful! But the title is a total sandbag, it sure as shit wasn’t easy

I got stuck on step 3 - I was not able to move the spindle far enough out of the wheel well to fit the tool. It wasn’t even close and I know others have hit this:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/110191-upper-ball-joints-kicking-my-rear.html

FWIW I was installing new coils and struts, so those were out and the sway bar was disconnected as well. I spent a day stuck on this step, bought a 3-jaw puller and broke the damn thing trying to pull this out, and was about to pull the spindle, but then I found an alternate tool that actually fit inside the wheel well and made the removal step “easy” (*and heads up, this tool may not work for the installation step, see below*):

Powerbuilt 11pc Upper Control Arm Bushing Set #648604, which I got from Advance Auto. It has the same kind of C-clamp as in the setup described above, only it’s smaller and fits in the wheel well.

I combined that with the 4wd ball joint adapter set like this:

1. Put the forcing cup from the upper control arm set + adapter C from 4wd adapter set together:

This will fit right over the ball joint if it’s cut in the right way:

2. Use adapter B from the 4wd adapter set as the receiver in the C clamp:

Here’s what it looked like in use:

Now when it comes to getting the new ball joint in… well I didn’t have to do that because I was installing aftermarket upper control arms to accommodate the lift that came with the new coils. The C-clamp on this tool is significantly smaller than the one in the other, so this may not work for installation.

 

[KidVermicious]

Powerbuilt 11pc Upper Control Arm Bushing Set #648604, which I got from Advance Auto. It has the same kind of C-clamp as in the setup described above, only it’s smaller and fits in the wheel well.

Thanks for this. I found the Autozone tool was too big as well, I'll give the Advance one a shot in the morning.

 

[TMP]

This helped me immensely today.

 

[Excorcist]

Im about to dive into this next week, I bought this kit off ebay:

Brand New 16pc Complete Front Suspension & Strut Set for 4Runner V6 4x4 ONLY | eBay

After reading up on it I am really questioning the purchase as apparently they are inferior parts

 

[Kanoe]

Im about to dive into this next week, I bought this kit off ebay:

Brand New 16pc Complete Front Suspension & Strut Set for 4Runner V6 4x4 ONLY | eBay

After reading up on it I am really questioning the purchase as apparently they are inferior parts

I personally would think twice about using that stuff. Have you read the threads about LBJ failure? And the work of putting it in if you have to shortly replace it again.

I would spend more and put in good quality and just do the parts you need to do.