4Runner Down :(

Mauzer said:
Wow, that is awful. I literally saw this and called the dealership to see if my LBJ recall had been done and it hadn't so I'm taking it in tomorrow morning! Sorry for your loss but thank you for prompting me to check on mine.
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So they will still honor the recall?
 
LINY4Runner said:
Absolutely! But only for a certain VIN range...

Either way, if you have 100k+, get those things changed out asap!
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Yeah I called the Toyota customer service hotline before I called the stealership to make sure they were still honoring the recall, they checked my VIN and told me the recall had not been performed. I called the dealership by my work and scheduled the work for tomorrow morning, they're even gonna shuttle me to my office after I drop it off!
 
Theory #1: The shop removed the castle nut on the LBJ thinking that the BJ had to be disconected in order to replace the rack bushings and then they realized that it didn't and forgot to tighten it back down and put the shear pin back in.

Theory #2: Coincidence.

I really, really don't think it was coincidence.
 
brian2sun said:
Theory #1: The shop removed the castle nut on the LBJ thinking that the BJ had to be disconected in order to replace the rack bushings and then they realized that it didn't and forgot to tighten it back down and put the shear pin back in.

Theory #2: Coincidence.

I really, really don't think it was coincidence.
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I'm sticking with number 2, because if you look at the LBJ in the pic, it's the ball that pulled out of the base...if you did find the ball somewhere (probably still on the lower control arm) I'd bet the castle nut is still fastened.
 
yukonrider said:
Any one know what VIN range the recall is on?
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Here is a list of affected VIN's. Looks like it affects other models to.

VDS = digits 4,5,6,7,8 of VIN

Range = Last 7 digits of VIN.

Sorry about size of PICs!!
 

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Slack in the BJ (i.e. castle nut not tight/pin not installed) could have broke the shaft of the bolt and had this effect. The odds are crazy slim that he just had front end work done and immediately crashed. Anything is possible though.
 
After seeing those pictures I am really glad that you are OK!

Obviously further investigation is needed, but it's hard to believe that a mechanic was working on the steering rack and didn't happen to see a weakness in the LBJ?? You would think they would have looked for a way to get another buck out of you at least.

Sorry for your loss our condolences go out to you an your family.
 
Dude, thank god you're okay!

That totally sucks, it was a ball joint absolutely. I'm amazed none of the first few posters caught that.

I say, get the insurance money, buy another, swap your mods and then part that thing out!
 
drinknmolson said:
Obviously further investigation is needed, but it's hard to believe that a mechanic was working on the steering rack and didn't happen to see a weakness in the LBJ?? You would think they would have looked for a way to get another buck out of you at least.
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Yeah, what is the world coming to when we can't even trust greed?
 
Here's the verdict. It was my lbj. It popped out of the socket. What I don't understand is that they did a to what I understood was a full inspection (cause i wanted a list of everything wrong with it and said so) but it was a basic one that they did and was told I should have asked for a front end inspection. Then they would have picked it up.
They also replaced the wheel bearing the same day as the inspection.
 
Duuude, I'm sorry for you loss, good thing you came out alright. I've seen and heard several similar stories with ball joints dropping and causing similar situations... but usually not on paved roads going that speed, but that is all up to chance I guess, if they are gonna go there gonna go. I had a honest mechanic check mine last week and they are fine, which surprised me since I'm at almost 160,000 miles now with original ball joints, unless the previous owner forgot to include that receipt for new ones in the otherwise very complete record book.
at least the 4runner went out in full flex! Look at that wheel stand!
4runner003.jpg~original
 
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Mine are the original factory parts and just had mine checked at 154k and they still looked good but I think I'm going to have mine looked at once a year just to be safe. I'm at 162k right now.
 
GbRunner said:
Here's the verdict. It was my lbj. It popped out of the socket. What I don't understand is that they did a to what I understood was a full inspection (cause i wanted a list of everything wrong with it and said so) but it was a basic one that they did and was told I should have asked for a front end inspection. Then they would have picked it up.
They also replaced the wheel bearing the same day as the inspection.
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That sounds like a cop-out to me on their part!
 
GbRunner said:
Here's the verdict. It was my lbj. It popped out of the socket. What I don't understand is that they did a to what I understood was a full inspection (cause i wanted a list of everything wrong with it and said so) but it was a basic one that they did and was told I should have asked for a front end inspection. Then they would have picked it up.
They also replaced the wheel bearing the same day as the inspection.
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I agree w/ jsmarine, they should have seen that when they did the wheel bearing (if it was a front wheel bearing). Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the BJ have to be disconnected before you can do the bearing? I Haven't done my bearings yet, but I would think you'd have to.
 
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