Ball joint extravaganza...the results will shock you!

[Mudeprived]

There was something like this done over in the Jeep forums. The Spicer Ball joints are built similar to the Toyotas. There are aftermarket Ball joints that are metal on metal such as Alloy USA and Synergy. They all claim their ball joints are superior but we see nothing but failure after failure. I installed the Alloy USA Ball joints thinking that they were outlast Spicer due to their heavier and all metal design but mine failed within 4k miles and I got a replacement set that was loose within the first 1000. I went back to Spicer.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Interesting reading the opinions here. Go over to a GM Board and the prevailing consensus is to use nothing but MOOG. Here, everyone is trashing Moog.

 

[Mark_BC]

Interesting reading the opinions here. Go over to a GM Board and the prevailing consensus is to use nothing but MOOG. Here, everyone is trashing Moog.

In comparison to GM, Moog is probably good quality.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Interesting reading the opinions here. Go over to a GM Board and the prevailing consensus is to use nothing but MOOG. Here, everyone is trashing Moog.

I had nothing but problems with Moog ball joints in the front D60 on my 94 Cummins. Went Napa and stopped replacing ball joints.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CutthroatSlam]

I had nothing but problems with Moog ball joints in the front D60 on my 94 Cummins. Went Napa and stopped replacing ball joints.


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All Moog on my '99 Suburban with 6.5 Diesel and never any problems.

 

[Mudeprived]

Interesting reading the opinions here. Go over to a GM Board and the prevailing consensus is to use nothing but MOOG. Here, everyone is trashing Moog.

Just curious but is ACDelco the OEM for GM?

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Just curious but is ACDelco the OEM for GM?

I did some searching, but could not find.

Here's comments from other boards:

moog vs mevotech vs OEM Ball joints - Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

1996 K1500 6.5 diesel Suburban Upper baLL joints. What are the best? | The Truck Stop

 

[pluton]

Why do you keep saying "THE RESULTS WILL SHOCK YOU!"?
I just see two cut open ball joints, which is what I expected. Also, the aftermarket is completely different than the OEM- again, what we expected.
What is the shocking part that I am missing?

This is merely good headline writing on the part of Trojan4X4.
It got us all to click...

 

[Tyler James Inc]

This is merely good headline writing on the part of Trojan4X4.

It got us all to click...

Well, I'm not sure about "good", but definitely attention getting.
I'd call it a mis-leading title and lackluster thread, but hey- that's just me
If it was titled "Cut open LBJ comparison pics anyone?!", I still would have clicked, and at least I wouldn't have been let down when I clicked on it [emoji23]

 

[ZionXIX]

For completeness OP, you could purchase one LBJ from every aftermarket manufacturer you can find and compare each one of them to the OEM.

 

[Ricktuk]

That's a very narrow minded statement. The whole point of this forum is for us to share and discuss our experiences and observations. You can absolutely make MANY deductions about a part from visual obervations. We have theories about what's going on in other star systems and the universe JUST from observation!

Many members here love their vehicles and it's a hobby to understand what goes on and how things work. Even if you don't agree with the OP's observations atleast present a logical argument and alternative instead of just bashing the guy for wasting his time.

Noob, sorry if this was taken literally. Meant to be taken jokingly. It always amazes me how much we can get wrapped up in what we like to do, myself included. that I spent time reading this thread proves that.

 

[Trojan4x4]

Wow, I've sold my 4Runner months ago and I almost forgot how salty everyone was about ball joints. I remember doing some basic area calculations and I've concluded that the OEM (assuming critical load) would be around 5-6% "better/stronger". I don't have the calculations and its been months ago.

Now, if your 5-6% improvement is worth spending 120$ for you, (You'll probably only reach such loads if you jump/beat on your 4Runner like you beat your wife), go right ahead.

With Mevotech, for daily driving and mild wheeling (what majority of the people on this forum do) is a good choice, at a great price (I think I paid 30$ per ball joint). FYI the bolts which Mevotech came with started to rust, so i've replaced them with OEM bolts i got separate.

As I remember you do have to get the "heavy duty" version of Mevotech, as the cheaper ones were crap.


:closed_2:




Its gonna be nice not to worry about ball joints with my 3x locked 1997 Landcruiser I just bought...head gaskets though

 

[T4R2014]

Wow, $120 sounds like a fortune.

 

[CougarHound]

Does anybody know if the oem replacement balljoints are as good as the factory installed ones? I know it's kind of a weird question, but my original balljoints have around 240,000 miles on them with no sign of wear. I want to replace them with oem, but I don't like to fix what ain't broke. What if you get a defective oem part? I do check them for play every time I rotate the tires.

That all said, these things seem to fail often enough no matter the make. 4runner owners just seem to be more vigilant about it....OCD! My coworker's Jeep Patriot had a ball joint failure at around 40,000 miles and I've seen one fail on a sedan while I was jogging.


Ball Joints Out of Whack at Tesla and Daily Kanban - The Truth About Cars

"a 2013 Tesla Model S owner on the Tesla Motors Owners forum experienced a ball joint failure at around the 70,000-mile mark, and the owner referred to Tesla for a fix. The automaker offered what’s commonly known in the industry as “goodwill assistance,” which covered half the $3,100 total cost of the repair, as the Model S was out of warranty."

 

[nobb]

I do check them for play every time I rotate the tires.

Do you jack up the vehicle and do the pry bar test? Without a dial gauge, this method is still very hard to tell if there is play just by eyeballing it.

I've found that even when you do the pry bar test and the joint looks good, if you physically use your hand and move the ball in the socket the old joint will feel noticeably looser than a new joint.

 

[CougarHound]

Do you jack up the vehicle and do the pry bar test? Without a dial gauge, this method is still very hard to tell if there is play just by eyeballing it.

I've found that even when you do the pry bar test and the joint looks good, if you physically use your hand and move the ball in the socket the old joint will feel noticeably looser than a new joint.

Yes I jack under the control arm and slide a pry bar underneath the tire. I do plan on using a dial gauge next time I check it....I'll probably replace them next summer.

 

[Bad Luck]

Yes I jack under the control arm and slide a pry bar underneath the tire. I do plan on using a dial gauge next time I check it....I'll probably replace them next summer.

If it has more than 0.05" (five hundredths of an inch) it needs to be replaced. At that high of mileage and use you also run the risk of the ball joint shaft snapping at the ball portion of the ball joint. OEM is the way to go for replacement and replace the bolts holding the ball joints in as well.