Ball Joint Questions

[fightman80]

Hey folks,

After doing the Stabilizer bushings the other day, we found that my upper and lower ball joints have some issues with their boots.

The ball joints themselves have no play in them, and are working just fine, but the dust boots are shot, and I'm going to need to replace the boots.

Now, here come the questions:

1) How many of you have rebuilt your ball Joints, using new boots? Would you recommend doing so??

2) If I do replace my ball joints, can I couple the Taco ball joints with a 4Runner Tie rod?


I priced out the ball joints here locally, and for all 4 units, I'd be paying $340 - $350 plus taxes!


Your thoughts and opinions are all welcomed and appreciated!

 

[LittleCaesar]

Fightman,

If I was going through all the trouble to remove my LBJs, I would just replace them. They seem to be a failure prone part and reusing them makes no sense to me. I went with OEM, so I cannot speak on how rust prone non OEMa may be (whether you need to paint them first or not) in the salt.

UBJs on the other hand IMO don't receive as much wear and tear. You can get away with just replacing the boot without removing the joint out of the knuckle (big PITA) and be fine with it. That said, when I removed my knuckle to replace my front wheel bearing, I had the dealer (before I knew how to DIY it) replace the upper ball joint at the same time. I replaced the other one on the other side just last year.

 

[cj80cruiser]

1) How many of you have rebuilt your ball Joints, using new boots? Would you recommend doing so?? NO, I would get new ones.

2) If I do replace my ball joints, can I couple the Taco ball joints with a 4Runner Tie rod? If you use Taco ball joints you have to use Taco Tie rods, however the Taco outer tie rod will bolt up to your 4runner inner tie rod end.


I priced out the ball joints here locally, and for all 4 units, I'd be paying $340 - $350 plus taxes! I didn't price the upper 4runner ball joints but I know the lowers were $180 at the online discount OEM toyota parts places.


Your thoughts and opinions are all welcomed and appreciated!

I read singtoes balljoint thread and can only tell you what I learned from there.

I believe the NAPA ones come unpainted and rust quickly but I think Brian2sun uses them. Check prices between OEM and Napa but I believe Toyota actually sells the outer tie rod ends cheaper than NAPA. I can't explain that but I remember being very surprised to see it.

 

[WHORERUNNER]

I replaced lbj with napa premium chassis line. They did accumulate slight surface rust. An this was in the late summer. But really nothing to be worried about. You can always. Cot them with a sealant before you install. Bonus from buying with napa is lifetime warranty. I also did inner and outer tie rods with beck/arnley and had no issues. You mentioned no play in joints but the boots are shot, the grease is probably gone And the joint is starting to wear down. When I did my lbj mine were ok with 110k but I didnt want to risk having a failure. Good luck.

 

[AZ4FNER]

I say treat your Runner to OEM replacements. We ask a lot of these trucks, and it is a known failure point as we all know. I passed on the Taco upgrade, but only time will tell if I made the right choice. I'm not an extreme wheeler, yet...

Do you have shipping issues with the OEM online discount sites?

 

[Drcoffee]

Its difficult to really test the LBJs until you unload the joint. Did you lift the wheel off the ground from the lower control arm? If not the spring pressure from the strut will always make the LBJ feel tight even if its just about to fail because of the design flaw. The stud is pointing down and carries the weight of the truck while pulling the joint apart.

Contact Toyota of Dallas for the parts, They are very fair and very close to after market pricing. I think I spent $87 for the LBJ and $35 for the needed OTRE. If you look at the ball stud and socket between the T4R and Taco you can quickly see how much stronger the TACO joints are. Just look at how close the ball socket is to the mounting holes.

The only modification to the truck was to trim a 1/4" from the link mount so the OTRE doesn't make contact.

The question you have about rebuilding the ball joint boots is simple. Can you get the right boot and will it seal. If not, the water pentration will destroy the joints in months anyway. Toyota sells the boots for about $7ea which I would get for the Upper. You can get the UBJ for $31, LBJ for $87 and OTRE for $36

 

[fightman80]

Thanks for all the comments guys! I just wish I would have asked this question before I bought the new 4Runner Outer Tie rod from the part store!

I guess I'll be simply replacing my stock ones, with more 4Runner pieces. That outer tie rod cost me $93.00.... I don't want to let that money go to waste.

After all, the stock 4Runner pieces lasted me 14 years... they can't be all that bad.

I'm most likely just buy some new upper and lower ball joints over the next month or so, and do the job when I get all the parts in. It may be rather costly here though.

Anybody have a link to an online Toyota OEM Parts store?

 

[4Running Daily]

ToyotaPartSales.com

 

[fightman80]

Thanks man! I placed my order, for all 4 ball joints, and am awaiting their arrival!

 

[shadow247]

ToyotaPartSales.com

I can't recommend these guys enough. I ordered tons of parts from them (Toyota of Dallas) when I was a parts manager for a couple of collision centers in Dallas. They always took care of me and stock a ton of parts. I have been inside their warehouse and it is a work of art.

Likewise if you ever need Chevrolet Parts, contact Young Chevrolet in Dallas. They are the #1 Volume Chevy parts dealer in Texas. Their warehouse has a couple million in inventory and they can get most anything else next day.