ball joints..where'd ya get'em and how much $

[BrianSD_42]

Its all good.

1. There are multiple threads on T4R, particularly one where a guy crashed at high speed when his 1 year old MOOG LBJs failed. Luckily for him he only hit a pole and not a person / family with his truck.

2. I also personally heard from NAPA's Sales DM for San Diego that MOOG was the cheaper lower quality version of normal NAPA parts (still, he only said positive things about the product). Met the guy at a bar last year.


Long story short ---> moog is the cheap version of NAPA. It is not OEM specs.


When an LBJ fails, the wheel basically falls off and your vehicle will probably go violently left or right ... not exactly something thats good for the driver, his wife and kids or the family in the cars near him.


Not scientific proof but try this ... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/99159-quality-napa-lbjs.html

And ... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/97120-moog-vs-dana-lbj.html

And ... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...r-ball-joint-keeps-breaking-coming-apart.html

Had it replaced again at a shop. About 1 year and 1 month after they replaced it, the large bolt on the ball joint/lower arm actually broke during a slow U-turn, when stress was put on that front passenger tire

It's a Moog from Advance Auto Parts. Wondering if something else in the suspension could be wrong causing too much weight/pressure on the front passenger side?

Try this in the future: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/off-t...far-more-accurately-than-standard-method.html

 

[Kung]

Those of you who bought MOOG will regret it.

Moog LBJs are WELL KNOWN to fail. When an LBJ fails it is pretty serious.

This. My brother loves to talk #$%@....bought himself a set of Moog ball joints because (presumably) back in the day they were a good name. I went with OEM ball joints/OTREs.

His ball joints have already failed, and he's been babying his vehicle more than mine - and mine has largely been a pavement princess since buying it, until next year when I can finally get a 3" lift.

I got all my parts from Toyotapartsales.com. Not the cheapest, but at least I know the quality I'm getting. The same thing (minus reman calipers) went for my recent Tundra brake upgrade.

 

[WastedAccount]

You could have just said no and saved yourself all that typing.



If I have any problems I gladly report back but for now I see no reason to worry.

 

[Kung]

"No."

 

[audiness]

Not trying to stir the pot, but I bought Moog ball joints from Rockauto a few months ago, and there were 555 stamped on them. I compared them to a set of OEM 555 ones, and they were exactly the same. So perhaps Moog no longer even makes LBJs for our trucks? Maybe they just throw the OEM equivalents in their boxes now?

 

[Kung]

That's odd looking....I got mine straight from the source I listed above, and there was none of that plastic looking stuff on the bottom (where it says "Made in Japan"). *scratches head*

 

[quicksilvr]

That's odd looking....I got mine straight from the source I listed above, and there was none of that plastic looking stuff on the bottom (where it says "Made in Japan"). *scratches head*

Plastic stuff? That is stamped metal buddy.


Also, OEM lbj's do NOT say 555 anywhere on them.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Plastic stuff? That is stamped metal buddy.


Also, OEM lbj's do NOT say 555 anywhere on them.

....

I compared them to a set of OEM 555 ones

These two statements don't match.

..

 

[ICD]

I'm creating a pretty big shopping list for Jan.

And pretty much OEM is he way to go for most in not all replacement parts. So many horror stories and don't want to be the next

 

[Stick Figure]

I replaced my OEM joints at 180k with another set of OEM pieces ... I'm at 204k now but give me some time and I'll report back again at 360k when I buy another set of OEMs.

 

[audiness]

....

These two statements don't match.

..

OK, Let me clarify , the ones I compared them to were made by Sankei, which is/was an OEM supplier.

I bought the Moogs because they were 1/2 the price of the Sankei ones, and they looked identical. They did not say Moog anywhere on them.

 

[Kung]

Plastic stuff? That is stamped metal buddy.

OK, then there was none of that metal looking stuff on the bottom. Unless I'm just that forgetful - which is possible. LOL

Also, OEM lbj's do NOT say 555 anywhere on them.

Didn't say they did....that was my point. I thought he was trying to say the ones he got were indeed OEM; my mistake if I misunderstood.

 

[trdrun]

Not to hijack this thread, but when would be a good time to replace them, in terms of mileage? And after they are replaced, is there a certain lifetime to the LBJ, or should they last for the remainder of the vehicle? Are certain years of 3rd gen more susceptible to LBJ failures than other?

 

[BrianSD_42]

My personal non-prof opinion is do them anytime after 10 years or 120k miles.

I see you are in SD. I had mine installed (about 4 yrs ago) at "The Truck Shop" off Miramar Rd. for ~ $350 , Toyota parts not off-brand.

 

[trdrun]

brianemc2_42: Thanks. Yah, you recommended the shop to me. I went to them to get a leaking transfer case re-sealed.

 

[Nelsonmd]

LBJ's and other cast metal parts get rebuilt/re-man'd all the time, so you can't go by the casting marking. OEM's do not re-man. OEM parts are 100% virgin material.

If you get something from an aftermarket brand like Moog, then they should either state that they are re-man's, or virgin material. If they don't say, then assume they are re-man's. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about re-man parts, but I can tell you that re-man's don't carry the liability that OEM parts do.

Second, on this point...

Long story short ---> moog is the cheap version of NAPA. It is not OEM specs.

Don't be too swayed by aftermarket companies saying they "meet or exceed OEM specs". OEM's do not publish their specs outside of their company and suppliers with which they have a non-disclosure agreement. If Moog or someone else has a copy of an OEM spec, it is not directly obtained, and it is possibly out of date.

Also, the OEM's hold their suppliers' feet over the fire in proving that they are actually meeting their spec. Lots of things are discussed that are not captured in the spec, and lots of info is presented that is not in the specs. I know this because I work for an automotive supplier.

Also, what does "meeting or exceeding" mean? Meet the spec with 6-sigma capability? What Cpk, 1.66? 1.33? 1? Just no parts produced outside the spec during an initial sample production run, regardless of Cpk? There are alot of statistics behind "meeting" a spec. It is complicated enough that alot of engineers in charge of this stuff don't have a perfect grasp of what the stats mean, so I highly doubt the aftermarkets are truly "meeting" the OEM specs to the same level the OES is.

 

[mforce]

I have a 98 T4R so I swapped out for a set of 98 Tacoma lowers and outer tie rods. I went with Napa Premiums for both items. I liked the lifetime warranty on them as well as the Napa's LBJ sit in a metal cup vs some of the others that sit in a delrin type cup. I have used delrin materials before in racing suspensions. They wear very well but when they let go they disintegrate into little pieces. I was not going to use that in my LBJ, I wanted the metal cup for the joint as well as a grease zerk. I am very please with the Napa Premium's. Mine looked great and I even had them inspected before changing out the stockers that had 178K on them. When I had them in my hands I am glad to say I did them when I did. The tie rods were shot and the LBJ were going any day. I had no signs of wear on them I just had that feeling it was time to change them out. Napa came in $130 less then OEM and I did get lifetime warranty and the ability to grease them. I am lifted with 33's on the way so I wanted to keep it as nice as possible.

 

[Kung]

I see you are in SD. I had mine installed (about 4 yrs ago) at "The Truck Shop" off Miramar Rd. for ~ $350 , Toyota parts not off-brand.

I guess I got a good deal then when mine were done; cost me about $90 specifically for those. (An hour each, because they were a booger to get off due to some rusted bolts n stuff.)

 

[opie74]

Raybestos or Beckly Arnley?

Raybestos Professional Grade. Unless something has changed since I ordered mine. I have no experience with Beck Arnley.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Those of you who bought MOOG will regret it.

Moog LBJs are WELL KNOWN to fail. When an LBJ fails it is pretty serious.

HMMMM my warning still stands true .... Here is the update:

:crutch:

x-post link here:

Link ---> http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/154371-lbj-failure-my-turn.html

Another MOOG LBJ failure just reported 11/08/13 on T4R. This one had only 8,000 miles on it since replacement.

Luckily no-one was killed.

FYI