Ball Joints

[Rockdawg84]

Technically, no. If all you replace is like for like Lower Ball Joints then the tie rod position never changes and you technically are good to go.

Like for like is an important phrase. if you are changing from Runner LBJ to Runner LBJ then you do not have to realign but if your changing from Runner LBJ's to Taco LBJ's then you have to change the OTRE as well and Must do an Alignment.

 

[bhands]

I ordered my lbj ant otre from shoptrd.com for a 2000 toyota tacoma 4wd and stupid me I put a vin number for a 2003 tacoma so they called me to make sure i ordered the correct parts. They also told me that the part numbers are different from 2001 to 2004 just for the lbj's. Has anyone else come across this?

 

[89s rule]

I just ordered '99 Taco LBJs, OTREs, and 99 4runner UBJs. Installing them next week. Hope I do not run into any of the minor issues others have had. The turning radius might help my 255s not rub as much.

 

[theizzardking]

To all you engineer types, It looks like Toyota puts a lithium based MP grease in the joints. Would there be any reason why I can't repack them with a Synthetic Moly grease before installing them? I'm asking about grease compatibility. Somehow I think this may be part of planned obsolesence to use a lesser grease. I've also read that sealed joints have polymer parts that need a specific grease which is why they have no zirk.

What say you?

a conversation that came up a bit ago regarding our multimillion dollar machines....

. Grease is made by mixing fillers into the base oil to help it stay put. Most commonly this is done by emulsifying the base oil with a soap-based thickener. When you see dripping, this is a result of the separation of the base oil from the fillers. As the oil drains away the grease fails to lubricate the joint.
90% of the grease out there uses a mineral oil base but there are many kinds of thickeners based on the application properties required. Next most common are natural (vegetable based) oils.
Compatibility of greases is related to the thickener composition. If you mix non-compatible greases it can result in poor lubrication because the components can react together, causing de-emulsification and the grease falling away, balling up, etc. The simple way to avoid incompatibility issues is to remove all the old grease first, but this is a PIA obviously. If the customer wants to substitute a Castrol formulation, someone needs to do the work to determine if the substitute is miscible and compatible with the original spec grease.

so there you go, you can mix it if you want but do your home work and make sure they use the same fillers , or if not just remove all of the old stuff and slop some new stuff in there, but then again your 4runner isn't a 50 ton multimillion dollar machine with a service life of 30 years, lol, take that for what it's worth.............


also i want to pose a question is the slightly beefier upgrade really matter all that much if your losing turn radius and having clash issues? how much more life do you expect to get from these parts over the stocker who have already gone 150-200k without issue?

my buddy did the math on the old truck and said i drove 100k in 3 years, so this could be of use to me if we expect an exponential increase of use, the clash issues have me worried and a larger turning radius sounds kind of sucky as well, so what's the verdict on this as there's alot of debate back and forth going on here .....just how much better is the taco stuff strength wise?

 

[Dark Lord]

a conversation that came up a bit ago regarding our multimillion dollar machines....


so there you go, you can mix it if you want but do your home work and make sure they use the same fillers , or if not just remove all of the old stuff and slop some new stuff in there, but then again your 4runner isn't a 50 ton multimillion dollar machine with a service life of 30 years, lol, take that for what it's worth.............


also i want to pose a question is the slightly beefier upgrade really matter all that much if your losing turn radius and having clash issues? how much more life do you expect to get from these parts over the stocker who have already gone 150-200k without issue?

my buddy did the math on the old truck and said i drove 100k in 3 years, so this could be of use to me if we expect an exponential increase of use, the clash issues have me worried and a larger turning radius sounds kind of sucky as well, so what's the verdict on this as there's alot of debate back and forth going on here .....just how much better is the taco stuff strength wise?

I did the Tacoma LBJ/OTRE upgrade, and have had no problems at all. Yeah, it does hit the swaybar mount, but I just took a grinder to it problem solved. I didn't notice any difference in turning radius, so if there is then it's probably not a big difference.

 

[fenrisx]

Just ordered the Tacoma LBJ and OTRE, oem. Will be buyin ITRE from AutoZone as the price difference is just too much. Hopefully this goes well! Didn't read the stuff about turning radius and whatnot until after ordering, but oh well! Also ordered the steering rack bushing kit from Wheeler's. Going to be a fun weekend pretty soon..

 

[Dous]

Just ordered the Tacoma LBJ and OTRE, oem. Will be buyin ITRE from AutoZone as the price difference is just too much. Hopefully this goes well! Didn't read the stuff about turning radius and whatnot until after ordering, but oh well! Also ordered the steering rack bushing kit from Wheeler's. Going to be a fun weekend pretty soon..

Grind down the sway bar mounts to get some turning radius back

 

[cj80cruiser]

Where exactly is the Tacoma lower balljoint actually beefier? Seems like the weak points are the lower (4) 14mm bolts and the balljoint bolt that goes through the lower control arm.

With that said, aren't those particular parts exactly the same as the 4runner LBJ's with the only difference being a beefier outer tierod end being used?

 

[Rockdawg84]

Where exactly is the Tacoma lower balljoint actually beefier? Seems like the weak points are the lower (4) 14mm bolts and the balljoint bolt that goes through the lower control arm.

With that said, aren't those particular parts exactly the same as the 4runner LBJ's with the only difference being a beefier outer tierod end being used?

The Beef comes in the arm itself on the LBJ and the Outter Tie Rod. But your right for those who are loosing the LBJ from the lower bolts coming loose they are the same. That is why Blue Locktite is a must. To me just holding the old and New was proof that there is much more beef in the main body of the LBJ and Since the price was not much different I was happy to do the upgrade.

 

[Harleydoc]

I just set here read this whole thing about this swap... You know I look on eBay and good place to look to cross part number and a few other aftermarket parts stores and you the 96to2002 and the 2001to2002 tundra share the same part number. So if the ball joint really that week just saying they have it in the tundra and we done said that they was built to take a beating

 

[Harleydoc]

..... Double posted

 

[Brian1973]

anything else to do?

Looked it all over, doing upper and lower with 4Runner parts as person stated the Tundra has the same ball joint so I don't see reason to chance with the Tacoma parts... as well as replacing tie rod ends to simplify... and at 160k probably worth it.... My question is... Anything else I should do while I have this in pieces? wheel bearings? (says I need to take knuckle off for that)... have the lower out and waiting for parts and managed to get upper out of control arm but will have to find a tool to pull out of steering knuckle... or manual says take the whole knuckle to a shop... just trying to figure if I do that and with 160k on probably stock bearings maybe I should do that as well?

ideas?

 

[Harleydoc]

I am about to do both my cv axles this weekend one is popping on the other has cracked both boots you guys think I should do the ball joints and tie rods while I have it apart I don't know if they have ever been done 240k on the ticker

 

[madbomber08]

I did this back in November now I'm regretting it and asking myself why. Every time I make a left turn I get a metal on metal clunk or series of clunks from what sounds like from the driver side spindle area. It usually happens right as I make a left turn and sometimes will clunk more times the farther the wheel is turned.

If I had to do it over I'd just replace the balljoints with stock 4runner parts. They had lasted 175,000 miles and probably could have lasted the life of the vehicle.

 

[Singtoe]

I did this back in November now I'm regretting it and asking myself why. Every time I make a left turn I get a metal on metal clunk or series of clunks from what sounds like from the driver side spindle area. It usually happens right as I make a left turn and sometimes will clunk more times the farther the wheel is turned.

If I had to do it over I'd just replace the balljoints with stock 4runner parts. They had lasted 175,000 miles and probably could have lasted the life of the vehicle.

I hardly doubt that those or even any ball joints would last the lifetime of a vehicle, unless you know she is going to die at 200k.


Make a VDO of the metal to metal clunking sound. I have a taco and it never clunks. you might have other issues.

If you think about it. Having less steering radius might help with preventing binding of the cv at for droop during hard turns...

 

[Dous]

I did this back in November now I'm regretting it and asking myself why. Every time I make a left turn I get a metal on metal clunk or series of clunks from what sounds like from the driver side spindle area. It usually happens right as I make a left turn and sometimes will clunk more times the farther the wheel is turned.

If I had to do it over I'd just replace the balljoints with stock 4runner parts. They had lasted 175,000 miles and probably could have lasted the life of the vehicle.

Is it at near full lock that it clunks?

If so the sound you are hearing is the tie rod hitting the sway bar bracket. When you do this swap the sway bar bracket becomes your turn stop.

So you need to grind down the bracket, you don't want to apply that type of lateral force to the tie rod.

I know when I have to change the LBJ's I am going back to 4runner spec, too many problems, and I still dont have my full turn radius

 

[JWaldz]

Bout to do new lbj's and otre's (hopefully aftermarket front UCA's too).. Was contemplating the taco version but with the 35's I think I may have more problems since I'm already limited with my turning radius. Suggestions?

 

[SCRunner12]

Bout to do new lbj's and otre's (hopefully aftermarket front UCA's too).. Was contemplating the taco version but with the 35's I think I may have more problems since I'm already limited with my turning radius. Suggestions?

Honestly I never understood the reason to upgrade to the Tacoma LBJ's and OTRE's. Our 4runner versions hold up for 10+ years and 200k+ miles before people see some issues. I highly doubt most people on this site will be driving their 4runners that much longer to see any real need for a "beefier" version. Also the Tacoma's have an issues with LBJ failure as well, so doesn't seem like an upgrade in that sense. Might as well go with what you know what works perfect now and doesn't cause issues until way down the line (which I'm sure you would SAS if you have the 4runner that long).

 

[revenantdead]

i've had this done for months. yeah you lose a degree and a half but i like having the beef there. its almost more a peace of mind thing for me. they work. they work well. i'm happy.

 

[BillIam]

ive been looking arround and rockauto has the raybestos premiums tacoma LBJ's for about 56$ each and tacoma OTRE for 40$ each im really tempted on ordering this and seing what i get, it dose come with a 24 month 24k mile warranty and me being a colledge student i really dont have the $ to put out for oem, whatcha guys think?