wow, glad you are OK.
I bet that was a "I need to change my shorts" moment.
Glad its all worked out.
So what do I get for my estimate being the closest?
I know that Toyota actually doesn't sell replacement ball joints - they want you to buy the entire LCA. Is that what the PO did?
As Brian2Sun mentioned this statement is wrong. You CAN buy the component LBJs from Toyota. It is well documented on the 3rd Gen section of T4R.
Still trying to figure out how the inspection station missed the failing ball joint.
The LBJs on these vehicles are known to just break without warning after high mileage. There are usually are no signs. It probably wasn't "failing", it just failed.