Did my UBJ here are a few helpful notes

[JohnOfTheJungle]

I swapped out a busted Moog UBJ and a 170k mile OEM Upper ball joint that actually was in fine shape.

Before this job I read all the write ups I could find, and while they were helpful, I got some conflicting advice. Some people were beating on their spindle with big ass hammers, using torches, etc. I wanted to do it the right way.

One thread said I should get the 4wd adapter kit from Oreilly. We don’t have Oreilly here, so I was SOL, and I tried to do the job first with the normal ball joint press that I rented from Autozone, but nothing really fit right. So I had to buy a set off Amazon.

I took a gamble on this one for $50 - https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Joint-Service-4-wheel-Adapters/dp/B01BUI5VCW

The set ended up being high quality, worked great for popping out the UBJ and also the bushings in the UCA. I did have to cut the UBJ as seen in other threads as non of the adapters were deep enough. I also used my impact sockets at times as various adapters

A lot of people talk about not being able to get the press and impact to fit inside the wheel well. I was able to get the press just outside the wheel well by doing 3 things.

1 - Unhooked the brake line from the caliper. I used needle nose vise grips on the flexible brake line to stop it from leaking fluid and removing the mounting clamp

2 - Removed the limited fender flares

3 - Let the spindle hang down, although I did use a ratchet strap wrapped around the spindle to help keep it in place. Maybe this is bad for the CV since it’s holding the tension, not sure.

Using the impact outside the wheel well was essential. I couldn’t get anywhere near enough force on it just by using a wrench inside the wheel well, and couldn’t fit a breaker.

I used two different methods to press the new UBJ in. The press had the correctly sized adapters to do the job. I also used a harbor freight 3 jaw puller (got a set of 4 for $27), which I like way better than the ones you would rent. Either tool worked fine.

I didn’t use a flat piece of steel or anything to press the UBJ in. It started off crooked, but straightened itself out, I ratcheted it in slowly to make sure I didn’t screw it up. Also put the UBJ in the freezer.

Anyway, hope that helps some people down the line who do this job.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RS Dude]

I swapped out a busted Moog UBJ and a 170k mile OEM Upper ball joint that actually was in fine shape.

Before this job I read all the write ups I could find, and while they were helpful, I got some conflicting advice. Some people were beating on their spindle with big ass hammers, using torches, etc. I wanted to do it the right way.

One thread said I should get the 4wd adapter kit from Oreilly. We don’t have Oreilly here, so I was SOL, and I tried to do the job first with the normal ball joint press that I rented from Autozone, but nothing really fit right. So I had to buy a set off Amazon.

I took a gamble on this one for $50 - https://www.amazon.com/ABN-Joint-Service-4-wheel-Adapters/dp/B01BUI5VCW

The set ended up being high quality, worked great for popping out the UBJ and also the bushings in the UCA. I did have to cut the UBJ as seen in other threads as non of the adapters were deep enough. I also used my impact sockets at times as various adapters

A lot of people talk about not being able to get the press and impact to fit inside the wheel well. I was able to get the press just outside the wheel well by doing 3 things.

1 - Unhooked the brake line from the caliper. I used needle nose vise grips on the flexible brake line to stop it from leaking fluid and removing the mounting clamp

2 - Removed the limited fender flares

3 - Let the spindle hang down, although I did use a ratchet strap wrapped around the spindle to help keep it in place. Maybe this is bad for the CV since it’s holding the tension, not sure.

Using the impact outside the wheel well was essential. I couldn’t get anywhere near enough force on it just by using a wrench inside the wheel well, and couldn’t fit a breaker.

I used two different methods to press the new UBJ in. The press had the correctly sized adapters to do the job. I also used a harbor freight 3 jaw puller (got a set of 4 for $27), which I like way better than the ones you would rent. Either tool worked fine.

I didn’t use a flat piece of steel or anything to press the UBJ in. It started off crooked, but straightened itself out, I ratcheted it in slowly to make sure I didn’t screw it up. Also put the UBJ in the freezer.

Anyway, hope that helps some people down the line who do this job.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Were you able to easily remove and replace the upper control arm bushings with that kit?

 

[RAD4Runner]

Nice write-up.
However, did you also do your load-bearing lower ball-joint which has a high potential for catastrophic failure?
This just happened.

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

Nice write-up.
However, did you also do your load-bearing lower ball-joint which has a high potential for catastrophic failure?
This just happened.

Thanks! I did the LBJ and a bunch of other front end replacement work back in April right after I bought the 4runner. Here are my notes from that one - http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-...lding-front-suspension-recommended-steps.html

For the UCA bushings - the press was super helpful, but the adapters weren’t small enough to fit the rubber bushing so I used a socket that just barely fit inside. Here’s what my bushings looked like:

I would use the press to put some force on the UCA bushing until it compressed and didn’t want to easily move. Then I’d hit the outside of the UCA with the torch for a minute or two which would help it release from the metal shell of the UCA.

I tried to minimize smoke so I didn’t just straight burn them out. There was still some rubber and rust stuck to the inside walls, so I hit that with my harbor freight electric die grinder and carbide bit to clean it up.

I used ES bushings so I had to also press the metal shell in further. That was really hard to do (my impact driver deformed the outside of the shell) until I read a write up that said to use a torch on the outside of the shell first. That helped a ton.

As you can see in the pic above there was a ton of rust on the LCA. I also took the time wire wheel off as much rust as I could, spray on a rust converter, and hit it with some rustoleum. Also did fluid film a few days ago.

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

One more thing I didn’t really mention - I think hanging my spindle out that far so I could use the impact outside the wheel well caused my CV to pop out.

When I went to push the UBJ through the UCA I had to sort of pop the CV back in place. I’ve driven about 300 miles since then, but haven’t used 4wd yet. I think and hope it’s fine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HiLife]

I swapped out a busted Moog UBJ and a 170k mile OEM Upper ball joint that actually was in fine shape.

Before this job I read all the write ups I could find, and while they were helpful, I got some conflicting advice. Some people were beating on their spindle with big ass hammers, using torches, etc. I wanted to do it the right way.

One thread said I should get the 4wd adapter kit from Oreilly. We don’t have Oreilly here, so I was SOL, and I tried to do the job first with the normal ball joint press that I rented from Autozone, but nothing really fit right. So I had to buy a set off Amazon.

I took a gamble on this one for $50

The set ended up being high quality, worked great for popping out the UBJ and also the bushings in the UCA. I did have to cut the UBJ as seen in other threads as non of the adapters were deep enough. I also used my impact sockets at times as various adapters

A lot of people talk about not being able to get the press and impact to fit inside the wheel well. I was able to get the press just outside the wheel well by doing 3 things.

1 - Unhooked the brake line from the caliper. I used needle nose vise grips on the flexible brake line to stop it from leaking fluid and removing the mounting clamp

2 - Removed the limited fender flares

3 - Let the spindle hang down, although I did use a ratchet strap wrapped around the spindle to help keep it in place. Maybe this is bad for the CV since it’s holding the tension, not sure.

Using the impact outside the wheel well was essential. I couldn’t get anywhere near enough force on it just by using a wrench inside the wheel well, and couldn’t fit a breaker.

I used two different methods to press the new UBJ in. The press had the correctly sized adapters to do the job. I also used a harbor freight 3 jaw puller (got a set of 4 for $27), which I like way better than the ones you would rent. Either tool worked fine.

I didn’t use a flat piece of steel or anything to press the UBJ in. It started off crooked, but straightened itself out, I ratcheted it in slowly to make sure I didn’t screw it up. Also put the UBJ in the freezer.

Anyway, hope that helps some people down the line who do this job.

Thanks for putting this on here and glad it worked out for you.
When I did mines I searched, I read, I pressed and I grinded. But my ubj were stuck on there. Finally I resorted to having a machine shop pressing those out.:sad: