Front Control arm kit

P

ptsailing

New member
Does anyone make a total Front Control Arm(s) replacement kit? My rig has 290k on the clock and original bushings and suspension. I want to replace the lot, upper and lower control arms and ball joints with all the bushings already in place.

Is there a kit that comes with everything that is under $400 or so? I found this kit that is pretty spot on but not sure where the parts are coming from or who manufactures them

1996-02 Toyota 4Runner Front Steering & Suspension Kit 12 Piece Set

What other "kit" options are there for someone that does not want to go blow the budget on a full custom set up. I am leaning towards kits that have rubber bushings as opposed to Poly.

(Fyi my rig is set up for a weekend warrior, more "built" than a daily driver but it wont be in the Dakar or Baja 1000 antyime soon
 
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The lower ball joint scared me too much to go with anything other than oem, and the bushings in aftermarket control arms suck, so if you do get aftermarket arms I would replace the bushings with either oem or poly so you don’t end up doing the job again.

I have poly bushings in all my oem control arms front and rear and really like them, but the front lowers are a huge pain to do if you have any rust at all, the rear arms are easy to do

I have uniball UCAs but if I didn’t I’d put poly bushings in them as well with an oem ball joint
 
You'll be able to get better quality bushings on a budget by installing new bushings into your current control arms.

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UnderFire said:
You'll be able to get better quality bushings on a budget by installing new bushings into your current control arms.

Sent from my JSN-L23 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

this! if your rig has never been in an accident or isnt a rust bucket, your arms are fine. its the balljoints and the bushings that are worn out.

as Randy said, only buy OEM front lower ball joints. you will also need new bolts.
 
don’t buy that garbage ebay crap. it’s been said over and over and over, people don’t listen, they buy that crap and then complain that it lasted 3k miles if they survive.


FWIW if it’s a “kit” generally steer clear unless it’s full blown aftermarket performance stuff like total chaos etc.

Buy Toyota Lower ball joints, outer tie rod, inner tie rods from Camelback Toyota so you know they aren’t knock off parts. You can get away with Moog, Proforge, Napa upper ball joints BUT while you have it apart just replace the UCAs with JBA arms (well built, american made, and VERY affordable). The lower arms you can either press in Factory Toyota bushings or go the Whiteline route.


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What is my best option if I dont have access to a press and want to keep the time and cost down (under $400 for the whole job).....
 
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AZBub said:
don’t buy that garbage ebay crap. it’s been said over and over and over, people don’t listen, they buy that crap and then complain that it lasted 3k miles if they survive.


FWIW if it’s a “kit” generally steer clear unless it’s full blown aftermarket performance stuff like total chaos etc.

Buy Toyota Lower ball joints, outer tie rod, inner tie rods from Camelback Toyota so you know they aren’t knock off parts. You can get away with Moog, Proforge, Napa upper ball joints BUT while you have it apart just replace the UCAs with JBA arms (well built, american made, and VERY affordable). The lower arms you can either press in Factory Toyota bushings or go the Whiteline route.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


JBA does not have arms for the 3rd gen....and anyway they are way out of my budget
 
Whiteline LCA bushings ready to drop in, only require a handheld torch, hammer, maybe a bottle jack if they're stubborn, but no press needed. I'd assume the same goes for the UCA bushings but I'm not 100% sure.

Lower ball joints you can afford OEM in your price range, bolt on piece.

Upper ball joints are easy enough, just decent quality ones are fine. Local parts stores rent out ball joint presses so you may want to buy the ball joints from them to rent the tool.

Overall you should barely scrape by under your $400 mark, assuming you're doing all of the work, and you'll have all parts that will last.

If your truck is crusty, or has high mileage, it will be super easy to run into hurdles along the way though, siezed alignment cams are $30 a piece and a wait or spendy from the dealerships, broken sway bar links, clapped outer tie rod ends, bad lower strut bushings, etc. All real possibilities that will 100% put you past the amount of time and money it sounds like you want to spend.

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More Information for MEVOTECH KIT15

I thought about using this in the past but ive never done the research on the oem stuff. I decided shortly after finding this front end kit that id go all aftermarket longtravel.

EDIT: The upper and lower balljoints are greaseable with a zerk fitting on these Mevotechs. Seem pretty solid, I doubt they would fail you. BUT as previously stated ive never needed to do a balljoint on my truck nor have I researched it in any way.
 
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ptsailing said:
What is my best option if I dont have access to a press and want to keep the time and cost down (under $400 for the whole job).....
Click to expand...



Get a second job. Just Toyota lower ball joints will be over 200 for a set. You will not get it fixed right for a 400 budget. That’s just not realistic. not even close.


At a BARE minimum replace the lower ball joints with factory toyota parts. That’s the area of a 3rd gen 4runner that is documented more on the internet than COVID-19. the Lower Ball joints.


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AZBub said:
Get a second job. Just Toyota lower ball joints will be over 200 for a set. You will not get it fixed right for a 400 budget. That’s just not realistic. not even close.


At a BARE minimum replace the lower ball joints with factory toyota parts. That’s the area of a 3rd gen 4runner that is documented more on the internet than COVID-19. the Lower Ball joints.


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Click to expand...

2nd job.....I already work 3 jobs.....if you can find an extra 8 to 10 hours in the day I would gladly. Wife and I agreed on what the budget for this repair should be based on our monthly family budget. LIFE my friend....some how she is a cruel mistress that always seems to get in the way of having fun. Somehow I have to find the time to do all the work myself to keep the project under budget because science determined there were NOT 34 hrs in a day.


I do like the lower ball joint suggestion....I will certainly heed your advice!
 
ptsailing said:
2nd job.....I already work 3 jobs.....if you can find an extra 8 to 10 hours in the day I would gladly. Wife and I agreed on what the budget for this repair should be based on our monthly family budget. LIFE my friend....some how she is a cruel mistress that always seems to get in the way of having fun. Somehow I have to find the time to do all the work myself to keep the project under budget because science determined there were NOT 34 hrs in a day.


I do like the lower ball joint suggestion....I will certainly heed your advice!
Click to expand...

I wanted an unlimited budget to repair the "Beast" and she wanted to only spend $400....so we compromised.....I am going to spend $400
 
UnderFire said:
If your truck is crusty, or has high mileage, it will be super easy to run into hurdles along the way though, siezed alignment cams are $30 a piece and a wait or spendy from the dealerships, broken sway bar links, clapped outer tie rod ends, bad lower strut bushings, etc. All real possibilities that will 100% put you past the amount of time and money it sounds like you want to spend.

Sent from my JSN-L23 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Truck is fine....it did 200k in Arizona and I put another 90k on the clock in California so fortunately there is not a single spot of rust on the whole truck.
 
HiluxSurf SSR-G said:
are those adjustable like the SPCs? If yes, how?
Click to expand...



Not adjustable like SPC but 4 degrees of Castor is normal. A lot of alignment shops seem to have problems with the SPC. Plus the JBA are 100% USA. I was on the fence for a while about SPC or JBA but went the JBA route due to build quality etc.


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ptsailing said:
I wanted an unlimited budget to repair the "Beast" and she wanted to only spend $400....so we compromised.....I am going to spend $400
Click to expand...



When it come to safety maintenance stuff I tell my wife she can’t drive it unless it’s fixed right. Works every time.


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So SPC UCAs are no longer US-made? What about their UBJs?



AZBub said:
Not adjustable like SPC but 4 degrees of Castor is normal. A lot of alignment shops seem to have problems with the SPC. Plus the JBA are 100% USA. I was on the fence for a while about SPC or JBA but went the JBA route due to build quality etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
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