I have a new to me 2000 4runner with 200k miles on it, I have completed all kinds of maintenance on it, added a SS 1.2 lift. Today I put it on jack stands to check the Lower Ball Joints, fully expecting them to be "shot"....to my surprise there is absolutely zero slop in them, they are as solid as new, makes me think they have been replaced at some point but have no proof of that and they certainly don't look like they were replaced lately. Just curious now how many miles the LBJ's can go before failing, how often should I check them.....really happy that I don't have to change them out now.
LBJ - 200k miles -Perfect
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Unner
New member
If you don't have proof of them being changed go ahead and change them. Not worth risking your life on something like the LBJs. Lifting only puts more stress on them and if they've already got 200k there's many people who have had them fail with less miles. Only go OEM on them. This is just my opinion, but you're going to get the same response from many members on the forum.
JayRolla
New member
Mine where solid also till I ran the lift for awhile. The lift will kill them if they are originals. Cheap easy fix. Not worth the risk.
98WhiteT4R
New member
My last set (OEM) lasted 30k, probably could have gone a little longer but I didn't want to find out the hard way
white_n_slow
Senior Member
They won't necessarily give you any warning before failure. There isn't any prescribed mileage number on these things. I personally would be OK with 100k with records to confirm mileage and that they are OEM, but that's just my opinion. Probably 50k on non-OEM. Again, just my opinion.
If you don't know how old they are, I'd go ahead and replace, regardless of any lack of play or slop.
If you don't know how old they are, I'd go ahead and replace, regardless of any lack of play or slop.
StreetCreeper
New member
Previous owner of my truck ran the originals until 350,000 miles...then the passenger side LBJ gave out as they left a gas station. They pretty much gave up on the truck at this point (lucky for me since they pretty much just gave me the truck
). While I certainly would not advocate waiting until they fail at 350k, it should be noted that some original ones are capable of going that long; however, I think in my case, it was more of a statistical outlier than a good representation of typical OEM LBJ life span.
Personally, I would swap them out with OEM ones every 125k for peace of mind. But I'm no expert on these things. Every truck is different and for trucks with lifts or that are wheeled hard—I would be more concerned with early LBJ failure than a DD that rarely sees anything beside pavement.
Drcoffee
Senior Member
The only way to test the LBJ is to lift directly under the ball joint. The struts keep the stud under constant tension. So when you think its tight, it is but for the wrong reason. As others have said, its tight until it yanks the stud out of the socket. By lifting from under the ball joint you press the joint together. Use a floor jack and lift until the tire is off the ground. But an ounce of prevention...
Check toyota of Dallas parts website. They tend to be more affordable.
Check toyota of Dallas parts website. They tend to be more affordable.
Mellemel
New member
Well after one of mine let go at 360,000 KM's while doing 80km/h ! originals or what I have no idea what maintenance the PO had done, and it was only the fact that there were 8ft snow banks lining the road that I am probably still here to type this now, scared the bejesus out of me at the time ! anyway what I am saying is CHANGE THEM SOON.
ridefast
New member
I just did mine and before i took the LBJ's off I felt absolutely zero play in either wheel. Once i took them off and inspected closer, I detected slop in one of the joints. In the end I am glad I did mine! Also both boots were torn and inside was filled with dirt.
169,000 miles. Just as a tip, I wish I would have done the control arm bushings at the same time.
169,000 miles. Just as a tip, I wish I would have done the control arm bushings at the same time.
