LBJ failure. New CV shaft needed.

[Rebel_way]

Mighty LBJ strikes again! Well first time on my 4runner.

Few days ago I was returning from camping trip while rolling downhill on a gravel forest service road my LBJ decided to leave the housing and take a front drivers wheel for a walk. The wheel stayed attached to the truck only because it got stuck under the truck and ofcourse outer tie rod helped.

The verdict is: LBJ,UBJ,CV axle, Hard brake line, ABS wire. And of course a huge bill from the towing company because perfectly flat and wide gravel road (which is considered HWY in Alaska AAA books) in British Columbia BCAA books it is considered offroad:argue:

After reading all the horror stories about moog ball joints and how quickly they fail I called to my parts buddy and crossed out any moog parts he ordered for me. Instead of moogs or 555 or whatever I was reading about I ordered OEM LBJ,Ubj and OTR. Ball joints are definetly will be changed and tie rods will be changed for a piece of mind, maybe I'm over doing it with tie rods?

What about the CV shaft? Should I change both? they both were original as far as I know passanger side is still in a good shape no cracks in boots,used to sip a bit of grease after lift install but doesn't sip anymore. Drivers if definetly is gone. OEM will be nice, but how critical is that? Can you recommend any good aftermarket brand?

Also ABS wire. Can I buy it separately or its is only sold with sensor?

 

[99Runnr]

I have gotten some 555 stuff for ITRE and had good luck. OTRE I get the high end Japanese whatever parts from O'Reillys. Never had an issue there either. For LBJ I think the only sound choice is OEM. For the rest, I personally didn't invest the extra cash.

Same for CV axles. I get the Japanese import direct from O'Reillys. I'm lifted 3.5" and if they wear out, go get another one for free. The chain parts can be decent, just gotta look at the spline/body area of the CV. Some of them (like Autozone duracrap brand) are like half the diameter of OEM. I went to the other stores until I found some that matched OEM dimension and also felt the different in rubber materials used.

Some will tell you OEM or nothing, some say who cares. Me personally, I try to buy quality and buy once. My compromise has worked for all parts, with the exception of LBJ as I said. Don't cheap out there haha.