JayRolla
New member
Man your mechanic has gotten good over the years telling that story. He is completely making all that stuff up.
LBJ Grease Zerk
- Thread starter Co4Fun
- Start date
Man your mechanic has gotten good over the years telling that story. He is completely making all that stuff up.
Thanks for your detailed explanation! Please post pics of your findings on the OEM and aftermarket joints! I would be really interested to see a cross-section.
I also had a chance to compare products and I'm pretty sure Moog doesn't make their own LBJ's for this application. They just re-package the Sankei 555 ones, you can tell by the 555 stamping. As does Napa, Raybestos, and probably many other brands. Moog does have a lifetime replacement warranty, but what good is that if you're not checking regularly and the joint leaves you stranded on the road.
These aftermarket joints all have a metal-to-metal fit with a greasable fitting. The ball is not polished like on the OEM design and therefore the ball scores very readily even from minor movement. I wonder if these aftermarket joints would be ok to use if one were to grease them with moly VERY regularly? They seem to come standard with a very basic yellow lithium grease.
Co4Fun
New member
Well I am convinced. I'm going to talk to my mech and see what he can do and let him know that it's okay if he considers them OEM equivalent but when I talked to him and said OEM I meant genuine Toyota. I would have happily bought them at the dealership and paid him to install them. Now, his time is wasted and I'm unhappy with the end result. I may be out the $500 but we will see what he says.
But, unless he jumps on it it's going to be awhile. Luckily I don't put a lot of miles on my rig right now. Most say these "555's" should go a minimum of 15k. I'll plan to change them well before that sometime in the next few years / 10k miles.
TWO QUESTIONS:
1 - So is it extended wear that is the main issue...and time breaking down the liners etc. as outlined by ibhsbz above? I ask this because I'm trying to somehow factor in how much additional wear they get from wheeling. I do take my rig offroad...not the crazy stuff but I do take it on at least medium to medium difficult trails. Any insight on how anyone thinks wheeling affects the LBJ's would be of interest to me.
2 - Where is the best place to currently buy true, genuine Toyota packaged and guaranteed LBJ's right now? I have found some links on all the other threads but currently where are you guys sourcing these? Local dealer only or where online?
But, unless he jumps on it it's going to be awhile. Luckily I don't put a lot of miles on my rig right now. Most say these "555's" should go a minimum of 15k. I'll plan to change them well before that sometime in the next few years / 10k miles.
TWO QUESTIONS:
1 - So is it extended wear that is the main issue...and time breaking down the liners etc. as outlined by ibhsbz above? I ask this because I'm trying to somehow factor in how much additional wear they get from wheeling. I do take my rig offroad...not the crazy stuff but I do take it on at least medium to medium difficult trails. Any insight on how anyone thinks wheeling affects the LBJ's would be of interest to me.
2 - Where is the best place to currently buy true, genuine Toyota packaged and guaranteed LBJ's right now? I have found some links on all the other threads but currently where are you guys sourcing these? Local dealer only or where online?
Honestly, if you bring this up with any mechanic, you'll probably end up sounding like a demanding prick because it will be hard for them to understand why you're making such a big deal over something so apparently insignificant. That being said, you should still get it done properly.
1. Wheeling will wear out any joint faster. Even though the OEM joints are the strongest, there is always still a chance of them breaking. I think the most common theme is people having significantly lifted trucks which causes the joints (OEM or aftermarket) to be consistently operating at a much different angle which over-stresses the joint beyond design. This is why I chose to stay with a humble 3" lift only.
I know the aftermarket joints are of lesser quality than OEM, but the fear mongering going on that you're guaranteed a failure is probably an overreaction. If you're operating them at stock angles, chances are you'll probably be ok for a while as long as you're regularly checking for play in the joint.
2. Either local dealer, or any online Toyota OEM parts supplier that is based off a real dealership location. Even eBay is fine as long as it's based on a real dealership. The only places that can get this OEM joint are Toyota franchise locations.
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Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
That's really good info on the actual difference in build between OEM and the rest- thanks for explaining that [MENTION=78704]lbhsbz[/MENTION].
I got mine from OEMPartSource; most guys here go through Camelback Toyota. I Googled the part numbers, and went with the best price shipped I found.
I got mine from OEMPartSource; most guys here go through Camelback Toyota. I Googled the part numbers, and went with the best price shipped I found.
Co4Fun
New member
All good info and fair I think. Ya, I mean I really do think this guy is honest and over the past year he's done a lot for me and saved me a lot of money. I don't think he's out there trying to intentionally swindle people on LBJ's etc. He can't get original OEM parts from his supplier and gets the next best thing in his opinion. I had been reading the forums and when I mentioned OEM I assumed he would know what I meant. And to be fair, he did pause on that point and talked about his part supplier etc. but we still didn't end up on the same page. The end result was not what I wanted but I think it was more of a miscommunication and probably him misjudging me as not as picky as I am (and I am.)
He's a good guy and I have been using him for a lot of work, and sent a few other folks there so I bet if I insist here he will do something for me. We'll see. At this point though I really don't mind doing it myself so that I know how it all comes apart anyway...I did that with everything on my Jeep and now I'm having to relearn it all on the 4Runner. The only difference is that back then I had a lot more time for this stuff than I do now as life responsibilities have increased.
As far as lift, that's what I have 3" Toytech with 1" body.
OldManKamps
New member
Keep in mind our dollar is at $0.77 of yours
It's funny how the CAD has zero bearing on the americans but its HUGE for us up here. Everything in the states is super expensive now!!
Scramble
New member
Yea, he might not be a D-Bag. My old mech looked surprised when I told him not to use Moog parts in my T4R. He thought they were a good brand. Maybe they are for American vehicles? I dont know.
Most people dont belong to car forums. Most people just want their cars/trucks trucks fixed fast & as cheaply as possible. Most people dont keep their vehicles as long as we keep our 4runners. I'm guilty of using Napa parts on my last 3 daily drivers because I dont keep them that long.
Co4Fun
New member
Yep I think you are spot on. We are the picky ones and personally I think that's justified especially on a lifted vehicle like most of ours are etc.
And, I'm happy to report that he wrote me back yesterday and said that he'd be happy to redo them free of charge with the originals! He thanked me for my past and continued business and referrals and said no problem. Just need to schedule it up.
So...cool. Only now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just do it myself and more just to learn it. So we'll see.
Moog is making their own...not reboxing 555. Both metal on metal, but very different designs. The moog uses a 2 piece ball stud, the 555 a single piece.
