Lower ball joint failed !

[Mellemel]

Just want to bring this topic to the surface again folks, I bought a 97' 4runner a year ago with 352,000 kms and today she is at 368,000 and the drivers side LBJ gave out this morning at 5am while doing 50km/h. I lived to tell the tale ! Not a nice experience at that speed to have the car want to pull you off the road. There are 6ft high snow banks lining the road here in the snowy wastes of N. B. Canada, and they kept me from going off. Just been to have a look at the mechanics garage and things don't look bad at all. Think I have been very lucky, only the LBJ needs to be replaced, everything else is fine. Maybe the snow and ice on the road lessened any other damage. The tire isn't even scrubbed !

So I want to say that about a month ago I had been experiencing the steering not fully self centering and thought the power steering pump or steering rack was going south on me ! Wrong, the LBJ's were starting to seize. It was on the "to do " list this spring too ! I had been keeping an eye on them too and had even checked for wear, which gave no free play also the seals were good and showed no leakage.

I have no service history with this vehicle so am thinking they are probably the original ones, Lasted pretty good then for 368,000Kms. Watch for the warning signs and get'em replaced sooner than later if concerned.

No pics, it was too dark for the phones cam at 5 am.

 

[Justin727]

Ouch. Sorry to hear. I'm actually about to replace my uppers and lowers on my rig as it's time.

It's usually a good idea to replace them around 200k.

 

[ajonesnv]

Very sad to hear. Any catastrophic damage? Photos?

 

[white_n_slow]

Sorry to hear, but always good to bring this topic to the attention of noobs to the forum. In for pics!

 

[gamefreakgc]

So glad to hear there were no injuries or damages! You really lucked out there.

I just replaced mine at 192k miles (~307k km) since they were also originals. I'm going to be carrying my wife and (soon) kids in this truck, no way I'm leaving it up to chance if they last or not.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Since we like carnage got any pics?

I had a passenger side start failing on me, ultimately replacing both sides at 101,000 miles. The passenger side indirectly caused my wheel bearing to go south on that side and possibly the CV axle too.

 

[Mellemel]

I think I have been using them on borrowed time and that ran out this morning ! 368,000km's is well over due for replacing them.

It was just too dark this morning for taking pics on the cell phone camera, now the truck is on the ramp at the garage getting fixed it looks normal, so no shocking pics to post, sorry 'bout that. I wanted one for the album too !

I was amazed at the lack of other damage, there is none, the CV joint pulled out but is intact, even the tire isn't marked !! must have been the ice and snow on the road that prevented that, it just slid, but it was quite a wrestle to keep it going straight, could have very easily tipped over !
Please replace your LBJ's if you have any suspicions. Don't leave it to chance. Now i know the symptoms I will know if there is going to be a next time !

So replacing the other side LBJ too and a re-alignment and I should be good to go tmrw pm

Thanks for the well wishes.

Mel.

 

[awthorn]

Glad that no one was hurt. I will just put this out there that the OEM LBJs lasted that long so please replace the LBJs only with OEM. Others have said they have had good luck with aftermarket but with it being a known weak point on our rigs I, personally, would rather not chance it.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Some have reported MOOG LBG's failing at 10k miles or less.

This is one part where OEM should be the only option, this is the safety of you and others we're talking about. I think it's borderline recall status, if someone got injured and made a huge stink about it to Toyota and sued and all that jazz (like people love to do these days) I bet they'd recall it.

 

[hawaiian05]

Some have reported MOOG LBG's failing at 10k miles or less.

This is one part where OEM should be the only option, this is the safety of you and others we're talking about. I think it's borderline recall status, if someone got injured and made a huge stink about it to Toyota and sued and all that jazz (like people love to do these days) I bet they'd recall it.

Good point, and they actually had (have?) a recall on the lower ball joints. The 50J recall replaced and aligned the vehicle, but unfortunately was only for later 3rd gens ('01-'02). If you're in that range it might be worth looking into, though I'd guess it's over by now. If not, do yourself a favor and replace them anyways.

Thanks for bringing this to light again OP.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Good point, and they actually had (have?) a recall on the lower ball joints. The 50J recall replaced and aligned the vehicle, but unfortunately was only for later 3rd gens ('01-'02). If you're in that range it might be worth looking into, though I'd guess it's over by now. If not, do yourself a favor and replace them anyways.

Thanks for bringing this to light again OP.

Y'all are relatively new here, so maybe you haven't seen it, but there are oodles of threads about the LBJ's where we discuss this topic in detail. The reasons for going only OEM are out there, or at least I have made the case for why I suspect that OEM is ok but Moog fails early in life.

If you want to know about it, search, it's all there. If you just want the right path to take, buy OEM only.

 

[csp]

Watch for the warning signs and get'em replaced sooner than later if concerned.

Warning signs? Your odometer should have been a warning sign. Despite thinking that other suspension/steering items looked ok it probably would be a good idea just to swap some of them out due to use.

 

[hawaiian05]

Y'all are relatively new here, so maybe you haven't seen it, but there are oodles of threads about the LBJ's where we discuss this topic in detail.

I was adding information for the previous poster who stated the idea of a recall, not asking. New here (to the forum): yes. New to toyotas: not at all. I've done hundreds of these 50J recalls and ball joint replacements as I used to be a service technician for 2 toyota dealerships. Just wanted to clear up that a recall already was issued.

 

[Paperjam]

Guys! It's very simple to check play on lower ball joints, 10 mins of your time and you can actually see if they are loose or not an save yourself a potential accident.

High miles or not, rough surfaces take their toll on on suspension components.

 

[Unner]

I'm planning to order some for mine at the end of this week once I know if I need to get a set of brake shoes along with them. Hawaiian05, since you were a Toyota tech would you know if there is any way to tell if mine is covered under the recall if when I put it into the Toyota owners website it doesn't say anything about it? My vin falls into the correct category according to the recall documents, but the website doesn't show a recall. I assume my truck doesn't apply to the recall. If not that's fine, I'll still replace them for the piece of mind.

 

[gamefreakgc]

I'm planning to order some for mine at the end of this week once I know if I need to get a set of brake shoes along with them. Hawaiian05, since you were a Toyota tech would you know if there is any way to tell if mine is covered under the recall if when I put it into the Toyota owners website it doesn't say anything about it? My vin falls into the correct category according to the recall documents, but the website doesn't show a recall. I assume my truck doesn't apply to the recall. If not that's fine, I'll still replace them for the piece of mind.

Camelback and Toyota of Dallas have cheap online prices if you haven't ordered them yet. I got mine for $85 each, much better than the $120 my local dealer wanted.

In fact, I never go to my local dealer for parts anymore, the are always so expensive and don't carry what I need in stock usually anyway.

 

[Unner]

I was planning to order from Camelback when I do. My local dealer is very over priced, I only go there for small things, but the service my father and I have got there lately has made me not even want to go there for small things...

Should the outer tie rods be replaced at the same time? Or is this something that is better to just wait to replace until they wear out? Also, I assume I don't need to replace the UBJ's really do I? The boots don't appear to be torn or anything. Everything I have read says that they need to be pressed out and in by a shop and that they don't see the forces the LBJ's do so they don't need to be replaced like the LBJ's do. They also don't cause the catastrophic failure that the LBJs do either...

 

[hawaiian05]

I'm planning to order some for mine at the end of this week once I know if I need to get a set of brake shoes along with them. Hawaiian05, since you were a Toyota tech would you know if there is any way to tell if mine is covered under the recall if when I put it into the Toyota owners website it doesn't say anything about it? My vin falls into the correct category according to the recall documents, but the website doesn't show a recall. I assume my truck doesn't apply to the recall. If not that's fine, I'll still replace them for the piece of mind.

If I recall correctly, the Toyota owners website only show recalls that are "active," as in currently within the covered period. Depending on the recall, it may last 8-15 years, though I don't know which one the 50J fell under. The best way to tell would be to either call you dealer or take it in and have them do a VIN check on it. The dealer's network will be able to trace back a VIN to see what recalls applied during the life of the vehicle, not just the current/open ones.

 

[gamefreakgc]

The outer tie rods are usually ok, but just check for wear or damage. More likely the inners are more in need of help. Mine were a bit droopy but had no play so I kept them in there for now. If they have play (meaning if you grab em and push them back and forth and you feel movement) then they are going bad. Really easy to get to anyway, just take off the tire, use a tie rod puller to get the outer tie rod off and you're there.

 

[Unner]

Yeah when I checked them there really wasn't any play so I think I'll just leave them for now.

Thanks Hawaiian, I'll swing by my dealer or call them and see what they say. If I could get it done for free that would be cool, but I kinda doubt it.