Lower Ball Joint Failure questions

[Colorado buff]

Hey All,

I was driving home and luckily at low speeds and was making a left turn when my right lower ball joint failed.

I replaced these with OEM joints 50,000 KM ago.

My first question is how long do OEM lower ball joints last?

Second Question, roughly what should I be spending at a mechanic to repair right and left LBJ?

any commentary would be great. Trying to attach photos but attachment doesnt seem to work.

 

[Brian.]

My first question is how long do OEM lower ball joints last?

Second Question, roughly what should I be spending at a mechanic to repair right and left LBJ?

any commentary would be great. Trying to attach photos but attachment doesnt seem to work.

50k is short, most think that 100k Miles is a very conservative time to replace, and 200k Miles is more normal (with actual life well past that). That's assuming you're at Stock ride height... lifts and bigger tires both reduce this number. Similarly, hardcore wheeling will also shorten life.

Curious, was the actual ball joint that failed or the BOLTS that hold the balljoint that failed? Lots of mechanics/people will re-use the bolts and those have been noted as a failure prone area. Mostly OEM Toyota LBJ's have been well documented to last Way longer than aftermarkets... some have killed aftermarkets in 10k miles, but they were lifted and wheeling.

Sorry it happened, glad it's pretty much limited to slow speed situations (tight turns) in general and hope there's not really any other damage you need to repair. Make sure to do both sides, not just the failed side... unless you're itching for a repeat in a month. And cost will be highly variable depending on location and number of mechanics in the area, this is an easy DIY job... probably $250 in parts and ~$300 in labor (USD, not sure where CAD is right now).

Note there IS a "kit" part number for both L and R, I think it's minus the bolts, but saves you about 10% over buying separate.

 

[Bad Luck]

100K miles/10 years for stock vehicles that see up to mild trail use is generally recommended. Hopefully you can post some pictures of the failure point

 

[Colorado buff]

Thanks all! Will try and post again

 

[sportscarfan]

These still seem like a decent deal to me - OEM Toyota parts, but shipped from Japan. They were $191 shipped when I bought a year ago.
It's both LBJ's + bolts.

Toyota 4Runner Lower Ball Joint LH RH set NEW Genuine OEM Parts | eBay

If you want to shop, the Left/Right part numbers are 43330-39585, 43340-39465.

 

[Endlessblockades]

Thanks all! Will try and post again

Here is a basic way to upload pix into your comment from a computer.

Click on the Paperclip icon, Browse to the file on your device, click Upload.

I have noticed that in some cases an image with a larger than about a 1400 pixel dimension in L or W will 'Fail' to upload. Sorry for the crappy graphic below.

 

[Colorado buff]

These still seem like a decent deal to me - OEM Toyota parts, but shipped from Japan. They were $191 shipped when I bought a year ago.
It's both LBJ's + bolts.

Toyota 4Runner Lower Ball Joint LH RH set NEW Genuine OEM Parts | eBay

If you want to shop, the Left/Right part numbers are 43330-39585, 43340-39465.

Bless and thanks

 

[Colorado buff]

Here is a basic way to upload pix into your comment from a computer.

Click on the Paperclip icon, Browse to the file on your device, click Upload.

I have noticed that in some cases an image with a larger than about a 1400 pixel dimension in L or W will 'Fail' to upload. Sorry for the crappy graphic below.

Thanks maybe my images are too large will shrink them and try again.

 

[Colorado buff]

here are some photos

 

[Colorado buff]

take two. Here are some photos. Thanks my images were too large

 

[Colorado buff]

50k is short, most think that 100k Miles is a very conservative time to replace, and 200k Miles is more normal (with actual life well past that). That's assuming you're at Stock ride height... lifts and bigger tires both reduce this number. Similarly, hardcore wheeling will also shorten life.

Curious, was the actual ball joint that failed or the BOLTS that hold the balljoint that failed? Lots of mechanics/people will re-use the bolts and those have been noted as a failure prone area. Mostly OEM Toyota LBJ's have been well documented to last Way longer than aftermarkets... some have killed aftermarkets in 10k miles, but they were lifted and wheeling.

Sorry it happened, glad it's pretty much limited to slow speed situations (tight turns) in general and hope there's not really any other damage you need to repair. Make sure to do both sides, not just the failed side... unless you're itching for a repeat in a month. And cost will be highly variable depending on location and number of mechanics in the area, this is an easy DIY job... probably $250 in parts and ~$300 in labor (USD, not sure where CAD is right now).

Note there IS a "kit" part number for both L and R, I think it's minus the bolts, but saves you about 10% over buying separate.

question: I put on bilstein 5100's and new coils so the truck does ride a little higher. Would this count towards your lift lowering the useful life of LBJ's? or were you speaking towards the people here that add spacers and all the extras?

 

[Brian.]

question: I put on bilstein 5100's and new coils so the truck does ride a little higher. Would this count towards your lift lowering the useful life of LBJ's? or were you speaking towards the people here that add spacers and all the extras?

That's all kinda variable... looks like you have a pre-facelift (1995~1998), so what little change you encountered probably got the vehicle to about the stock height of the 1999's (tallest of the bunch). It's been a few years since I did the research, but I think it was 3"+ lifts for most (or about 2" on the 1999's, which I have).

Your Bils 5100 weren't the most likely cause.

I'm still thinking it was bolts with a possibility of counterfeit LBJ (unless you bought them at the dealer).

 

[JohnMc]

There's not a great clear shot, but it does look like the ball pulled out of the socket, so not an issue with either under or over torquing the 4 smaller bolts, or the one large nut.

There's really no way a good OEM balljoint should fail in 50000k (around 30K miles) unless it was damaged in some way. Either thumped hard which accelerated wear, or the boot was torn (either during installation or shortly after) and it got rusty/contaminated inside.

Maybe it was a defective part? I have a 3" lift and 33" tires on mine, and wheel it fairly hard with some regularity, and I still stick to a roughly 75- 100K mile replacement routine, but I also keep an eye on the grease seals and bolts every couple of months. And if the boot is torn or leaking grease for any reason, I'll just go ahead and replace it.

 

[Cree]

That's all kinda variable... looks like you have a pre-facelift (1995~1998), so what little change you encountered probably got the vehicle to about the stock height of the 1999's (tallest of the bunch). It's been a few years since I did the research, but I think it was 3"+ lifts for most (or about 2" on the 1999's, which I have).

Your Bils 5100 weren't the most likely cause.

I'm still thinking it was bolts with a possibility of counterfeit LBJ (unless you bought them at the dealer).

You can clearly see the joint separated. Looks like it was likely a faulty joint. However, OP I have to ask, Did you check to make sure these were greased before you installed them?

 

[FD7683]

I think there was a case here a while ago where the OP peeled back a ~5k mile OEM ball joint boot and discovered scratches on the joint. Ruled as defective so the parts were replaced. Wonder if this could be the cause as to why yours failed. Seems like OEM ball joints aren't made like the factory ones 20+ years ago.

 

[Colorado buff]

That's all kinda variable... looks like you have a pre-facelift (1995~1998), so what little change you encountered probably got the vehicle to about the stock height of the 1999's (tallest of the bunch). It's been a few years since I did the research, but I think it was 3"+ lifts for most (or about 2" on the 1999's, which I have).

Your Bils 5100 weren't the most likely cause.

I'm still thinking it was bolts with a possibility of counterfeit LBJ (unless you bought them at the dealer).

Thanks. Is there a special bolt set to buy and will let mechanic know is a must

 

[Colorado buff]

You can clearly see the joint separated. Looks like it was likely a faulty joint. However, OP I have to ask, Did you check to make sure these were greased before you installed them?

Yeah they were greased. But will make sure new ones left and right use new bolts, OEM parts again and are greased.

Thanks again all for all the opinions and replies appreciate it.

 

[Brian.]

Thanks. Is there a special bolt set to buy and will let mechanic know is a must

LBJ "Kit" part number?

post 5 for the bolt part numbers and torque settings

 

[phattyduck]

Yeah they were greased. But will make sure new ones left and right use new bolts, OEM parts again and are greased.

Thanks again all for all the opinions and replies appreciate it.

If there is a grease zerk on the ball joints they are NOT OEM! OEM LBJs are sealed and pre-greased at the factory.

If they are not OEM, 30k miles is a good run. Many fail at under 20k miles...

-Charlie

 

[Spiker Engineering]

Thanks. Is there a special bolt set to buy and will let mechanic know is a must

Probably won't be done in time for you, but we're starting a test program of a few different LBJ bolts to measure their breaking strengths. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on these - ARP 663-1003