Lower Ball Joint Removal and Installation

[bspurs]

Thanks!

This thread was really helpful for me. I just installed new OEM lbj's today - the first front end job that I've taken on myself (did my lift with a friend). It was a good first job to take on!

I used this front end service kit from Advance Auto. I'm not sure which puller it's called, but I used the taller of the bunch, and it worked like a charm. I used it to separate the tie rod end, as well as the lbj, and they were broken loose in 30 seconds each. And, I was able to preserve and reuse the tie rod end. Would highly recommend this kit after all the trouble I'd read about people getting the tie rod loose.

Only hit a couple snags:

The cotter pin rusted and broke off, but after a while of messing with it, was able to pop it out with a punch.

I had a hard time on the first side getting the lower lbj bolt into the lower control arm - I just couldn't push it far enough in to get a few threads to pop through. I used a pry bar on the upper control arm, against the under side of the shock top hat, and that pushed the entire wheel assembly (and lbj) right into place. Repeated on the 2nd side for a much quicker install.

When trying to torque the 4 bolts on the lbj, the entire wheel assembly would turn too. I loosely reconnected the tie rod end to prevent the turning, and I was able to torque everything down that way.

All in all, took about 4 hours from set-up to clean up. Not bad.

 

[BOSSIND]

This thread was really helpful for me. I just installed new OEM lbj's today - the first front end job that I've taken on myself (did my lift with a friend). It was a good first job to take on!

I used this front end service kit from Advance Auto. I'm not sure which puller it's called, but I used the taller of the bunch, and it worked like a charm. I used it to separate the tie rod end, as well as the lbj, and they were broken loose in 30 seconds each. And, I was able to preserve and reuse the tie rod end. Would highly recommend this kit after all the trouble I'd read about people getting the tie rod loose.

Only hit a couple snags:

The cotter pin rusted and broke off, but after a while of messing with it, was able to pop it out with a punch.

I had a hard time on the first side getting the lower lbj bolt into the lower control arm - I just couldn't push it far enough in to get a few threads to pop through. I used a pry bar on the upper control arm, against the under side of the shock top hat, and that pushed the entire wheel assembly (and lbj) right into place. Repeated on the 2nd side for a much quicker install.

When trying to torque the 4 bolts on the lbj, the entire wheel assembly would turn too. I loosely reconnected the tie rod end to prevent the turning, and I was able to torque everything down that way.

All in all, took about 4 hours from set-up to clean up. Not bad.

Nice work, as for cotter pins they are soft and wont stop you from taking the nut off.

 

[satek]

Alright, so I managed to get the tie rod end off the lower ball joint on the passenger side after 4 tries. In the process, I messed up the boot on the outer tie rod end, so I'm currently trying to replace that. (I'm hoping I don't mess it up on the driver's side).

This entire LBJ is frustrating the crap out of me, and it's supposed to be super easy.



Now, I'm having problems getting the outer tie rod end off and the jam nut off... I soaked it with liquid wrench, put the tie rod end back in the knuckle to prevent it from turning. I'm turning counter clockwise which I'm pretty sure is correct.

Any tips for this one?

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Alright, so I managed to get the tie rod end off the lower ball joint on the passenger side after 4 tries. In the process, I messed up the boot on the outer tie rod end, so I'm currently trying to replace that. (I'm hoping I don't mess it up on the driver's side).

This entire LBJ is frustrating the crap out of me, and it's supposed to be super easy.



Now, I'm having problems getting the outer tie rod end off and the jam nut off... I soaked it with liquid wrench, put the tie rod end back in the knuckle to prevent it from turning. I'm turning counter clockwise which I'm pretty sure is correct.

Any tips for this one?

Is the lock nut stripping? If so, two large pipe wrenches (18"+) should do the trick

 

[satek]

No, it's not stripping. Its just that I can't get enough leverage under the wheel well. I'm using a 12" wrench and barely have any room to navigate. Where would you put the 18 incher?

 

[stir_fry_boy]

No, it's not stripping. Its just that I can't get enough leverage under the wheel well. I'm using a 12" wrench and barely have any room to navigate. Where would you put the 18 incher?

I watched a master tech at the dealer replace my outer tie rod end.

He left everything tight, undid the boot to expose the inner tie rod end, then used a big pipe wrench to turn the inner tie rod end to loosen the inner tie rod end. He then backed the jam nut off, and undid the castle nut, and unscrewed the outer tie rod end. Never seen it done like that.

 

[fourfive]

Alright, so I managed to get the tie rod end off the lower ball joint on the passenger side after 4 tries. In the process, I messed up the boot on the outer tie rod end, so I'm currently trying to replace that. (I'm hoping I don't mess it up on the driver's side).

This entire LBJ is frustrating the crap out of me, and it's supposed to be super easy.

Are you using a pitman arm puller? Thats what I used recently for both the OTR and LBJ and it popped right off. I've assisted with this job years ago using a hammer and pickle fork and remember it taking a good while longer and also destroyed the boot.

Now, I'm having problems getting the outer tie rod end off and the jam nut off... I soaked it with liquid wrench, put the tie rod end back in the knuckle to prevent it from turning. I'm turning counter clockwise which I'm pretty sure is correct.

Any tips for this one?

If you've soaked the jam nut with liquid wrench for a good while and it still won't loosen, remove the bellow/boot around the ITR and see if you can loosen that. If the ITR will loosen, you can remove both the ITR/OTR together as one piece. At this point, if it still wont come apart, you can replace both ITR/OTR...I realize that it will be more parts & $$ but at least you'll have new parts to go with your new LBJ

 

[Supergleep]

Anyone know if the OEM Toyota LBJ's come with the 4 14mm bolts? If not, does anyone know the size and/or Toyota P/N for the OEM bolts? Thanks in advance.

 

[Padre]

I picked up an '01 last Friday and spent some time this week replacing the LBJs, outer and inner tie rod ends and brakes and rotors. I just wanted to say thanks for the great write up to make this job quite simple.

Couple of notes for amateur wrenches like myself.
-PB blaster! USE IT. Give it a good presoak the night before and those bolts will come off with ease.
-I ended up changing out my tie rod ends both inner and outer and I'm glad I did. I would have been disappointed if I would have not taken care of this while I was in there.

 

[Wjktdi]

Great write up, I'm going to do my 99 LTD this weekend and do brakes and shocks at the same time.

 

[O2RunnerSR5]

Awesome write up with great pics! Will be replacing all mine when I put my lift on within the next couple months. I'm in Hawaii, so I don't need to worry about the cold lol

 

[Algiers]

Thanks for there write up. This will be a huge help for me.

 

[XSquid]

Followed these directions and completed both sides in two hours. Great write up including socket sizes and torque specs.

 

[kurticus91]

Replaced my LBJ's a couple weeks ago while I did my OME lift. We didn't have a puller so we ended up using a pickle fork attached to an air tool. It destroyed the rubber boots between the tie rods and the LBJs but it worked great lmao. Oh well, I'm replacing my inner and outer tie rods this coming weekend anyway.

Great write up

 

[fasttoyo]

 

[SAYWHAT]

LBJ torque values

FSM page SS-35 states steering knuckle to LBJ bolts at 37 ft.lbs.. Read a post on this site stating Use a little Blue Loctite on the new mounting bolts and torque the four bolts to 59 ft.lbs. Quite a difference from a dry 37 ft.lbs. of torque to a lubed with locktite at 59 ft.lbs.. Which is correct ?

 

[hgarcia]

How many miles of recommended need to replace ball joints?

I have 206,000 in the 4Runner.

 

[mtbtim]

FSM page SS-35 states steering knuckle to LBJ bolts at 37 ft.lbs.. Read a post on this site stating Use a little Blue Loctite on the new mounting bolts and torque the four bolts to 59 ft.lbs. Quite a difference from a dry 37 ft.lbs. of torque to a lubed with locktite at 59 ft.lbs.. Which is correct ?

I'm aware of this discrepancy in the FSM because somebody asked me the same question on the video I made for replacing the LBJs. The page I referenced in my 2000 FSM stated the torque spec to be 59 ft-lbf. So, I Itorqued mine to 59 ft-lbf and I suggest you do the same. I did put blue loctite on the threads as well. It's not necessary but just a little extra insurance. If you look at the size of the LBJ bolts and compare them to torque specs for similar size bolts, 59 ft-lbf is reasonable. 37 ft-lbf seems a little light for that size of bolt and the application it's being used for. Having your LBJ bolts coming lose and falling out would be a bad thing. The FSM has lots of mistakes in it as you are finding out.

 

[mtbtim]

How many miles of recommended need to replace ball joints?

I have 206,000 in the 4Runner.

It seems there's a sort of consensus on this forum that they should be replaced at around 150,000. With that said, I replaced mine at around 135,000 and they looked perfect. Boots were intact and there was no play in either one. I'm guessing they could have went another 100,000 or more. But, like others, I bought into the fear of the possible LBJ failure and decided it was pretty cheap insurance since the damge that can occur if one fails can be fairly significant.

 

[Kbuch1]

Sitting at 206K myself, and my Camelback package with LBJs set to deliver Saturday morning. Doing it simply for the peace of mind!!