Moog LCA ball joint opinions

M

mracko

New member
I am in the process of doing a Bilstein 5100, FJ Cruiser Coils all around with a Toytec 1/2" spacer in front on a 2004 T4R 4WD V8 that has 134K miles. This is a new to me vehicle that I just bought and while it is in good clean shape, I am finding out that general maintenance/replacement was lacking. This is one of the reasons I am taking the opportunity to upgrade the suspension with a lift.

Unfortunately, in loosening bolts on the LCA I slightly melted one of the lower ball joint dust caps. The joints are most likely original and while I can just replace the dust caps with OEM #4334569025, I am thinking of just replacing the the ball joints with Moog #500017 while I am in there, so I don't have to worry about them. Is it worth it or do Moog's just fail in a short amount of time? Do they fit tightly? Is it better to just replace the dust caps and save up money for new OEM LCA's for sometime down the road?

Thanks,
Mike
 
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I'm not sure what ball joints these LCAs came with. I bought mevotech LCAs on eBay and yes the lower ball joint boots are shot after 30k
 
I did the raybestos LCA's that I got from Rock Auto. Great deal and quality part. New bushings and ball joint in place ready to go.
 
Thanks for the information. I am leaning toward just replacing the dust covers for now, but I will take a closer look at the condition of the joints. I hate to get it together only to have to do the joints within 10K miles. As much as I would love to upgrade the LCA's I just don't have the cash for that now.

What worries me about aftermarket parts is whether it is a tight fit our not. I have already been bitten once on an aftermarket differential oil seal leak. Fortunately, it was on the dealerships tab, but it was an inconvenience for me.
 
I pressed in new Moog greasable ball joints. About 6k on them so far and all is good. Obviously that's not a lot of mileage though!
 
I see NAPA has greasable joints (NCP 2601746) for $38 each and limited life time warranty. I checked out Rock Auto and ACDELCO Part # 45D2426 and RAYBESTOS Part # 5051435 look to be the same exact part as NAPA or they all use the same stock image. Anyway, their professional grade has a 24 month/24K mile warranty

HokieRunner said:
I pressed in new Moog greasable ball joints. About 6k on them so far and all is good. Obviously that's not a lot of mileage though!
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HokieRunner, How was it doing that job? Did you do it with the LCA still connected?
 
mracko said:
I see NAPA has greasable joints (NCP 2601746) for $38 each and limited life time warranty. I checked out Rock Auto and ACDELCO Part # 45D2426 and RAYBESTOS Part # 5051435 look to be the same exact part as NAPA or they all use the same stock image. Anyway, their professional grade has a 24 month/24K mile warranty



HokieRunner, How was it doing that job? Did you do it with the LCA still connected?
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It really wasn't too tough a job. Just unbolted the spindle from the LCA and went to town. Since you have an impact it shouldn't be a problem but I actually broke loose all the bolts before lifting the truck up. Other than that - get the larger ball joint press kit (20+ pieces), and get ready for a workout. Long breaker bar and a little penetrating oil will ease the process.

I may have gone with a different brand had it not been a last minute install. But no complaints so far and it has the greasable zerk.
 
I'm going to tackle this job with winter coming. So have we decided that the ones available at the auto parts store are of good quality? For $45 bucks each they should be made of 14k gold.

And this IS doable in the driveway? Or is it a must to rent tools?
 
WXman said:
I'm going to tackle this job with winter coming. So have we decided that the ones available at the auto parts store are of good quality? For $45 bucks each they should be made of 14k gold.

And this IS doable in the driveway? Or is it a must to rent tools?
Click to expand...


I'd be interested to hear long term feedback on the aftermarket joints as well. The moog joints were going to be my go-to until I saw mracko's post about the NAPA part... Definitely liking the sound of that lifetime warranty.
 
WXman said:
I'm going to tackle this job with winter coming. So have we decided that the ones available at the auto parts store are of good quality? For $45 bucks each they should be made of 14k gold.

And this IS doable in the driveway? Or is it a must to rent tools?
Click to expand...

It's doable in the driveway. But make sure grab the big balljoint kit from the parts store.
 
OK thanks. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll probably get the joint from NAPA for the warranty, though I typically do not like the quality of NAPA parts.
 
Found this thread while searching about LBJ's, wanted to link it to this other thread I posted in - it contains a link to a DIY for the LBJ - as well as more applicable information.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/148183-recommended-lbj-ubj-replacement.html

Plus I have a question in that one about LBJ failures on 4th gens. I can't find any pictures of 4th gen failures. I can get the Moog's for $25 each, so it's tempting, but I don't wanna roll with my 3 year old in the car.
 
I had torn boots on mine and the bushings were badly cracked also...so I bought a set of LCA with joints from pep boys (prosteer), they came in Prosteer boxes but with raybestos part numbers on the bags. After the swap I drove to Colorado and back (some mild to moderate wheeling) and by time I returned home 2700 miles in all the pass side boot was torn and the drivers side was all cracked.

Just my 2¢
 
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