Ok, so my mechanic at 280,000 miles replaced my UBJ on both sides 96 4runner. They were the original Toyota UBJ. Here's the question. Because I am now suspicious of every mechanic, I examine everything. I looked at these UBJ that he removed. The BALL component on both sides, swiveled more easily than a new UBJ, no doubt there. My mechanic said that was abnormal, no good. HOWEVER, in moving the ball around, I could detect no popping or separation whatsoever of ball from socket; the ball was just moving around more freely than a new one. Does this mean they are good? Or Bad? Does the ball have to be separating from the socket for it to be bad? What are the criteria here? (However, when I did drive the car, it drove noticeably better and steering was tighter but WHY?)
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- Thread starter MattinLA
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pluton
Senior Member
The force you can apply to the ball joint in your hand--even if you have really big hands---is a tiny fraction of the forces the ball joint undergoes in actual service.
On my '97(125K miles) that I've had for a year, the right side UBJ blew it's bootie about six months ago, so they're both being replaced tomorrow, along with the steering rack.
You got twice the service out of yours.
How are your LBJs? If they're still the original ones, that'd be an item for the to-do list.
On my '97(125K miles) that I've had for a year, the right side UBJ blew it's bootie about six months ago, so they're both being replaced tomorrow, along with the steering rack.
You got twice the service out of yours.
How are your LBJs? If they're still the original ones, that'd be an item for the to-do list.
