Need some help from other 3rd gen owners

mjhynds

mjhynds

New member
Hi guys,

I recently had an lbj failure on my '00 runner which had me skidding to a stop in them middle of the street on nothing but the side of my tire. Tore out the ubj as well as axel and the other normal problems experienced. These ball joints were Moog and were just purchased in November of '15, so they had not been on even 7 months. there are obvious signs that show it was a lbj failure. i also replaced inner/ outer tie rods at the same time as the lbj. I have contacted Moog who told me to contact rock auto. this has been just a run around as they now just want me to submit a claim online.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with such a problem and how it was resolved. I am tempted to get a donor car since my '00 and '02 4 runner both need parts cosmetically as well as random other parts needed. I have attached a picture of the damage here as well.

Thanks!
 

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I installed Moog upper and lower control arm bushings less than 10k miles ago and now they are totally shot and need to be replaced soon with Toyota oem, like I should have done in the first place. My advice is to replace your Moogs with Toyota OEM. If you are lucky you will get a refund from CockAuto, but don't hold your breath.:bash:
 
Man, that really sucks, sorry you ended up in here.

First things I would do, if you're trying to get compensation, is take lots of photos, get a copy of the police report, get an estimate from a shop, then hire a lawyer. In fact, hire the lawyer first and ignore my advice.

If you decide to cut your losses, which is what I would probably do, I would just hit up a yard and get the upper and lower arms and axle and spindle, then get all new OEM ends and joints and basically any wear part and start working.

Also, if you put a Moog in the other side, replace the hell out of it with a new OEM LBJ.

Good luck man.
 
I put the rock auto lbjs on too and then the boot split within a year and 15000kms. I bought new toyota lbjs to replace them and when I pulled the moog ones they were toast already. Garbage. Looks like that "deal" isn't so great a deal when you wind up buying the factory ones in addition to the cheap ones!

Good luck on your repairs!
 
Glad your okay and glad the truck isnt totaled. Toyota OEM ONLY on the LBJ's and UBJ's every aftermarket company is literal shit. dont waste any more time with them. One thing you will learn here is we are very good voices for OEM quality on alot of stuff and can help tell you when to shy from factory because of the prices, I think you can get LBJ's from Camelback toyota for about 88 bucks each with free shipping. they are a great online discounter for factory parts and are a toyota dealer so they are legit
 
Thanks guys,

I did read about the problems with LBJ on the 4runner before replacing mine. I figured that at 200k i could get by with Moog without having any problem. My biggest problem with the whole thing is that it is such a vital part and failed. If a company is not able to build a part that is sufficient for normal wear and tear even for 7 months then they should not be releasing it. i did spend a little extra to get Moog because they have better ratings than other bargain brands. If this was something that would not cause a major crash then fine, make a crappy 02 sensor or something thats fine, but this failed at about 20 MPH in the middle of a busy road, luckily no one was injured, which would have happened if i had gotten up to the speed limit (50MPH).
 
Another question i have for you guys is if i get ball joints that were replaced as part of the 01-02 recall, will the fit my '00. I will look around to find an answer but if someone has a quick explanation it would be great!
 
First of all, glad everyone is safe. That is ALL that matters!! If your truck is not modified you should be OK. If you've done anything to the front end at all you might run into problems. Factory parts, OEM or not are designed for an unmodified vehicle. The fact that you installed them rather than a dealer/authorized shop might also be a factor. Let us know how it turns out.
 
Can you comment on if the Moog part had Moog stamping on it or if it was just a reboxed Sankei 555 part (with the 555 stamping)? My experience with the Moog LBJ was that they are just rebranded 555.

Fact of the matter is, Toyota came up with a junk LBJ design. Although the OEM joint is sturdy, aftermarket manufacturers such as Moog may not necessarily have the same design requirements as engineered by the OEM and therefore their aftermarket designs don't follow the same rigorous design requirements.

I actually found one of the Moog head engineer's contact through LinkedIn a while ago and brought up my concern to him directly with these LBJs and their design. He did seem very knowledgeable and said his team was looking into it. Whether anything comes out of it, who knows. I don't want to share his contact publicly, but if you want to PM me, I can provide his info so you can share your failure example directly because it is a serious safety problem.
 
This just happened to a guy in our local club. His broke with less than 10,000 miles on them and in the middle of a trail. I also just replaced my LBJ's with moog and now I am worried that I will need to get new ones just to be safe
 
nobb said:
Can you comment on if the Moog part had Moog stamping on it or if it was just a reboxed Sankei 555 part (with the 555 stamping)? My experience with the Moog LBJ was that they are just rebranded 555.

Fact of the matter is, Toyota came up with a junk LBJ design. Although the OEM joint is sturdy, aftermarket manufacturers such as Moog may not necessarily have the same design requirements as engineered by the OEM and therefore their aftermarket designs don't follow the same rigorous design requirements.

I actually found one of the Moog head engineer's contact through LinkedIn a while ago and brought up my concern to him directly with these LBJs and their design. He did seem very knowledgeable and said his team was looking into it. Whether anything comes out of it, who knows. I don't want to share his contact publicly, but if you want to PM me, I can provide his info so you can share your failure example directly because it is a serious safety problem.
Click to expand...

Nobb,
Thanks for the reply. You are one step ahead of me. I was about to go to linkedin and find someone who would be able to help me out. It is a serious issue that needs to be acted on for safety. I will shoot you over a PM to get his contact info.
 
Here are some better pictures of the failed LBJ
 

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nobb said:
Can you comment on if the Moog part had Moog stamping on it or if it was just a reboxed Sankei 555 part (with the 555 stamping)? My experience with the Moog LBJ was that they are just rebranded 555.
Click to expand...

I've seen this too, on ballpoints for my old '86. Moog box, 555 stamp. Makes me wonder if they're actually rebranded or just reused castings.
 
Just saw this...

mjhynds said:
Hi guys,

I recently had an lbj failure on my '00 runner which had me skidding to a stop in them middle of the street on nothing but the side of my tire. Tore out the ubj as well as axel and the other normal problems experienced. These ball joints were Moog and were just purchased in November of '15, so they had not been on even 7 months. there are obvious signs that show it was a lbj failure. i also replaced inner/ outer tie rods at the same time as the lbj. I have contacted Moog who told me to contact rock auto. this has been just a run around as they now just want me to submit a claim online.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with such a problem and how it was resolved. I am tempted to get a donor car since my '00 and '02 4 runner both need parts cosmetically as well as random other parts needed. I have attached a picture of the damage here as well.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

http://fme-cat.com/LiveDocs/MOOG_PS_Bulletin_27028_R_Elliptical_ball_joints_En.pdf
 
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