Official Lower Ball Joint Write Up Thread

[mtbtim]

Have you guys looked at them? It is possible to drill, tap the oem ones for zurk fittings?


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I still had the ball joints and I cut the boot off of one of them and took some pics. I don't think you need to have a zerk fitting for these. At 140,000 miles, my boots were still intact, and because of that, there was plenty of grease in there. I took a picture of the cut off boot with grease in it and I wiped off a larger amount of grease from the balljoint itself so I could take pictures of it. Unless your boot springs a leak, you're probably good on grease. And, if you do spring a leak, that's a chance contaminants can get in there and prematurely wear it out, so you should just replace the balljoint when that happens anyway.

I would be concerned that drilling into the balljoint will leave metal fragments and then cause damage. Also, if you're not extremely careful, you'll drill right into the ball itself. My two cents.

 

[feta]

Thanks for the thread and video.

Just did this, very simple if you pay attention to the video.

1-Get the exact pullers in the video....no questions asked, just do it. I got a loaner pack from advanced auto parts for free. Don't waste your time on the adjustable pullers that will break and/or mess up your rubber boots on the OTRE's. Ask me how I know. OTRE's are easy to replace also, you just need two adjustable wrenches.

2-Get a good impact gun, especially if you have to deal with rust. You need one anyway. For stuck cotter pins (rust), you can just shear them off after you break whatever is present off.

 

[trap-alaska]

Following for future reference, I'll be doing this soon.

 

[BoomSticks]

Related: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/223880-another-one-bites-dust-lbj-failure.html

 

[sakoluvr]

Do the OTRE wear to the point of replacement with high mileage? I am going to do my LBJ's but thought about doing a few other things while the vehicle is out of service. Never did suspension work before.

How about bushings? Where should they be replaced? Polyurethane after market? Thanks for any advice. Thank You.

 

[shootmymime]

Do the OTRE wear to the point of replacement with high mileage? I am going to do my LBJ's but thought about doing a few other things while the vehicle is out of service. Never did suspension work before.



How about bushings? Where should they be replaced? Polyurethane after market? Thanks for any advice. Thank You.

Check for play. Jack the front end up. One or both tires. Place your hands on the wheels at 3 & 9 and rock back and forth. Watch for any movement or play as to where it may come from.

Inner tie rods, Outer tie rods or steering rack bushings could be possibilities depending on where the slop is.


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[sakoluvr]

Gotcha.

 

[sakoluvr]

Has anyone just removed the ITR and then the LBJ bolts and replaced the whole shooting match in one swoop? Seems like that would be pretty easy to do for a full service maintenance.

 

[BoomSticks]

Has anyone just removed the ITR and then the LBJ bolts and replaced the whole shooting match in one swoop? Seems like that would be pretty easy to do for a full service maintenance.

To get the tool on the ITR, the OTR has to be removed.

OEM/Inner tie rod tool kit 27185- ReadReviews onOEM #27185

 

[sakoluvr]

Ah ha. Thanks. I am going to do the OTR when I do the LBJ anyway since it's apart. I think they run about 40 bucks each. It will be a good time to inspect inside the steering rack boot and see if the rack is leaking.

 

[shootmymime]

For tie rods. Aftermarket parts are fine.


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[2001poorboy4runner]

Great thread helped me figure out many front end questions i had.

 

[alpine]

Ever find out anything more about these?

Did put those lbj dust covers on a year ago.
Cant confirm any impact on the life of the dam thing, but they look pretty useless if you ask me.
Up side, definitely gives some extra protection to the boot.
Down side, you cant see it, therefore check it like you could before.

 

[animator]

Just did my passenger side, but am running out of daylight to do the driver side, so it will wait until next weekend.

But in doing this, there's a thing or two I've come across that I've seen touched on here and there, but never seen anything definitive either way. Searching hasn't gotten me what I'm looking for, so maybe my search-fu is not quite where it needs to be.

Regardless, the truck is a stock 2002 4runner 4wd with only a handful of wheeling trips. The LBJs were replaced under recall in 2002 or 2003. They have not been touched until today. They have roughly 210k highway-driven miles on them, and they show 0 signs of play. In fact, they're almost as tight as the new OEMs I bought to replace them with.

I bought new bolts using part numbers I've found here, and seen posted elsewhere. The bolts that came are a flange-style bolt. The bolts I removed were a bit longer and had a washer. I've read that either are acceptable. Is this confirmed?

I also see two different torque specs listed. 37ft/lbs and 59ft/lbs. My digital FSM shows 37ft/lbs. I've seen other manuals call for 59ft/lbs.

I've seen it call for 37 ft/lbs on LBJs with the lower dust cover/protector and 59 ft/lbs without. And I've seen people say 59 ft/lbs regardless. Mine has the lower dust cover which I have reused. Am I correct that these bolts should only be torqued on at 37 ft/lbs? I currently have them at 59 ft/lbs with blue locktite, and am second-guessing myself on this, and do not want these bolts to shear off or cause damage to the knuckle.

Unfortunately, I used an impact to remove the previous ones, so I do not know how tight they were on, but they zipped right off with the impact.

So which is it? 37 or 59 ft/lbs when using the dust cover on a 2002 4runner 4wd using flange bolts on an OEM LBJ?

 

[shootmymime]

So which is it? 37 or 59 ft/lbs when using the dust cover on a 2002 4runner 4wd using flange bolts on an OEM LBJ?

I would say this. Use locktite. Torque to 59.
My thoughts on this is that yielding a 10mm requires more torque than 59 ft lbs.
you also don't want these bolts to back out thus the use of locktite and the higher torque spec.




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[animator]

I would say this. Use locktite. Torque to 59.
My thoughts on this is that yielding a 10mm requires more torque than 59 ft lbs.
you also don't want these bolts to back out thus the use of locktite and the higher torque spec.




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That's where I'm at right now, so I guess we'll see what happens


My thoughts on it were that either the manual was wrong (it happens), it was revised to 59 ft/lbs at some point and old versions are still out there being quoted, or the reason for 37 is because 59 had the potential to tear the dust boot when installing. Can't confirm anything 100% though, thus my questioning.

 

[shootmymime]

That's where I'm at right now, so I guess we'll see what happens





My thoughts on it were that either the manual was wrong (it happens), it was revised to 59 ft/lbs at some point and old versions are still out there being quoted, or the reason for 37 is because 59 had the potential to tear the dust boot when installing. Can't confirm anything 100% though, thus my questioning.

Are you talking about the rubber dust boot or the rock guard that some vehicles have that protect the rubber from abrasion from debris.


If it's just the rubber grease dust cover boot then I would think there is little to no affect on the 4 torque bolts vs the dust boot. Over tightening should not affect the other.


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[animator]

Are you talking about the rubber dust boot or the rock guard that some vehicles have that protect the rubber from abrasion from debris.


If it's just the rubber grease dust cover boot then I would think there is little to no affect on the 4 torque bolts vs the dust boot. Over tightening should not affect the other.


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I'm talking about the little dust cover that is a separate piece. It shares two of the 4 bolt holes for the 4 bolts holding the joint to the knuckle.

 

[shootmymime]

I'm talking about the little dust cover that is a separate piece. It shares two of the 4 bolt holes for the 4 bolts holding the joint to the knuckle.

That I have no idea because I've never personally seen one in person but only in pictures.


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[flyfishinguy]

204xxx on originals, definitely next thing on the to do list