On my way to an interview in my daily driver,......ball joint failure

[octanejunkie]

Did you notice that the link I posted is not camelback?

I did.

 

[Dezerts10]

for what its worth, its not a hard "fix" and I have all the 1996 suspension off my 1996 I will let go for cheap, throw me a few dollars for fuel and a little for time and its yours.

might be a good time [MENTION=95183]octanejunkie[/MENTION] to get the Cv's too? I can spend a lot of time doing this traveling around or meeting up because I need to get my 4runner back drivable by Monday so I can get it aligned and somewhat tested before my new years trip.

 

[kolelt]

So how fast were you driving ? Were these the "original" LBJ?

About 6 months ago or so. I got OEM LBJ. They ran me $80 per LBJ. I recently had to buy another OEM LBJ because I messed up the bushing . It was little over $100

 

[JohnOfTheJungle]

On the UBJ replacement mentioned above don’t forget to remove the circlip (do yourself a favor and spend $15 on a pair of circlip pliers).

Also try to get your hands on an impact wrench or breaker bar for using the UBJ press kit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BrianSD_42]

If you haven't yet filed an insurance claim DO IT NOW.

Most comprehensive policies cover this as long as you are on a legit road. I have heard of several folks here on T4R getting paid out $$$$$$ to repair a ball joint failure via their auto-insurance policy.

Do not assume you will be screwed, there could be a large payout.

lane:

 

[aontkos]

Sheesh, that's a bummer.

How the heck did you join back in March 2012 and not get the idea that replacing your LBJs is a good thing to do?! Live n' learn, I suppose. Good luck!

 

[AntleredRuin]

From what i've read and seen a few photos of worse damage God was indeed looking out for me, but I am still depressed that this happened.

Haha and I was just thinking that God could have chosen a less catastrophic way to let you know that that internship wasn't for you.

Listen better next time :behindsofa:


Seriously, though, Camelback Toyota usually has coupons going around for like 15% off or something like that. I was around $81 per LBJ after the coupon.
Maybe someone here has the most recent coupon code. The Tacoma forums have the codes around too sometimes.

 

[Airmapper]

Sucks man, hope it's not too much hassle getting back on all 4's.

And this is my monthly reminder to replace my LBJ's. They are in the garage, brand spanking new, in a box, and I'm driving around on some I'm sure have 250k on them....I'd say I like to live dangerously, but in reality I'm a procrastinator.

 

[octanejunkie]

Wonder if the OP is coming back :nerd:

 

[Kelevra]

Dang bro, so glad you weren't traveling at highway speeds with kids in the back. Sounds like it could've been hella worse, damage-wise. I just bought a pair of oem Toyota LBJ via ebay for under $200- as your post inspired me.

 

[RAD4Runner]

Glad you're OK. Yes, LBJ failure is not a surprise on 3rd-gens.
Strongly-recommend OEM.
Check prices on Toyota Parts Deal, quick shipping, great prices for OEM parts. And California-based:

 

[MSDOS401]

Bummer man, good thing it wasn't on the freeway at speed.

If you get all the parts, and can wait till the weekend, I can help you out

Thanks a bunch, but my brother wants to take a crack at this, if we get in over our heads ill keep you in mind.

 

[MSDOS401]

So how fast were you driving ? Were these the "original" LBJ?

About 6 months ago or so. I got OEM LBJ. They ran me $80 per LBJ. I recently had to buy another OEM LBJ because I messed up the bushing . It was little over $100

less than 20 mph, it was a residential area.

 

[nissanh]

See how much stress can be supported by the brake hose, it is stretched but no leaks.

 

[RonJR]

Stick a small prybar between it and the transfer case and slightly pry. It shouldn't take much pressure. I had to rotate the "tulip" until I found the sweet spot then it popped out. Just did it this last weekend-took 45 mins start to finish. Another way is to use a hammer and cord-tie the cord round "tulip" and hammer at other end and give it a swing away from vehicle-like a slide hammer but I never had luck this way with any of my vehicles. -J

Most cord is generally too stretchy, so the hammer just bounces. A couple of feet of light chain, 3/16" or so, works better. It'll pop right out.

 

[TonyB66]

Looks like Tacoma and other Toyota LBJs were a bit of rage a few years back:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/92427-ball-joints.html

Would be nice if there was better than stock replacement...

 

[RAD4Runner]

Hi guys,

May we ask those who have had ball-joint failures to post mileage when it happened on the "Official Ball-Joint Thread"?


Before the next serious accident caused by poor suspension design happens, I hope we can help 3rd-gen owners prevent one. It is very difficult to predict how soon to replace the LBJ because some cases show no sign of impending failure. However, if we can poll what are the various mileage when LBJ failures occurred, it would help owners make the decision.
Depending on how they use their trucks, their tolerance for risk and resources, some may decide to replace LBJ's at lowest recorded mileage, some may replace theirs at average recorded mileage, some later... At least there are some ball-park figures to go by. Better safe than sorry.

 

[firemanj92]

Most cord is generally too stretchy, so the hammer just bounces. A couple of feet of light chain, 3/16" or so, works better. It'll pop right out.

Yeah, I used the word "cord" as general term i.e. cable, cord, wire, rope, webbing, anything u can tie a loop with.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Hi guys,

May we ask those who have had ball-joint failures to post mileage when it happened on the "Official Ball-Joint Thread"?


Before the next serious accident caused by poor suspension design happens, I hope we can help 3rd-gen owners prevent one. It is very difficult to predict how soon to replace the LBJ because some cases show no sign of impending failure. However, if we can poll what are the various mileage when LBJ failures occurred, it would help owners make the decision.
Depending on how they use their trucks, their tolerance for risk and resources, some may decide to replace LBJ's at lowest recorded mileage, some may replace theirs at average recorded mileage, some later... At least there are some ball-park figures to go by. Better safe than sorry.

Theres a lot of info on lower ball joints on the forum. Most of the failures happen at lower speeds, just like this one. But most are on lifted trucks, unlike this one. I thought the factory recommendation was around 75k miles, but someone can clarify that.

You will see different opinions as to when they should be changed, and most will say it depends on how the truck is used and what has been done to the suspension. obviously lifted trucks carrying extra weight that see a lot of off road driving are putting much more stress on the lbjs. So those guys tend to change the lbjs much more frequently, from what I’ve seen at around 50k miles or less.

Theres no way to just put a number on it across the board. But all though this was a weak point in the front linkage design, failures on non-lifted trucks are non existent at under 75k miles, unless the truck has really been beat up off road. If someone has ever seen a failure before that mileage on a stock truck, I would like to hear about it. I don’t mean to sock the op in the gut here, but I would be willing to bet a lot of $$$ that he had WAY over 75k miles on those lbjs. And if you don’t do the factory recommended intervals, it’s pretty tough to blame the truck when that part breaks.

Bottom line, change them around 75k miles if the truck is stock (if that is the wrong mileage someone can correct me). And for the off roaders, there is no number. But typically guys lifting and spending a lot of time on the trails are ocd about maintenance and will inspect their suspension frequently, and change linkage parts often. I think most of the guys lifted would say agree you just have to smart about it, and change them at much shorter intervals to be safe

 

[JayRolla]

Theres a lot of info on lower ball joints on the forum. Most of the failures happen at lower speeds, just like this one. But most are on lifted trucks, unlike this one. I thought the factory recommendation was around 75k miles, but someone can clarify that.

You will see different opinions as to when they should be changed, and most will say it depends on how the truck is used and what has been done to the suspension. obviously lifted trucks carrying extra weight that see a lot of off road driving are putting much more stress on the lbjs. So those guys tend to change the lbjs much more frequently, from what I’ve seen at around 50k miles or less.

Theres no way to just put a number on it across the board. But all though this was a weak point in the front linkage design, failures on non-lifted trucks are non existent at under 75k miles, unless the truck has really been beat up off road. If someone has ever seen a failure before that mileage on a stock truck, I would like to hear about it. I don’t mean to sock the op in the gut here, but I would be willing to bet a lot of $$$ that he had WAY over 75k miles on those lbjs. And if you don’t do the factory recommended intervals, it’s pretty tough to blame the truck when that part breaks.

Bottom line, change them around 75k miles if the truck is stock (if that is the wrong mileage someone can correct me). And for the off roaders, there is no number. But typically guys lifting and spending a lot of time on the trails are ocd about maintenance and will inspect their suspension frequently, and change linkage parts often. I think most of the guys lifted would say agree you just have to smart about it, and change them at much shorter intervals to be safe

I agree with all this except I'll do mine around 100k miles. If you Google image LBJ failure you will find quite a bit stock failures. I believe most failures are on stock since way less lifted rigs on the road. We see more lifted failures here because we are on a forum dedicated more to modified vehicles.