POLL: When Did Your 3rd-Gen 4Runner or 1st Gene Taco Lower Ball-Joint Fail?

[RAD4Runner]

The Official Lower Ball Joint Write Up Thread (HERE) discusses LBJ failure and replacement.

Why it happens only to above^^ generation and not the others is explained here.

We could inspect but sometimes that would not reveal impending failure, as in the case of my friend's 1999 4Runner.

Another option is to replace regularly, but Toyota has not come up with a recommended replacement frequency. I hope that those who had experienced failure with OEM LBJ's on stock suspension that were not heavily off-roaded could complete this poll to help others. Upon seeing results, fellow owners can decide how often to replace their LBJ's

IF your OEM LBJ's that have not been heavily off-roaded failed, AFTER how many miles did it fail?

 

[gamefreakgc]

I replaced mine at 200k but just for precaution, not because of failure. My rig was rarely off-roaded so I suppose they had a lot more life in them. There was no play.

 

[JMat]

Replaced mine at 330k... No noticeable play, just heard about the issue and wanted to be safe.

 

[JohnMc]

Preemptively replaced both of them at 175K. Better safe than sorry. Not a lot of offroading before then.

Now I'm closing in on 230K, have done a fair amount of off roading, and when the front end comes apart for a rebuild (it needs a new diff to match the rear axle ratio, and an OTRE, and driver's side LCA bushings) I'm going to put it back together with new OEM LBJ's again.

They're not cheap, but it's worth it. It's one of the few weak points on a 3rd gen. frankly, if the rest of the truck didn't last so long, it wouldn't be as big of an issue.

 

[jonesfromindia]

I just did upper and lower BJs as preventative. with the 555 brand off low range.

I off road mine hard so far no complaints.

 

[HispanicThunder]

Replaced my LBJs at 220k as a preventative with Moog parts, but the passenger side failed at 4k due to a torn boot which caused the steering to stiffen up to the point where the steering wheel refuses to recenter itself unless I physically force it. I replaced both sides with 555 brand afterward and they have around 45k on them and everything still feels good and solid, but I should mention that I barely offroad.

 

[ivopivo]

Replaced mine at 265k as preventative maint after hearing about the issue here and as prep for an offroad trip to Colorado. I bought the truck at 254k and the previous owner said he regularly went offroad in Arizona. However I don't think he did anything hardcore, rather typical mountain trails/gravel, no big rocks etc like I did in Colorado.

As others have said I plan to replace mine every so often, mainly depending how much I go offroad and how much it gets used. It may be every 20-40k if I'm going offroad a lot or every 60-80k if mainly street driven/light camping trips. Either way I'd say it will be at least 3-5 years between balljoint replacement for me.

 

[SilverRidgeRunner1]

My driver side failed because of a instant flat tire at 50 mph on the interstate piece of metal ripped the side wall of my tire causing a interesting ride .... Passenger side are factory without sign of problems.

 

[Hepar]

I have zero data/research to back it up, but I believe that lifting these 20+ year old rigs shortens the life of the existing boots. Thus making it more prone to failure at some point.

 

[Scoop'02]

Looks like LBJs on my '02 were replaced at 44k under recall.
I currently have 144k, daily driver, no offroading...

 

[96RedRunner]

No failures on either.
96Red 349,973 mi, changed when they got to outer limit of service spec. OEM used
SS1.2 F 3" R 4" lift at 241,000 mi with limit straps set to movement range of LBJ.
No extreme offroading DD 70% O/R 30%.

01 bought 2-17 198k mi, DD for PO, changed just because, OEM during the 200k mi refurb.
OME 3" lift 881's and 890's, DD for now.

 

[JayRolla]

You missed the 200-250k mark. I cant vote. Mine failed at around 230k.

 

[4-Ripcord]

Another valid poll would be if it was the actual ball joint or the bolts...

Seems to be a pretty even split between them over the years.

 

[spartacus]

Avoided failure because of the warning and concerns on this forum.Have been replacing them at 100k mile intervals out of abundance of caution even though old ones seem to be in good shape without play.

 

[96RedRunner]

[MENTION=57546]4-Ripcord[/MENTION], good point.

!!!! POST HOW LBJ FAILED !!!!

 

[infamousRNR]

Looks like LBJs on my '02 were replaced at 44k under recall.
I currently have 144k, daily driver, no offroading...

What site did you go to when checking this info? I called a dealer once but this looks easier!

Btw, does anyone know if dealerships will still honor this recall if their records show it hasn’t been done?

 

[Kanoe]

Mine had detectable play at 125,000 Canadian Km using the FSM method of testing. Under 100,000 miles.

Who knows when they would have failed but they got changed at 125,000Km. 2013 - 1996 makes 17ish years on the OEMs.

 

[trackntrail]

Replaced mine at 207k. My truck had never before been off-road and the stock LBJs had almost no play in them.

 

[marthe4runnerguy]

Replaced mine at 207k. My truck had never before been off-road and the stock LBJs had almost no play in them.

any noticeable difference in how it rides? mine has 260k, daily driver and I never offroad and I'm bout to do the timing belt which is important but I'm torn between waiting to do the ball joints because my dad has 550,000 on his 3rd gen's original ball joints and I'm on a tight budget,

 

[gamefreakgc]

Looks like for most, 250k-300k was the turning point. In all honestly, by that point I'd expect SOMETHING to fail by then so if this is all we have to worry about, it's not too bad. From what I see, it usually happens during hard turns at low speeds too, except for the one dude who had it fail because of a flat. That sounds pretty scary.