Prematurely worn LBJ

mountainbiker42

mountainbiker42

New member
I installed new right and left OEM lower ball joints 2 years ago. I have approx. 25k miles on them and both sides are loose. The boots are not torn but there is certainly play in the lower ball joints. I called the stealership and they refused to extend the warrantly on the part even though they agreed with me they should have lasted much longer. I drive on the occassional gravel road and go to an off road a few times a year. I'm cautious and easy on things however. Being that both sides failed it's hard to imagine it was a defective part. I'm stumped.

Anyone ever had a ball joint fail so quickly? I have stock suspension up front.

Thanks in advance
 
Register to hide this ad
Man, all this talk about BJs, premature, and balls! This is a family forum man!

All jokes aside, that seems WAY too early to have a ball joint fail!!!
 
Premature for sure.

Make a little more noise with the dealership. The squeaky wheel gets the gets the grease and the noisy customer gets the free repair.
 
Maybe some other suspension component(s) of yours is worn and is causing the LBJ's to fail quicker than normal.

I'm not sure exactly how but they should definitely last longer than two years.

My two original LBJ's had 210k miles on them and had zero play and zero signs of imminent failure. I of course replaced them anyways but the replacement OEM ones are holding up just fine about 18 months later.
 
Yeah I'm completely stumped. Maybe something is causing added stress on the LBJ but I cant imagine what it would be. I can try making some more noise with Toyota but I doubt they'll warranty two lower joints. They'll think it's my fault not theirs they failed so quickly.
 
mountainbiker42 said:
I can try making some more noise with Toyota but I doubt they'll warranty two lower joints. They'll think it's my fault not theirs they failed so quickly.
Click to expand...

Sometimes it's not about debating fault. Sometimes it's not worth their time to listen and deal with an angry customer day after day after day. :loco:
 
The dealership will usually deny warranty if they did not do the work.

I also had an OEM UBJ loosen in about the same amount of time.

Are you still running stock front coils? Any front lift spacers installed?
 
thanks for all the replies,

I did the work myself and followed the service manual from Toyota. I used new bolts as well. Bilstien 4600 have about 30k on them. I think the LC bushings are good and tight but have not confirmed this.

I got to thinking and remembered that I replaced all inner/outer tie rod ends and then got an alignment after the repair work. Soon after I discovered the orignal lower ball joints were loose and I replaced them. I think the aligment was done with worn LBJ because when I installed the new ones my caster/camber was off. You could stand in front of the vehicle and see it wasn't right. I didn't care though because it drove straight and I wanted to wear out my tires ASAP to get mud terrains. Maybe this caused both new ball joints to quickly fail. At the time I sure didn't think anything of it.
 
mountainbiker42 said:
thanks for all the replies,

I did the work myself and followed the service manual from Toyota. I used new bolts as well. Bilstien 4600 have about 30k on them. I think the LC bushings are good and tight but have not confirmed this.

I got to thinking and remembered that I replaced all inner/outer tie rod ends and then got an alignment after the repair work. Soon after I discovered the orignal lower ball joints were loose and I replaced them. I think the aligment was done with worn LBJ because when I installed the new ones my caster/camber was off. You could stand in front of the vehicle and see it wasn't right. I didn't care though because it drove straight and I wanted to wear out my tires ASAP to get mud terrains. Maybe this caused both new ball joints to quickly fail. At the time I sure didn't think anything of it.
Click to expand...

Did you torque the 4 bolts with the tire in the air or on the ground?
 
I have seen where undertorqued LBJs (not on a 4runner) get sloppy over time, or have their life cut short by such.

If the camber/caster was off for some time, then sure, premature wear is possible. If it is from such, call it a $200 lesson learned.
 
Can you post a picture or two of the lower ball joint? Did the dealership sell you some 555's as OEM in an OEM packet? or did they get it from a 3rd party supplier?
 
Scramble said:
What I've read here on this site is to tighten by hand (ratchet), put the truck back on the ground & torque with the weight on them. That's how I did mine 3 years ago.
Click to expand...

Don't do that! Torque with the wheels up (unloaded). When you torque while the joint is loaded, that affects the actual torque that is "seen" by the bolt resulting in an under-torque value. Remember, these bolts are under tension forces. No where in the service manual does it say to torque with the wheel lowered.
 
nissanh said:
Can you post a picture or two of the lower ball joint? Did the dealership sell you some 555's as OEM in an OEM packet? or did they get it from a 3rd party supplier?
Click to expand...

Am I looking for a casting number or something? No clue what a 555 is. It came in an OEM package @ $145 each.
 
nobb said:
Don't do that! Torque with the wheels up (unloaded). When you torque while the joint is loaded, that affects the actual torque that is "seen" by the bolt resulting in an under-torque value. Remember, these bolts are under tension forces. No where in the service manual does it say to torque with the wheel lowered.
Click to expand...

I agree it should be tightened with no load on the joint. I'm sure lots of people feel differently but if it works for them then good deal, everyone wins.

Why is everyone so concerned with replacing these ball joints immedietly? Once they develop a small amount of play are they prone to breaking sooner than other ball joint designs? In my experience a worn ball joint can have a decent amount of play before it gets really serious. Not to say it shouldn't be replaced immedietly but it seems like a very severe situation on this forum. If that makes any sense.
 
mountainbiker42 said:
I agree it should be tightened with no load on the joint. I'm sure lots of people feel differently but if it works for them then good deal, everyone wins.

Why is everyone so concerned with replacing these ball joints immedietly? Once they develop a small amount of play are they prone to breaking sooner than other ball joint designs? In my experience a worn ball joint can have a decent amount of play before it gets really serious. Not to say it shouldn't be replaced immedietly but it seems like a very severe situation on this forum. If that makes any sense.
Click to expand...

Go to google. Type "lower ball joint failure". Do not type anything else. I bet 98% of the first few pages will all be Toyota or Lexus vehicles. I bet money my 4runner will be on the first page also.

My 4runner had zero play with a crow bar test. I installed front 3" lift spacers and ball joint failed few months later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 221 (members: 1, guests: 220)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,309
Messages
3,554,071
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top