I didn't let the OEM hype impact my purchase. I bought the Raybestos Professional Grade and I'm very happy with my purchase after comparing the two. Also, Didn't have the dough to spend on OEM tie rods so I bought Deeza instead. I should be getting those today so I will report back on the quality of those.
Quality Tie Rod LBJ Parts??
- Thread starter psraff
- Start date
I didn't let the OEM hype impact my purchase. I bought the Raybestos Professional Grade and I'm very happy with my purchase after comparing the two. Also, Didn't have the dough to spend on OEM tie rods so I bought Deeza instead. I should be getting those today so I will report back on the quality of those.
the great him
Elite Member
i use toyota simply for the fact that they designed the truck, they engineered it, they contracted out to someone to build a part specifically for this application, -different from a generic replacement part mind you. so im pretty sure they know best, and im sure they did not go with the lowest bidder either, they went with the best manufacture...
the other reason i use toyota is i get all my parts at cost, having a family member who has worked for toyota dealer, and been sent to japan for schools and training for the last 20+ years helps also. that being said there are some parts i will buy that are not OEM/from the dealer, but major steering or suspension work or safety parts are not one of those items.
also something to note here, every set of LBJs i have put on my truck(i know replace them every two years at least, might even go to every year idk we will see, so far done two sets) have not had the "555" stamp anywhere on them, and i looked. there are no markings, and they come sealed in a toyota parts bag with the part number and lot number... ect. i dont know who makes the part for toyota, and i do care.
and toyota has never issued a recall for LBJs on a 3rd gen 4runner that i know of, tundras and sequoias yeah but not 4runner.
the other reason i use toyota is i get all my parts at cost, having a family member who has worked for toyota dealer, and been sent to japan for schools and training for the last 20+ years helps also. that being said there are some parts i will buy that are not OEM/from the dealer, but major steering or suspension work or safety parts are not one of those items.
also something to note here, every set of LBJs i have put on my truck(i know replace them every two years at least, might even go to every year idk we will see, so far done two sets) have not had the "555" stamp anywhere on them, and i looked. there are no markings, and they come sealed in a toyota parts bag with the part number and lot number... ect. i dont know who makes the part for toyota, and i do care.
and toyota has never issued a recall for LBJs on a 3rd gen 4runner that i know of, tundras and sequoias yeah but not 4runner.
steezemcqueen
Moderator
Here is something to consider about the ITRE's.
I just replaced my steering rack with a remanned one which included new ITRE's. The ones that were installed on the new rack were a aftermarket brand.
When it came time to reattach the tie rods to the spindle, I could not get the TRE's to drop far enough to get the outer to bolt into the spindle. I took the ITRE's off and discovered that where it necks down was a lot thicker which means the joint itself had less range of motion than the stock one. My guess is that they made that part thicker because the material they used is not a strong as the OE material and they made up for it but thickening that part of the joint.
Now my truck is lifted and has a longer travel shocks up front with more droop. If your truck is stock, you may not have that problem. I ended up switching out the new ITRE's on the rack for my used OEM ones since they actually worked in my situation and were still tight.
Not saying this will happen to everyone but it definitely seems like the aftermarket manufacturer cut a corner while producing those. Just another reason to go OEM in my opinion.
I just replaced my steering rack with a remanned one which included new ITRE's. The ones that were installed on the new rack were a aftermarket brand.
When it came time to reattach the tie rods to the spindle, I could not get the TRE's to drop far enough to get the outer to bolt into the spindle. I took the ITRE's off and discovered that where it necks down was a lot thicker which means the joint itself had less range of motion than the stock one. My guess is that they made that part thicker because the material they used is not a strong as the OE material and they made up for it but thickening that part of the joint.
Now my truck is lifted and has a longer travel shocks up front with more droop. If your truck is stock, you may not have that problem. I ended up switching out the new ITRE's on the rack for my used OEM ones since they actually worked in my situation and were still tight.
Not saying this will happen to everyone but it definitely seems like the aftermarket manufacturer cut a corner while producing those. Just another reason to go OEM in my opinion.
Same for 2002
Recall Date:
MAY 17, 2005
Model Affected:
2001 TOYOTA 4RUNNER
Summary:
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, DUE TO A MANUFACTURING ISSUE IN THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE SURFACE OF THE BALL OF THE JOINT MAY HAVE BEEN SCRATCHED. THE BALL JOINT MAY EVENTUALLY EXPERIENCE EXCESSIVE WEAR AND LOOSENESS, RESULTING IN INCREASED STEERING EFFORT.
Consequence:
THE LOWER BALL JOINT MAY SEPARATE FROM THE KNUCKLE CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 5, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.
Potential Units Affected:
768379
Notes:
TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. 50J
Exactly, and maybe the OEM are the best, but how would you know when its all based on personal opinion and not facts - though this would be the first I've seen OEM better than a known quality aftermarket. I'm sure there are some junk aftermarket ones to. So yes OEM could be better than the cheapest junk out there. I know the cheap NAPA one I used didn't last but a month, so I upgrade to the life time ones, is it better? Its already lasted longer than the cheap napa one, is it better than OEM? I don't know, time will tell.
You need to know what your looking at and what your comparing to to put it into perspective. In my case, I used an after market one and it failed, so aftermarket is crap??? I don't think so, to put it into context I used the only one they had in stock and it so happen to be the cheapest version they had, one would think you would get more than a month from even the cheapest so maybe it was defective from the get go - don't know never tried the same again.
the great him
Elite Member
on year... thats all that was affected. no other 4runners were affected, but yet they all have the same joint... do you see my point here, that is not a true recal, it only applyed to 4runners still on the factory joints, they changed them out for the current ball joint available today at any dealer(the same ball joint available sense day one). notice the words used, "possibility", "may", "may", "may".... this is not a known failure point, yes it has happened and to avoid any further liability they issued a recall for one year, the only year to have any shred of evidence that their "may" be an issue...
where is your proof that after market ball joints are better than factory units? and that they dont have the same possibilities as the factory ones?
bottom line here is there is none at this point, but most people will agree that for the most part the factory knows best, they designed the trucks they do the testing ect, if they find a fault(btw this recal was only the result of a law suite, not a faulty part that was to be an issue, it was a manufacturing defect in a small run, not proven to be the cause like other recall -ie the 3.0 head gasket issue, or rear spring sag and bump stops) toyota voluntarily recalled this part and was not forced to do so. this issue was an isolated issue for the 4runners under normal service durations
ball joints are not life time parts, they should be replaced/changed periodically and inspected regularly. the problem is most people ignore that and just run them with no regards to service intervals, after all its not like an oil change or tune up... then the failure happens, its also a part not designed for the heavier loads and usage put on it like some of use who wheel our trucks do, so we should be changing them even more often than most do. tires wear out, so why arent people suing or demanding recalls when the factory tires wear out and pop when goind down the road? because they need to be changed after so much use, its simple, its not a life time part, nothing is other than maybe a body panel.
you find me on shred of evidence that an aftermarket lower ball joint is better engineered or manufactured than the stock OEM one and ill start looking at aftermarket parts untill then im gonna stick with the factory part that has been proven time and time again to work just fine if properly take care of and changed when it should be.
Thats my whole point, there is no evidence either way! I'm just trying to come up with the facts showing for or against, I don't care which way it goes. I don't want to be paying 100 bucks for a ball joint when it might be indeed the same as a 26 dollar ball joint. You can rest assured toyota didn't make the ball joints and than same manufacture is reselling it aftermarket.
the great him
Elite Member
ok so this goes along perfectly with that im trying to say...
we know that for the vast majority of 4runners out there, that the lower ball joints have served just fine and not had issues(while yes this forum has a lot of owners on here that are active with their vehicles, we dont hold a candle to all the owners out there all over the planet). so you and several others have bought after market LBJs, -various brands, cause lets face it, im sure there are at least a half dozen different LBJs for our 3rd gens out on the market right now.... so with the the vast choice in after market units being avalible and occationally someone decides to get one, and use it, then they come back and say it only lasted a month, or 6 months or even a year, that isnt inspiring much confidence in anyone on that part, -and we all know that 95% of parts houses dont manufacture their own parts, so who does!?!?!, no one knows, so just cause you bought that one at napa, does that mean that the same one wont be available at o'rileys or advanced auto parts...? nope infact the chances are good that they could be made by the same company.
we all know that the toyota ones have lasted at least 4 years, and more like 10 for most people -some even longer, so why not go with the part that has proven itself as the long standing quality part. thats just my theory here, and i think its shared by most others as well.
im glad for the new comers to come here and challenge our thinking, cause there are new parts that are made all the time, and yeah im all for a stronger better made part, and as soon as one becomes available then i will jump to that(with in price reason). -look at the CV axle issue, for the longest time the toyota OEM CV was the strongest you could get, then, the company who makes napas max drive units was found to be the same co who makes the CVs for toyota... but then they started using remans as well after time. -the toyota OEM ones are still new, not remand btw. but now there is RCV, and lotus development out there making stronger and better CVs, people challenging manufactures is what its all about.
the great him
Elite Member
yeah but the $26 ball joint is not the same unit as the OEM one. i get my ball joints at toyota cost plus 12%(?), thats dealer cost $86 for them, i can assure you that the manufacture for toyota sells to toyota(its largest purchaser for that part) at a discounted rate compared to other distributers. corporations like toyota have contracts and go for the lowest cost and will penalize a company or other manufacture for selling the same product to other vendors, if not out right baring it. thats how business go, its how they keep supply and demand.
sure there might be other LBJs out there that are basically the same, and same quality, but until someone has proof or documentation that that is the case, i dont think the risk is worth saving a few bucks, as far as my or my familys, or even the general publics safety is concerned.
I didn't get 4 years on my OEM ball Joint, just over a year. I'm not impressed with them at all, I was surprised how lose it was, not far from being a complete failure. Thus my search to see whats what.
