Saw this today...

kolelt said:
Right.... Mr. Comedian here
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Well, I'm just saying. I agree that the LBJ is probably the weakest link of the 4runner's overall design, but it's still a part that typically lasts longer than the entire lifetime of most modern cars.

You can't rag on Toyota for their part's "premature/catastrophic failure" after being put under a different set of circumstances than it was ultimately designed for.

The 3rd gen is arguably "over engineered" in stock form. If all I have to do is be a bit more vigilant of this one aspect of the vehicle because I chose to upset the design specifications, then that's on me, not on Toyota.

This to me is the same as someone with a "tuner" car complaining that his "hellaflush" stance is prematurely wearing the inner edge of his tires.

It sucks when we see a catastrophic failure of an LBJ on T4R.org. And it certainly feels like we see a lot, but in all actuality, it's a pretty rare occurrence that probably the majority of all 3rd Gen 4Runner owners will never worry about or fall victim to.

My point is, the LBJ's aren't sh!t. They are adequate for the intended purpose and life expectancy of the vehicle.


...BUT Toyota COULD definitely have went with a different (and better) design to make these rigs virtually indestructible (.. well, more than they already are, lol).
 
LittleCaesar said:
I am surprised the OP didn't stop and offer to smoke a bowl with him to help ease the driver's pain and humiliation.
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I didn't see the driver until afterwards. I tossed my phone to the wife to snap the pics as I was turning. Upon later review, I could see what I'm guessing was the driver standing off to the side on the phone.

I figured a pic on the forum as a reminder to everyone else to be mindful of LBJ failures since these truck seem to routinely outlast their LBJs — would be a decent public service announcement. Basically making the best of this guys bad situation.

Plus it's Santa Cruz, he probably already had a pound of ganja in the glove box anyways. :cool:

Santa Cruz: Home of the 2 pounder...

​
 
SpidermanGeek said:
Well, I'm just saying. I agree that the LBJ is probably the weakest link of the 4runner's overall design, but it's still a part that typically lasts longer than the entire lifetime of most modern cars.

You can't rag on Toyota for their part's "premature/catastrophic failure" after being put under a different set of circumstances than it was ultimately designed for.

The 3rd gen is arguably "over engineered" in stock form. If all I have to do is be a bit more vigilant of this one aspect of the vehicle because I chose to upset the design specifications, then that's on me, not on Toyota.

This to me is the same as someone with a "tuner" car complaining that his "hellaflush" stance is prematurely wearing the inner edge of his tires.

It sucks when we see a catastrophic failure of an LBJ on T4R.org. And it certainly feels like we see a lot, but in all actuality, it's a pretty rare occurrence that probably the majority of all 3rd Gen 4Runner owners will never worry about or fall victim to.

My point is, the LBJ's aren't sh!t. They are adequate for the intended purpose and life expectancy of the vehicle.


...BUT Toyota COULD definitely have went with a different (and better) design to make these rigs virtually indestructible (.. well, more than they already are, lol).
Click to expand...


I agree that the part itself is fine. I would absolutely replace with new OEM ones. I also think it's getting more common to see this though. It happened to my truck and I have now seen it happen (in person) to (not the moment it happened but right after) two other 4runners in the last 1.5 years.

My thoughts are that the trucks are lasting so long that this will become more of an issue as more & more of these trucks reach higher miles. For most vehicles, LBJs will be a lifetime part, but 3rd gen 4runners have a much longer "lifetime" and as such, these LBJs become routine maintenance parts which need to be inspected/replaced at some point.
 
I just wished someone would make a uniball LCA that is strong and beast for off roading. And sell it already. Maybe a LCA like chaos but factory geometry.
 
Yup, the average 3rd gen's mileage must certainly be in that "danger zone" these days.

My LBJ's were replaced by MOOG ones by the previous owner about 35k miles ago. I already have a set of Toyota ones now that are getting installed by this fall. I've been checking for play regularly because I know the MOOG LBJ's ARE sh!t, lol.

Anywho, yes.. good PSA this was for sure.

Check your LBJ's folks!
 
It's funny how we consider 150k replacement intervals "premature".

Up until I started buying 4Runners, the average lifespan for a vehicle in my exclusive possession (i.e. bought new) was roughly 75k miles before something not worth fixing happened.
 
For those on this thread that have said you are going to be replacing your LBJs soon, [MENTION=118797]jpeaslee[/MENTION], & [MENTION=128897]Gadgetguy[/MENTION], use the video [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I made for this job. It shows step by step how to do it and includes torque specs from the FSM. Don't pay someone to do this for you. It's easy!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfLvtEnX9qk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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I saw a 3rd gen in the same shape a couple of days ago. Traffic was moving so I couldn't get a pic, but it was almost certainly a LBJ failure. We're probably going to see more and more of them as the miles really start to rack up. On a lot of vehicles the drivetrain dies before chassis parts start failing, but when you have one of these where they'll go 300k miles with minimal upkeep, it's going to be a common thing.
 
jeremyc74 said:
I saw a 3rd gen in the same shape a couple of days ago. Traffic was moving so I couldn't get a pic, but it was almost certainly a LBJ failure. We're probably going to see more and more of them as the miles really start to rack up. On a lot of vehicles the drivetrain dies before chassis parts start failing, but when you have one of these where they'll go 300k miles with minimal upkeep, it's going to be a common thing.
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Perhaps I'm rotten for saying this, but a silver lining to this would be more people either scrapping their trucks or selling cheap because they think the truck is junk that is falling apart. I think we could all use some extra parts...

May sound a little far-fetched — but I assure you it is a real phenomena. Just ask me how much I got my truck for? Hint: it was a buck less than a dollar :cool:

POs trash has turned into my treasure :D
 
Gadgetguy said:
Both my mechanic and alignment shop have said mine seem tight but it's got 312,00 miles and I have no maintenance history..... getting them done anyways
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You shouldn't have any complaints there :)

Hell, imagine if they last you another 312k miles, you won't ever have to service the item again.

Anyway, offroading speeds up the breaking process for the 3rd gen LBJ issue.
 
this thread reminds me to remind myself not every 3rd gen on the road is part of T4R and consistently reading the 3rd gen section.

lulz
 
Nice, I've done them on a 2nd gen. I can't imagine its any more difficult. I'm in need of some major love on the truck, I've been beating on it hard this summer.
 
My drivers side broke at 352,000kms, while doing 80Km/h !!! the signs I had were a steering that did not want to centre after turning a corner and feeling stiffish ! There were no visible signs of oil leakage or cracked boots or any play, nothing !
Mechanic said " well it's not a sports car with those fat tires " when I told him the steering wasn't centering as it should ! This was a few weeks before it broke !
 
Mellemel said:
My drivers side broke at 352,000kms, while doing 80Km/h !!! the signs I had were a steering that did not want to centre after turning a corner and feeling stiffish ! There were no visible signs of oil leakage or cracked boots or any play, nothing !
Mechanic said " well it's not a sports car with those fat tires " when I told him the steering wasn't centering as it should ! This was a few weeks before it broke !
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What size tires were you running? I hear it is more common on the lifted rigs and or bigger tires coupled with off roading.

Hope my highway hog can hang for a few more miles until i get the time to install my camelback toyota parts next week.
 
230K and on the original LBJs and haven't replaced them...

3a5.jpg




Kidding. I replaced them a few weeks ago.
 
kolelt said:
I just wished someone would make a uniball LCA that is strong and beast for off roading. And sell it already. Maybe a LCA like chaos but factory geometry.
Click to expand...

When someone else says that thing you've been waiting for out loud...
 
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