Someone please ****ing kill me... Balljoint disaster pictures inside.

[NOT ME OR SOMEBODY]

OPI , I know you don't feel lucky but you were. It's not so bad and it'll be better than before when it’s fixed.

As far as this failure goes it seems the common thing is the joints that fail are dry and without grease and the ball has rusted.

Seems a torn boot or leaking grease at the LBJ should be a dead giveaway and a sign of imminent failure.

I change mine a while ago as insurance against this happening.

The first attempt the change them ended in with failure to get the job finished, as I could not separate the outer tie rods from the LBJ without destroying them. I ruined the castle nut by hitting it with a brass punch and a jaw type puller would not budge them.

If any of the members here decide to do this job I would suggest to definitely get new bolts, use only TOYOTA LBJ's and consider getting the new outer tie rods also. It was a much easier job with the new tie rod ends.

 

[the great him]

wow sucks man but as other have stated, glad your ok and could of been a lot worse.

just on a side note here i was looking at one of my old LBJs(from my rig, i kept the old ones for spares...) anyhow i notices on the bottom of one of them, that there was a crack in the casting around the lower cap. it was starting to separate. anyhow i put it in the vice and smacked it with a hammer to open it up and see whats what in one of these things(i wish i had taken pics before i smacked it to show you what i was talking about.) so i split one of mine open and was shocked with how these things are made, they do not impress me at all, its just a ball inside a nylon sleeve/socket, that is just sitting inside the metal casting packed with grease. its no wonder these things are breaking. i say if the rubber boots around the ball joint is "deflated" and not full or grease then its time to change them. when these things dry out its only a matter of time till they fail without(or very little) warning. besides, its like $250 in parts that will save you at least $1000+ in a repair and towing bill when they do break, not to mention lose of use of your rig or heaven forbid injury and or death to people. just my .02.

and ill try and get some more pics of a LBJ all apart up for us all to see whats what

 

[JohnnyMack]

Dude that totally sucks, but you got really lucky! I know it doesn't feel like it but realize this:
1) it happened BEFORE the trip- way better than it happening DURING the trip.
2) it happened at 15mph, not 75mph
3) it happened close to home rather than in a mud pit 2 hours from home
4) NO body damage! You've seen the pics, that thing takes out fenders and doors, typically
5) you're okay
6) you didn't hit anything but pavement, and pavement can't sue you

Hitch a ride to Rausch, me and Zach are sharing a room- you can bunk with us for free and still get to hang out!

All great points. Enough said.

 

[ryankmasuda]

That sucks, but it could have sucked a lot more. I say your pretty lucky. I've got a 99' and I'm about to hit 180K, this really makes me prioritize lbj and cv replacements.

 

[ALBPM]

Do what 4-Ripcord recommends!!!!

Log on here and create a user account. Then enter your VIN to check on past
service and TSB repairs.

https://auth2.toyota.com/owners/index.html

 

[Opi]

Any signs that this was about to happen?

really poor steering, like concerning, i should have looked into it

Looks like the man above had your back. It could have been allot worse for sure.

You're a good friend LINY for extending the invite.

I'm with you Clemson, are there any common signs of failure. Having reviewed a few of these threads it appears the common stand alone denominator which screams out is the “odometer reading.”. It appears if you're floating near, at or past the 160-200K miles and haven't considered replacement you are gambling with possible failure.

I have also learned, a number of failures have occurred due to improper installation. Do recheck your work or your mechanics work for proper torque of everything. It's worth the extra time and could save allot of headaches trying to fix blame later. CYA

Regards 8sm

thanks man. will do.

If it's going to happen, it's going to happen. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if it's going to happen, hope to god it's on a back road at 15mph.

I have room in my truck too bud. I'm sure if you get too emo on me, I can turn the stereo up.

lol i appreciate the invites but i dont know if i would feel right going out there without being able to wheel my own truck

Wow, glad your ok and the truck has no body damage from that! But like others have said, at least it didn't happen at highway speeds....that probably wouldn't end well. Hope you get it fixed and running again soon man

thank you!

This is just crazy to me. This has happened to quite a few people on here now. Im glad your ok.

So I think we all know what to take from this. If you're anywhere near 150k on your original ball joints (lower and upper), and I would even say around 115K on them, replace them. And those with lifts like 3 or higher, you already know that they need changed significantly more frequently, especially if you do a lot of wheeling. This isnt something to take a chance with. The pink milkshake could ruin your tranny and radiator and cost a few grand, but this happening on the highway could kill you, along with anyone else in your vehicle. I know Im simply stating what we all know. I just encourage everyone to take care of this. I changed mine 3 months back.

Glad this didnt happen to you on the highway opi

the crazy thing, i called my insurance guy, i didnt have collision i totally forgot about that big time lucky on this one

****, sorry Josh. Was looking forward to wheeling with you. Really, really sorry about the bad luck.

yeah me too, sigh, next time i guess.

Josh give me a call in the am man, I can meet you somewhere if you want and you can ride with us. Sux but at least there's no body damage to either you or the truck. I'm in md but you ever get in a spot and need a place to wrench on it give me a shout.

i gotta pass, i have so much to do now all of the sudden. side note, holy crap chestertown haha, i drive from bethlehem down to our shop right outside sudlersville in barclay. nice drive but theres like nothing down there haha.

That sucks, but it could have sucked a lot more. I say your pretty lucky. I've got a 99' and I'm about to hit 180K, this really makes me prioritize lbj and cv replacements.

yeah do em asap is my advice. save ya the towing cost and axle replacement and brake line replacement and tears and... :redbrick:

 

[Jo's Girl]

Yikes dude, I winced at your pics. First thing I thought was that the poor thing broke it's leg. I think if I climbed out and saw that, I'd be forced to make up my own profanity for the 10 seconds left before my head exploded. From a casual observer, not only are you lucky but more silver lining can be that it warns unsuspecting others to look at their own too. I've been kind of lurking to research my 1st 4R (love.) and get a preventative maintenance checklist compiled. I don't know jack about cars but I do know balljoint disaster has now joined pink milkshake business. I can't remember ever imagining the hot mess that would be on the highway-it makes me shudder just thinking about it. I'll have to thank you if I find out mine are shot...

 

[Opi]

Yikes dude, I winced at your pics. First thing I thought was that the poor thing broke it's leg. I think if I climbed out and saw that, I'd be forced to make up my own profanity for the 10 seconds left before my head exploded. From a casual observer, not only are you lucky but more silver lining can be that it warns unsuspecting others to look at their own too. I've been kind of lurking to research my 1st 4R (love.) and get a preventative maintenance checklist compiled. I don't know jack about cars but I do know balljoint disaster has now joined pink milkshake business. I can't remember ever imagining the hot mess that would be on the highway-it makes me shudder just thinking about it. I'll have to thank you if I find out mine are shot...

the guy whos house was there came out because i was yelling..

 

[bikerjosh]

Ball Joint Failure

Everyone has already said how lucky you are it wasn't more serious, so I'll save those comments. I'm still amazed you didn't have any body damage-fender etc. Shouldn't be too expensive to fix based on other examples I've seen on here.
On a side note this gives you a cance to upgrade to the Tacoma LBJs and TREs if you want. Swapped mine out about 1000 miles ago have about 200 miles offroad on mine since(with some high speed, silly stuff). They do seem more beefy compared to the stock units.
good luck with the repairs-josh

 

[Virginiaonmymind]

So insane to see this happening to so many 98-04 model 4-Runners and Tacoma's! I'm a Tacoma owner and there at least ten trucks on our Tacoma forum in the past two months to have this happen, all under low rates of speed and always on the drivers side.

This is an obvious issue with Toyota. I'm not sure why they didn't place all vehicles with this ball joint distributor under recall, rather than just some models.

 

[ALBPM]

This is an obvious issue with Toyota. I'm not sure why they didn't place all vehicles with this ball joint distributor under recall, rather than just some models.

What company made these for Toyota and are there identifying stamp marks
to look for???

 

[Mojo29]

Where can I purchase the LBJ bolts from? Or what is the bolts size? I've been looking to do mine but just need to get new bolts.

 

[canterm]

Hey man just wanted to say gld you are ok and it seems like you ended up really well considering the situation as it could have been much worse. Also if you do change your mind and decide to do any of the work you are welcome to wrench at my place as I have a garage that I never use.

 

[LittleCaesar]

LBJ bolt part #....

90080-10066, at least through the year 2000. I don't if 01-02 is different.

 

[Stick Figure]

Where can I purchase the LBJ bolts from? Or what is the bolts size? I've been looking to do mine but just need to get new bolts.

Well of course you can buy them from Toyota, otherwise m10 x 1.25 x 25-30mm off the top of my head. i would double check length but they are for sure an m10x1.25 thread pitch.

 

[RS Dude]

I'm at 267,300 miles on my all original suspension. I have already collected the parts and will replace all the parts in about a month.

 

[spongerx]

Glad that you and others didn't get hurt in the process. Sorry to see those pictures that are becoming way too common on this site. :moping: Hang in there.

 

[96743runner]

Ouch. I agree with the others that you got lucky that it wasn't much worse. I might do mine soon even though I only have 70k miles. It's still a 10yo ride...

You should definitely change yours. My ride has 70k too and has been lifted for about ~4k miles. A week or two before I changed my LBJ's I noticed that my steering felt kinda off and had some weird vibrations. Changed the original LBJ's out for a new OEM pair. Steering feels fine again and no vibes now...I cringe at how close I might have been to catastrophe myself. It can't hurt to change those things out as a safety precaution, especially for those who are lifted.

 

[Opi]

im honestly terrified to hear the tab for this at the shop i took it to. fml

 

[Opi]

$1580, 4 balljoints, driver side axle, brake lines, abs sensor later its fixed. whats next :crybaby::gun4: