Upgrade ball joints?

1 is not a valid sample size. I spoke in more generalities because quality/reliability is a statistic, which requires many datapoints. I have seen many datapoints in my work, and I spoke to that experience. My company doesn't make LBJ's, but we supply to every major auto company out there, and I have launched multiple products with these companies, so I know the process and how it is different from the aftermarket.

What?! I am lost. Haha! 1 is not a valid sample size? A "one-on-one" test means your sampling two products, not that your testing once, Haha!

This makes no sense. They are OEM manufactures? They are not the OEM manufacturer for Toyota LBJ's. Done. They may be OES for other OEM's but other OEM's aren't #1 for reliability, so who cares what companies use them. Lower quality parts are why other companies aren't #1.

Nelson. I think we are COMPLETELY misunderstanding each other. Haha, I just laugh at our arguments. We are spewing in different directions. Federal Mogul is an OEM supplier, yes. And they produce for American Car Companies(Like Diesels). I do not know about Toyota, I will not argue.

And for your last paragraph, I am still lost.
Right below a quote of me saying that Sankei makes 555, you wrote that I said Federal Mogul makes 555. Federal Mogul supplys 555, that is correct.
And I WOULD believe that Sankei would do business with Toyota and sell their products cheaper and label them aftermarket. Its working isn't it?! Its also Japan! Their like China! They are slimey and will do anything to make a buck.
There are counterfeit stores all across Asia of American products.

I do agree on quality differences. There is always a good, better, best scenario. This is how companies make money.
 
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CLARIFICATION:

DO NOT PUT OEM PRODUCTS ON A HIGH PEDISTAL. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INSIDE OF THE BOX.

Case and Point.
Close this thing down. On to the next "What tires, what lift, what sound is that" - thread from a new user.
 
What?! I am lost. Haha! 1 is not a valid sample size? A "one-on-one" test means your sampling two products, not that your testing once, Haha!

The fact that you didn't understand this suggests that you don't know anything about how testing works, and should just stop... 1 datapoint means 1 LBJ from each company. To gauge quality/reliability mean you need to test and measure many LBJ's from each company under identical conditions. This is test engineering kindergarten stuff.

Nelson. I think we are COMPLETELY misunderstanding each other. Haha, I just laugh at our arguments. We are spewing in different directions. Federal Mogul is an OEM supplier, yes. And they produce for American Car Companies(Like Diesels). I do not know about Toyota, I will not argue.

It matters what brand they are OES for, each OEM has their own testing requirements, and the more reliable brands demand better products from their suppliers.

And for your last paragraph, I am still lost.
Right below a quote of me saying that Sankei makes 555, you wrote that I said Federal Mogul makes 555. Federal Mogul supplys 555, that is correct.
And I WOULD believe that Sankei would do business with Toyota and sell their products cheaper and label them aftermarket. Its working isn't it?! Its also Japan! Their like China! They are slimey and will do anything to make a buck.
There are counterfeit stores all across Asia of American products.

I do agree on quality differences. There is always a good, better, best scenario. This is how companies make money.`

Ok, then let me hold your hand for you...
I purchased Moog LBJ and UBJ's and installed them myself. They are identical by size and are made by 555, or Federal Mogul.

555 is made by Federal Mogul and so is Moog.

So here is the breakdown.
Sankei(Manufacturer) -> Federal Mogul(Suppliers)
Sankei makes 555 and Moog There is no doubt about this.
Sankei are Japanese OEM manufacturers. Sankei is OEM for Toyota. Do you get it?

Is it clear yet? You said it every way there is. Sankei makes 555, 555 is made by FM, Moog is made by FM, and Moog is made by Sankei. You didn't know what you were talking about, then you did a google search and found a ad page for an import tracking service, and now you think you know what you're talking about. Just stop.

And seriously? You went borderline racist to claim that Sankei sells their Toyota parts to aftermarket guys?

Look, I work in for an company that is an OES to every major auto company out there (literally, not an exaggeration) including Toyota, Honda, BMW, Merc, Audi, the big 3 US, VW, PSA, and even many regional asian brands that are apparently "slimy". Not every customer has the same standards; the regional asian brands often have little or no standards. The germans and the Japanese have very strict standards and take a very active role in qualifying our parts. We have exclusivity contracts with them that guarantee that we don't make their exact part and sell it to others, and they can't share anything about our part with our competitors. That is how it works; in my experience.

CLARIFICATION:

DO NOT PUT OEM PRODUCTS ON A HIGH PEDISTAL. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INSIDE OF THE BOX.

Case and Point.
Close this thing down. On to the next "What tires, what lift, what sound is that" - thread from a new user.

Actually, the reason I buy OEM is because I DO know exactly what is in the box. It's what was on there before, and it's what came from the company that puts me through the wringer before they will approve my parts. What I don't know is what is in the Moog box. Could come from Sankei, could come from some dude's garage on the banks of the Yangtze, who knows?

And thanks for "closing the book" on this thread. Glad we have you here to reel us crazy's back in... BTW, this crazy person probably helped design about 4 components that are currently on your vehicle. Good luck with that. No seriously, you will have good luck with them, because they are well designed and tested, and you can't get a better one from any aftermarket company.
 
lol...such a heated debate over ball joints.

I do agree with Nelsonmd's comments in that the OEM will put more priority in quality control and have bigger resources to ensure better R&D in parts over a smaller aftermarket manufacturer. However, in many of these OEM vs aftermarket discussions, people make it sound like buying OEM is the holy grail of parts quality.

Toyota may be a top car maker, but they are a business just like any other. Sure they may have a culture on safety and reliability, but it's the bottom end that keeps the company afloat. I would not be surprised if Toyota has been sourcing these LBJs from different sources over the years. Many Toyota OEM LBJs were reported by forum members to have the "555" stamp, but as I have just shown, mine do not. Are they using a different supplier? Have they realized the flaw in their non fail-safe designs and switched suppliers to attempt to migitate this issue? There is always a bigger story to any simple question, one that we may never know. The only thing we CAN do is share experiences, compare, observe, and share our findings with the community as a whole

We may never know, but IMO, buying OEM is still the safest bet for this particular part due to consistency and having a brand/warranty to back up what they sell. Let's try to keep this thread on track with users sharing their experiences with the different parts, posting pictures, and etc...

Quite frankly, I am curious on why Toyota issued a recall for LBJ failures on the newer Sequioa/Tundra but not on our 3rd gen 4Runners. It is essentially the same non fail-safe design.
 
CLARIFICATION:

DO NOT PUT OEM PRODUCTS ON A HIGH PEDISTAL. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR GETTING INSIDE OF THE BOX.

Case and Point.
Close this thing down. On to the next "What tires, what lift, what sound is that" - thread from a new user.

Dude sell the 4runner so you can get some bus fare. Really it's a matter of 100 bucks, my OEM ones were good up till 140k, will I trust my safety and life, and others on the road to something that could very well be inferior? No, heck no, not for that little bit of price difference
 
Only if the OP comes away not believing your crap about Moog being the same quality as OEM at half the price.

Keep googling.

Your a piece of shit. I tried to calm the argument and you keep coming back like a child. For a senior member, your pathetic.

Dude sell the 4runner so you can get some bus fare. Really it's a matter of 100 bucks, my OEM ones were good up till 140k, will I trust my safety and life, and others on the road to something that could very well be inferior? No, heck no, not for that little bit of price difference

Actually, I paid probably around $5 more dollars for each Moog BJ than the OEMs I could have gotten through the ToyotaPartsZone. So price was not my issue. I wanted to get my ball joints done right away and I didn't want to deal with my dealership. I went to my AdvanceAuto and purchased Moog ball joints for $90 a piece. Don't tell me I paid shit for my ball joints.

Hell, I even paid $200 for the gear puller and ball joint press. I went with the OEM pickle fork. I did not skimp on my job by any means. Do not tell me that I am defending Moog because I am a cheapo. I love my 4Runner and I do avidly use OEM products. I happened to use Moog BJ's because I believe they are of same quality.

These are the MOOG LBJs I purchased ($90 A Piece)
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_ball-joint-moog_20517537-p?searchTerm=ball+joint

These are the MOOG UBJs I purchased ($56 A Piece)
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_ball-joint-moog_20517583-p?searchTerm=ball+joints

HERE are OEM UBJs and LBJs ($34 A Piece for Uppers/$88 A Piece for Lowers)
http://www.toyotapartszone.com/Page_Product/PartDetail.aspx?model=4RUNNER,TRUCK&year=2002&catalogCode=671460&VAID=3559&selectConditions=(4=SR5B;0=VZN185L-GKPSKA)&sectionID=&componentsID=48-02

In just Moog parts, I paid: $292.00 and paid $200.00 in tools so I ended up paying around $500.00 for my BJ replacement. My dealership wanted over a thousand dollars for parts and labor. But now I know how to do them myself and I will be able to do them in the future.
 
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Well this is a hell of a debate. I won't be going tacoma that's for sue.

I haven't had the chance to do my own research beyond what you guys have posted. But I'm leaning to OEM. Worst case I'm not getting worse parts. Though after that video on the napa series and good marketing I feel like those should be the best ones lol. I know once I get a lift on there I want the best I can get. So unless the debate sways me it's probably going to be oem lol.
 
Well this is a hell of a debate. I won't be going tacoma that's for sue.

I haven't had the chance to do my own research beyond what you guys have posted. But I'm leaning to OEM. Worst case I'm not getting worse parts. Though after that video on the napa series and good marketing I feel like those should be the best ones lol. I know once I get a lift on there I want the best I can get. So unless the debate sways me it's probably going to be oem lol.

OP, I am honestly not trying to sway you in any position. I just wanted to make a point. I have made it but it got out of control, as always, here on the beautiful T4R forum. OEM ball joints are good ball joints, I have no complaints. But I was just defending aftermarket parts. People usually dog them but will go with aftermarket brakes, rotors, headlights, tires, wheels, shocks, coils, radiators, spark plugs, wires, ... BUT GOD FORBID LOWER BALL JOINTS!

Hell, the OEM ball joints are cheaper than the Moogs. If you have the patience, just order the OEM ones from the URL I posted above. Unless of course you can find them cheaper. Whichever you choose, good luck! And let us all know if you have any other questions. We will love to fight, I mean find, a solution for you :)
 
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I did a lot of research on this exact issue a while ago. I bought two sets of ball joints, OEM/SAnkei and a set of Moogs ( which where 1/2 the price of the OEMs) I took them both out of the boxes, and compared them. They were exactly the same. EXACTLY. Both sets were stamped with 555. I returned the Sankeis and installed the Moog/555 ones. Saved $.
Here are the Moog/555 ones I installed 20,000 miles ago, and they are going just fine.

lbj.jpg~original
 
Yeah but as these two have been arguing the outside can be a refurb or whatever but that doesn't speak to the manufacturing and alloys.

At the end of the day I'm enjoying the debate but I think as long as I keep an eye on my truck as I always do. The real worst case scenario since I'll find freeplay long before catastrophic failure. I end up using the ball joint press I'll have to buy for this job twice lol! I'm leaning oem. But what about those Napa chassi ones vs Moog vs oem? They somewhere in the middle?
 
I just wanted to add that i like ice cream ! :frog:

Really, no need to get personal on this topic, buy what you can afford and think is best for you.

Now, i have ran the moog 555 joints on my 3rd gen that has been to baja multiple times to prerun races, Not saying they are better or worse then oem, but they have held up just fine.

Carry on.
 
Yeah but as these two have been arguing the outside can be a refurb or whatever but that doesn't speak to the manufacturing and alloys.

At the end of the day I'm enjoying the debate but I think as long as I keep an eye on my truck as I always do. The real worst case scenario since I'll find freeplay long before catastrophic failure. I end up using the ball joint press I'll have to buy for this job twice lol! I'm leaning oem. But what about those Napa chassi ones vs Moog vs oem? They somewhere in the middle?

Ball joints are typically NOT remanufactured. These are new castings, new internals - all stamped 555. The bottom line is that 555/sankei makes the castings and joints, MANY brands re-sell them, including "OEM". If you went to your toyota dealer and asked for a LBJ, it would look exactly like the one in my picture.
 
Ball joints are typically NOT remanufactured. These are new castings, new internals - all stamped 555. The bottom line is that 555/sankei makes the castings and joints, MANY brands re-sell them, including "OEM". If you went to your toyota dealer and asked for a LBJ, it would look exactly like the one in my picture.

My OEMs don't have a zerk. Did you do that?
 
The ball joints that I got from the dealer matches downpour11's picture and not audiness's picture. They are painted black, and do not have a "555" marking. I am pretty sure the OEM joints don't have the zerk fitting.

From audiness's picture, I can't tell if those 555/Moog LBJs have a coating on them or not (like the black coating on the OEM)? I bought remanufactured callipers recently that had the same finish as the Moog LBJs shown and they are starting to have surface rust within a month.
 

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