Upper BJ life ?

[3bears]

my 4r has 140k+ miles. It is new to me. I had the local tire shop check the suspension while having all the wheels rebalanced. they said they only thing they saw was a front sway bar link has a bit of wear to it, but all else is good, no wear or slop.

Also, I notice, it does have a bit of rear sag (typical)

In a few weeks, funds available, I plan to replace the shocks, coils, sway bar links, and LBJ s(preventative), alignment . Gonna also install air bags on rear for future loads, if any. Leaving stock height. I don't do any wild off road. KYB gas adjust not sure yet on springs (brand)

I know a lot depends on how it is taken care of and used.
All its life before me was dealer serviced.
By appearance underneath and general condition of car I assume it was never off road


so what is the life of the upper ball joints, like I said , they saw no issues, are they also a early failure item on these rigs ?

I don't want to go that far into the suspension unless I have to.

 

[Brveagle]

The upper ball joint is a cheap part. Might as well replace the upper when you do the rear and then get an alignment and you will be set for a long time.

 

[JayRolla]

UBJ's are cheap. But nothing easy to install. If someone else does it they will charge up the ass. If you do it then you will be in for some fun. Ive done it three times now and each time I struggle but get the job done.

IMO if the alignment can be done and they dont find play. Leave them be. They are not know to fail like the lowers. My upper failed when the lower failed but thats a different story.

 

[stir_fry_boy]

UBJ's are cheap. But nothing easy to install. If someone else does it they will charge up the ass. If you do it then you will be in for some fun. Ive done it three times now and each time I struggle but get the job done.

IMO if the alignment can be done and they dont find play. Leave them be. They are not know to fail like the lowers. My upper failed when the lower failed but thats a different story.

What's been your method of attack? What has worked the best?

 

[calimobber]

I just did my lbj at 205k miles, I have the uppers but I needed a few more tools so ill wait(you don't need to do them at same time, totally separate job). I would not jump into the uppers as they dont have the stress the lowers have..hell I would even not worry about the lowers at your mileage but I guess its a cheap way to not worry about it.


No need to go crazy and replace things before they are needed.

 

[JayRolla]

What's been your method of attack? What has worked the best?

I have a ball joint puller and I cant get it in there to remove the upper. If you remove the hub you can but more PITA. I now use a 3 claw puller 8", knock or cut off the metal around the ball joint so a socket can fit over. I use a spacer from my ball joint kit then press it out. Still not fun. Now I have aftermarket UCA's so I dont have to deal with this ever again on my rig at least.

 

[Doc2012]

Easiest way to get the UBJ out?

Cutoff wheel and a 5lb hammer.


Cut the UBJ HORIZONTALLY just above the spindle, where the lip for the socket is. Go ~ half way around the ball joint.

VERY CAREFULLY, make a VERTICAL cut on each side of the UBJ. Remove the metal that you just cut off.

Flip the stud to the cut off area, and give it a few wacks. It'll pop out of the ball joint socket.

Take a 5LB hammer, and wack the socket a few times. It'll pop right out.


Or, you can press it out at this point.


Might seem like a little longer, but it actually takes less time and effort than trying to press the whole thing out.

Just make sure you take the retaining clip off.

 

[BrianSD_42]

They almost never fail on these 4Runners, at least compared to the Lower Ball Joints.

I replaced mine at 220K miles. Many other here are at over 200K on their uppers. It is common to wait and just get full aftermarket control arms for $600 instead of OEM Upper Ball Joints.

 

[3bears]

I guess I could pull the upper control arms off too , since I have a 12 ton bench press, and just press them
but maybe Ill wait a while

 

[3bears]

I just did my lbj at 205k miles, I have the uppers but I needed a few more tools so ill wait(you don't need to do them at same time, totally separate job). I would not jump into the uppers as they dont have the stress the lowers have..hell I would even not worry about the lowers at your mileage but I guess its a cheap way to not worry about it.


No need to go crazy and replace things before they are needed.

yep , I don't want to do more than I have to. But I need shocks and springs ( well need rear springs, so doing all) so I figured Id do the lbj's now and get it all aligned

however, last night I had a clunk sound from the pass front when backing out of a parking space and then pulling forward
with wheel pointing right
wasn't able to duplicate when I got home

 

[LookAtThatDog]

That claw puller thing was a nightmare for me. here's my method:

Pressing out the UBJ using the tools I had:

Cut and remove the boot AND SNAP RING

GRIND LIKE TONY HAWK

Press the eyeball section thing out

This is how my setup looked. I had to get some 2.5" squares of steel to press it out this way. The tool has to be used upside down (the one i used at least) otherwise the part you spin runs into the spindle and everything sucks. Also I got the square on the bottom, because the part that came with the kit to hold that black circle thing was big and fat and wouldn't fit.

God bless America.

Once I got it tight, I used my impact to blast it out

 

[pluton]

I replaced the LBJs immediately upon acquisition of the vehicle(110K miles).
UBJs were fine, no play. About 7 months later, one of the UBJs boots got a tear in it. Waited a few months, had a shop replace the UBJs at the same time as the steering rack. I would have left them in forever, or until they developed play or the boots tore.

 

[D Farms]

can you buy poly replacement boots for these? my joints are fine but the boots are ripped.

 

[Doc2012]

post

What's the point in putting a hole through the bottom of the UBJ?

If you take the clip off, you can press it right out, with no issues.

I COMPLETELTY get taking the stud off (see above write up), but it seems like you're making more work for yourself by pressing the ball out then the socket.

Just my $.02.

 

[gamefreakgc]

can you buy poly replacement boots for these? my joints are fine but the boots are ripped.

Same question here. UBJ's just started losing grease for me but no play.

 

[JayRolla]

Same question here. UBJ's just started losing grease for me but no play.

I never have seen them but are replaceable, im sure a good universal may work.

 

[3bears]

replacement boots are available in many sizes, for many cars, so maybe someone will be able to find out what boots will fit the 4 runners

Ive replaced them on other cars
you can find them by size and some models even on places like ebay and amazon

 

[LookAtThatDog]

What's the point in putting a hole through the bottom of the UBJ?

If you take the clip off, you can press it right out, with no issues.

I COMPLETELTY get taking the stud off (see above write up), but it seems like you're making more work for yourself by pressing the ball out then the socket.

Just my $.02.

It just allowed my flat square steel thing to sit on the circular housing part, instead of the spherical ball joint. It only takes a minute to do. Could've gone without it, but it's just what worked for me