What is the best replcement lower ball joint

[willbgood]

I searched the thread and I could not find any info on what is consider the best replacement. After seeing the pictures of failures, and reading about catastrophic failures, I am doing mine asap. Knowing that price is not always an indicater of superior quality, I would like some imput from others who done this service on the best part to use.

So, here are some I have located with pricing, although local pricing my be plus or minus a few bucks, if you have something better let me know;

1. Moog MOK90262 Problem Solver Ball Joint - Non-greasable, Direct Fit $54.87 Lifetime Moog limited warranty

Moog MOK90262 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

2.Beck Arnley 101-4815 Ball Joint - Non-greasable, Direct Fit $75.97 ,3-year or 50,000-mile Beck Arnley limited warranty

Beck Arnley 101-4815 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

3.Mevotech MEMK90262 Ball Joint - Non-greasable, Direct Fit $33.43 Lifetime Mevotech limited warranty Read the review...not good, but could have been an installation problem

Mevotech MEMK90262 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

4. AC Delco AC45D2299 Professional Ball Joint - Non-greasable, Direct Fit $65.65 Limited life time warranty

AC Delco AC45D2299 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

5.Proforged Chassis Parts PCP10110212 Ball Joint - Direct Fit (supposedly a performance part) $53. 96 3 year/36,000 mile Proforged Chassis Parts limited warranty and a Million mile limited warranty (figure that one, )


Proforged Chassis Parts PCP10110212 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

6.Sankei 555 W0133-1621246 Ball Joint $96.95 no warranty that I am aware of

Sankei 555 W0133-1621246 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

7.TRW W0133-1621246 Ball Joint $91.95 3/36,000 mile warrenty

TRW W0133-1621246 Ball Joint | Auto Parts Warehouse

I have a request into the dealer for their local price and I will post it tomorrow.

So, any specific impute on which is the best?

 

[solsnowbarger]

Yeah I'm curious about this as well. I'd assume OEM of course but depending on the price difference I'm definitely looking at options

 

[I_bRAD]

I got the cheap ones too. Then I ended up buying the expensive factory ones after I blew through them in a year and 15k kms.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

For LBJ only go OEM. Look how long the factory ones last

 

[stinkypoop]

How much are OEM ?

 

[willbgood]

For LBJ only go OEM. Look how long the factory ones last

Isn't it the factory OEM ones that have been failing?

Cut from another thread:

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

Read more: 2001 Toyota 4Runner Recalls, Notices & Car Safety Reports - Motor Trend Magazine

I am lifting my 4runner, so, since I am tearing it a part, I will likely replace all of the front suspension and steering components unless I am confident they don't need it...leaning toward TRW, but I am looking for specific experience and hopefully someone who can provide facts as to why one is better then the other...This may not be practical for most, but I have a alignment guy in the shop next door, and we trade some, so no real extra cost but for the parts. TRW offers a 3/36,000 mile warranty.

 

[willbgood]

How much are OEM ?

Waiting for a quote, and trying to discover who manufactures them for Toyota as well.

Update: I believe Sankei is the OE manufacturer of the lowers...

 

[willbgood]

Yeah I'm curious about this as well. I'd assume OEM of course but depending on the price difference I'm definitely looking at options

Why would you assume OEM?

 

[Rock_Rat]

Not all 2001 4runners were recalled. Check your VIN number and see if yours is one of them. Mine wasn't.

Lookup Safety Recalls & Service Campaigns by VIN

I still replaced mine with OEM as preventive maintenance. Original LBJ's looked great when they came off. Could have gone another 100,000 miles or perhaps only 1 mile. OEM...

Here's One Site... There are others listed in the reference section.

http://parts.toyotaofdallas.com/toy...t-suspension-scat/?part_name=lower-ball-joint $88

EDIT: Mileage when replaced and in good shape - 309K

 

[s20004runner]

Why would you assume OEM?

i don't know how many miles are on your original LBJ, but mine had almost 200K miles on it. I was the 3rd owner and I still saw no play. I decided to replace it for safety reasons as I was doing a 3"in lift.

I now carry them as a trail spare just in case.

 

[solsnowbarger]

I assume OEM in most cases. Discounting all the folks on here who suggest OEM as a near certainty in most cases, I try and go with them purely because I know the car was designed with that piece specifically, so fitment won't be an issue. And besides, about 7 people out of the 11,000 on here have cars under 100,000 miles, and the OEM pieces of our trucks are often times still going strong. It's always seemed like the safer bet for me to go OEM, especially considering my inexperience with mechanics.

 

[willbgood]

i don't know how many miles are on your original LBJ, but mine had almost 200K miles on it. I was the 3rd owner and I still saw no play. I decided to replace it for safety reasons as I was doing a 3"in lift.

I now carry them as a trail spare just in case.

I think I will carry them as well. Mine have 154,000 miles, some rough use, and I think the passenger side is in dangerous condition, but I also do not think it was sent in for the recall. As I said in my intro, the records were lost, and I can not remember.

 

[willbgood]

I assume OEM in most cases. Discounting all the folks on here who suggest OEM as a near certainty in most cases, I try and go with them purely because I know the car was designed with that piece specifically, so fitment won't be an issue. And besides, about 7 people out of the 11,000 on here have cars under 100,000 miles, and the OEM pieces of our trucks are often times still going strong. It's always seemed like the safer bet for me to go OEM, especially considering my inexperience with mechanics.

I would usually agree, but considering the previous failure, we might be wrong here.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

The OEM ones are failing after 100k miles once lifted but aftermarket ones have failed within a couple thousand miles when put on a lifted 4Runner. I have yet to see an OEM on fail on a stock 4Runner.

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

For LBJ, OEM only.

OP, you have listed all the warranty info for each LBJ, but that seems pointless for such a critical part. If it fails, you will be spending thousands in repairs, or maybe someone dies. It's kinda like having a great warranty on a bullet-proof vest

 

[JayRolla]

Isn't it the factory OEM ones that have been failing?

Cut from another thread:

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

Read more: 2001 Toyota 4Runner Recalls, Notices & Car Safety Reports - Motor Trend Magazine

I am lifting my 4runner, so, since I am tearing it a part, I will likely replace all of the front suspension and steering components unless I am confident they don't need it...leaning toward TRW, but I am looking for specific experience and hopefully someone who can provide facts as to why one is better then the other...This may not be practical for most, but I have a alignment guy in the shop next door, and we trade some, so no real extra cost but for the parts. TRW offers a 3/36,000 mile warranty.

Oems last 100K+ miles as where most replacements won't make 20K miles.

 

[XxTiBEARiusxX]

It seems like I'm echoing what everyone else is saying, but OEM is the way to go because the aftermarket ones have a bad rep for breaking really early. Prices for these go at $83 each: 43340-39465 | Toyota OEM Parts |*LOWER BALL JOINT for 1999 Toyota 4Runner

This is the best site I've found for OEM parts. I researched the most popular and out of the 4 top sites (according to the forums) that I looked into, this one seems to be the cheapest.

 

[Brilliant]

For LBJ, OEM only.

OP, you have listed all the warranty info for each LBJ, but that seems pointless for such a critical part. If it fails, you will be spending thousands in repairs, or maybe someone dies. It's kinda like having a great warranty on a bullet-proof vest

Right? This has got to be the dumbest thread in a while.

 

[willbgood]

I think OE toyota is likely correct

Well, I search around and read other forums, and I found several discussion including one back here that I missed. Unless someone comes in with some evidence proving otherwise, I think I will go

Here it is: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/92427-ball-joints.html

It also state you can go with heavier tundra parts:

Part numbers:
OEM Taco Parts
43330-39815 - RLBJ - Qty 1
43340-39585 - LLBJ - Qty 1
45046-39295 - ROTRE - Qty 1
45047-39175 - LOTRE - Qty 1
45503-39075 - ITRE - Qty 2

I think this is my direction now...

 

[willbgood]

For LBJ, OEM only.

OP, you have listed all the warranty info for each LBJ, but that seems pointless for such a critical part. If it fails, you will be spending thousands in repairs, or maybe someone dies. It's kinda like having a great warranty on a bullet-proof vest

Great analogy.

After reading for hours, here and other places I am convinced, but may try the Taco's, instead of the OE 4runners.

I am also going to read about the tundra brake upgrade.