You should replace your ball joints...
- Thread starter sprockmember
- Start date
J-money$$$
New member
Not as important, they do not get the same amount of forces on them, I have never heard of an upper failing
01t4rnr
New member
im sure that has alot to do with it but either way change em out!! not worth risking you or someone else's life
cfranck1
New member
Yes having all the extra stuff on the front end and wheeling them don't do them justice. The lower ball joint is called a "load-bearing" ball joint and is designed to support the weight of the vehicle while providing a hinge point for the steering system. "Non load bearing" (Upper BJs) are designed to maintain dimensional tolerances in a steering or suspension system. So when you add more weight and start to wheel them it only kills them faster.
Toyota has or had a recall on the lower ball joints. Only model years 2001-2002 though.
Here is the info I have.
MAKE/MODELS: Model/Build Years:
Toyota/4 Runner 2001-2002
Toyota/Sequoia 2002-2004
Toyota/Tacoma 2001-2004
Toyota/Tundra 2002-2004
MANUFACTURER: Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 05V225000 RECALL DATE: May 06, 2005
COMPONENT: Suspension: Front: Control Arm: Lower Ball Joint
POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 774856
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 with prior warning.
REMEDY:
Dealers will replace the front suspension lower ball joints. The recall is expected to begin on July 15, 2005. Owners should contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
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Nelsonmd
New member
Damn, That's kind of a big deal...
Additionally... from what I have read, the catastrophic failure cases have been on vehicles with lifts/larger tires which would put addtional stress on the lower ball joints.
Not to lessen the importance of addressing this issue/replacing these parts.
sn0wrunner
New member
Tired of just text... here is some more pics from when my lower went out.
KZN-185LTD
New member
This is not just 4Runner (or Hilux Surf :cheers
specific, I had exactly the same thing happen in my MA-70 supra, the lower ball joint sheared off and the car dropped. Luckily that thing was lowered not raised so in "dropped" less than an inch :biggrin2:
The reason it had failed is because the grease in the ball joint had dried out and the ball itself had seized and wasn’t turning properly. every time I steered it was the metal itself twisting, with power steering you don’t really feel, it, I had commented a few days earlier that the steering felt a little heavier, but I assumed it was just the pump getting a little tired on a 160k mile car. As above there was no knocking, no sign of leaked oil, it just let go.
Luckily, if you can call it that they usually tend to fail at lower speed when you are going around a sharp enough corner, I'm glad of this as a few minutes earlier I had been going pretty fast down a tree lined twisty back road!
Oh, Hi everyone by the way
specific, I had exactly the same thing happen in my MA-70 supra, the lower ball joint sheared off and the car dropped. Luckily that thing was lowered not raised so in "dropped" less than an inch :biggrin2: The reason it had failed is because the grease in the ball joint had dried out and the ball itself had seized and wasn’t turning properly. every time I steered it was the metal itself twisting, with power steering you don’t really feel, it, I had commented a few days earlier that the steering felt a little heavier, but I assumed it was just the pump getting a little tired on a 160k mile car. As above there was no knocking, no sign of leaked oil, it just let go.
Luckily, if you can call it that they usually tend to fail at lower speed when you are going around a sharp enough corner, I'm glad of this as a few minutes earlier I had been going pretty fast down a tree lined twisty back road!
Oh, Hi everyone by the way
1999 4Runner - Same Issue (10/5/13)
Just had the same thing happen to my 1999 4Runner. Fortunately was only driving about 10 mph on a local street. Scary though as I was just on the freeway earlier that day and about to get back on. When the car dropped it skidded for about 20 feet. Residents came out of their homes and said that "they heard a strange noise they had never heard before."
The vehicle has had a shimmy when driving at high speeds down a hill during breaking but not sure that at all is related. Just had the vehicle fixed and will test out on local hill and see if shimmy is gone.
I had Toyota do a full maintenance check on it at 128k and they said at the time that the ball joints were fine. Car now has 146k. Can a ball joint go from no problem to totally bad in that short amount of time? And if Toyota knew this was an issue due to the weak LBJ design why not recommend to me at the time of the maintenance check to replace the ball joints. They said nothing.
Since it is a 1999 it was not part of the 2001/2002 recall. Do I have any recourse with Toyota to cover my repair costs due to their inferior design, and the fact that they checked it less than 20k miles ago and said all was fine. Probably a long shot but worth asking.
Thoughts?
Just had the same thing happen to my 1999 4Runner. Fortunately was only driving about 10 mph on a local street. Scary though as I was just on the freeway earlier that day and about to get back on. When the car dropped it skidded for about 20 feet. Residents came out of their homes and said that "they heard a strange noise they had never heard before."
The vehicle has had a shimmy when driving at high speeds down a hill during breaking but not sure that at all is related. Just had the vehicle fixed and will test out on local hill and see if shimmy is gone.
I had Toyota do a full maintenance check on it at 128k and they said at the time that the ball joints were fine. Car now has 146k. Can a ball joint go from no problem to totally bad in that short amount of time? And if Toyota knew this was an issue due to the weak LBJ design why not recommend to me at the time of the maintenance check to replace the ball joints. They said nothing.
Since it is a 1999 it was not part of the 2001/2002 recall. Do I have any recourse with Toyota to cover my repair costs due to their inferior design, and the fact that they checked it less than 20k miles ago and said all was fine. Probably a long shot but worth asking.
Thoughts?
Should I change my lower ball joint?
Hi everyone,
I just purchased a 2012 4Runner SR5 and my mechanic checked the vehicle and recommended me to replace the left lower ball joint. I went back to the Toyota dealer and they did not want to change it because they said it's normal play in the ball joint. My right lower ball joint has hardly any play. Here's a video of the current play.
Suspension unloaded, channel grips used to show the play.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AgYWwZcFCWhm1he5v-fZ9SkwMSKz
So what do you think?
Thanks!
Hi everyone,
I just purchased a 2012 4Runner SR5 and my mechanic checked the vehicle and recommended me to replace the left lower ball joint. I went back to the Toyota dealer and they did not want to change it because they said it's normal play in the ball joint. My right lower ball joint has hardly any play. Here's a video of the current play.
Suspension unloaded, channel grips used to show the play.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AgYWwZcFCWhm1he5v-fZ9SkwMSKz
So what do you think?
Thanks!
mtbtim
Elite Member
That up and down movement in the joint should not be there. If it were me, I wouldn't drive that rig until I got that replaced and I'd change the right side as well. It's around $200 through Camelback Toyota for both balljoints. But, I don't know if it's more in Canadian and maybe they'd charge more for shipping.
You can do this yourself. It's not technically hard but you do need a couple different pullers unless you just want to hammer on the lower control arm to break the balljoint free and hammer on the knuckle of the balljoint to get the outer tie rod free. But, I imagine Canada also has auto parts stores that rent tools for free so maybe you can just do that. The main problem you might encounter is dealing with the rusted bolts. I guess you'd need lots of penetrating oil on hand. Probably soak all the bolts and nuts the day before you plan to do the work.
Here's a video I made of this job. Save yourself some money and knock it out yourself.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bfLvtEnX9qk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
SpidermanGeek
New member
Camelback won't ship to Canada and you can't just have them sent to the UPS store in Ogdensburg either because Camelback insists that the shipping address matches the billing address.
I get my OEM parts from ToyotaPartsDirect.ca LBJ's are currently $142 CAD each, plus Shipping & Taxes. (The prices tend to vary as time goes by, when I bought my LBJs last fall, they were 10-15 bucks less each.)
SpidermanGeek
New member
Just curious, who's your mechanic?
Also, did you go back to the Toyota Dealer where you purchased the vehicle from? Were you trying to get them to change it on their dime? Because if so, I could see them saying that the play is within tolerance and they could very well be "right", but this is one cost I'd swallow regardless.
Any mechanic (or even yourself) can replace LBJs on these things and if you replace it with a genuine Toyota one, you really won't have to worry about it for another 10-15 years. I mean, the originals lasted this long right?
But yeah, as much as possible, avoid purchasing "jobber" parts for your T4R. In the long run, you'll never regret getting the Genuine Toyota parts. You're 4Runner will thank you for it by not leaving you stranded.
mtbtim
Elite Member
You're kidding right? Amsoil makes balljoints?
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SpidermanGeek
New member
I think it was a poor attempt at a joke referencing the recent Oil thread.
