You should replace your ball joints...

[ric]

since my little adventure with the ball joints, Ive been telling everyone to REPLACE them if you have 100K or more....

IIRC the stock ball joint are to be replace at 95K, thats on a "stock" rig, we have lifted rigs, so they should be replace at the VERY least, every 100K, I did have 235K on mine, and Jeff had a some miles on his as well.

Mine was VERY scary when it went out, I was doing about 40MPH but no one was hurt heres a few pix of mine:

SERIOUSLY people, if you have 100K miles, REPLACE them, before you kill someone, it can be a very bad situation, but can be prevented, just replace them.
To the OP, glad your ok

 

[durrell]

How hard are upper and lower ball joints to replace? Seems I remember needing a special tool for it. I've been wanting to do mine and the TRE's. It seems I might end up replacing my entire front suspension before it's all said and done, lol.

Also, is it possible the heavy ARB and larger tires mixed with the off-roading caused them to wear faster than they would have typically? Just curious.

 

[fenrisx]

Any place you guys would recommend buying OEM other than the Stealership?

I checked eBay, but they only had after market brands.. no OEM that I could see. What price did you guys pay at the dealer?

 

[SIKHILUXSURF]

"Toyota Parts" | "Toyota Accessories" | 1stToyotaParts.com

this is where i get all my oem replacement parts.

 

[Duhockey]

Any place you guys would recommend buying OEM other than the Stealership?

I checked eBay, but they only had after market brands.. no OEM that I could see. What price did you guys pay at the dealer?

Toyotapartsales.com is the sister site of TRDparts4u and is operated by Toyota of Dallas, cheapest OEM parts Ive seen

 

[IanB]

Wow, I think that is the exception. I've been on random forums for a while and havent seen that yet. Scary indeed...

You going through insurance to replace the body parts? It may go under comp since its basically something that collided with your vehicle vs the other way around. (I used to be an adjuster)

Mine has 164k so I am a little concerned, especially since I do all freeway driving and a failure like that at 65mph wouldnt be fun :wow2:

Comprehensive coverage excludes mechanical breakdown, you don't have insurance for this kind of thing. That sucks though, glad you're OK.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Any place you guys would recommend buying OEM other than the Stealership?

I checked eBay, but they only had after market brands.. no OEM that I could see. What price did you guys pay at the dealer?

Don't go ebay for any important part. I am going to get my LBJ's and TRE's from NAPA, one or 2 others get theirs there as well (NAPA is $5+ more than toyotapartssales, but no shipping).

Toyotapartsales.com is the sister site of TRDparts4u and is operated by Toyota of Dallas, cheapest OEM parts Ive seen

I second this, they have been great to me, with reasonable shipping charges if you group stuff. I bought a new front sway bar along with a bunch of other stuff, and the shipping was only $17. That bar was big, oblong, and heavy. They will continue to be my go-to place for pretty much everything. And they are ALWAYS the cheapest OEM I have found. They run ~27% below MSRP.

 

[J-money$$$]

Been there please change your old Ball joints. The one that failed me had over 200k miles.]
Glad to hear you were no going down the freeway when it happened....

 

[Hepar]

Wow. This is something I'm starting to think about. What's the thought process on when you should consider replacing them? Are there physical signs? I know the OP said that there wasn't any on his.

 

[brian2sun]

Wow. This is something I'm starting to think about. What's the thought process on when you should consider replacing them? Are there physical signs? I know the OP said that there wasn't any on his.

Since they can be deadly if they fail at wrong time, I would recommend replacing them every 120-150K miles or 10 years. Earlier if you wheel on them a lot. I got some lifetime warranty ones from Napa and they are very good quality (like most of Napa's chassis parts). Much better than the Moogs I had before them. And when it's time to replace them again, it'll be free.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

wouldn't this be something that the 100 point inspection would cover? I mean i take mine to the stealership for oil-changes and they look at everything (supposedly) i think this is one of the things they look at...

I remember my audi long time ago shook like crazy when my bearings went bad. scary stuff!

 

[brian2sun]

wouldn't this be something that the 100 point inspection would cover? I mean i take mine to the stealership for oil-changes and they look at everything (supposedly) i think this is one of the things they look at...

I remember my audi long time ago shook like crazy when my bearings went bad. scary stuff!

They probably shake the wheels and stuff, but it's hard to "see" a ball joint thats going bad. The boot covers up the joint, so you could have a crack in there or something that's just starting that they wouldn't find so easily. Plus, dealerships are better than your average shop, but IMO mechanics are a lot better at fixing stuff that already broke than they are at catching stuff before it breaks.

 

[xrover]

Just happened

Just had it happen to me yesterday. The same front right tire, the same pattern of shearing of metal. I was doing about 30mph when she dropped. CV is toast, ball joints all pulled out, wheel sensor, brake lines, all ripped.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

They probably shake the wheels and stuff, but it's hard to "see" a ball joint thats going bad. The boot covers up the joint, so you could have a crack in there or something that's just starting that they wouldn't find so easily. Plus, dealerships are better than your average shop, but IMO mechanics are a lot better at fixing stuff that already broke than they are at catching stuff before it breaks.

oh geez! i know mine rides like a breeze im about at 120 so I may have to get this done to be safe. is it pretty pricey? So none of you guys felt any shimmer or anything?

 

[BigFishAllDay]

These ball joints are gonna be the new pink milkshake! (esp. with all the 4runners gaining altitude these days) After seeing this thread resurrected, I think I'm just gonna buck up and have mine done on the '01.

There needs to be a detailed write-up on this. Come on, somebody, make yourself famous! (or just post a link, thanks...going to google...)

EDIT... found these in my favorites...

LBJ's >>> http://www.yotatech.com/f2/lower-ball-joint-write-up-209723/

CV's (why not?) >>> http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/cv_axle/

 

[J-money$$$]

Its really easy to do. I felt not odd shaking, but a few hours before mine broke I noticed the boot on the ball joint was gone...

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Yo, J$... Like missouri, show ME! I know you did yours yourself... did you take any pictures?

 

[vol4runner]

Like others I'm very concerned now. Mine is approaching 213,000. It has a little shimmy at around 70 that only occurs when the temps get above 40-50....weird. Wonder if it's trying to tell me something? You think that could be my problem? I'd hate for a ball joint to fail at highway speeds!

 

[Pikeman]

I do have one suggestion when replacing. Unless you are planning to replace the Tie Rod End, use a Ball Joint seperator instead of a pickle fork. It is a lot easier on the joint and less likely to tear or damage the boot.

USE LOCTITE. There have been a few people that have lost one or more of the (4)LBJ bolts because of not using it. I even keep LOCTITE in my trail bag in case I have to replace a CV on the trail.

 

[J-money$$$]

Yo, J$... Like missouri, show ME! I know you did yours yourself... did you take any pictures?

no, i didnt take pics. Brian and I did his a few moths ago and didnt take pics. Lets just say I did them by myself, and i was 18.... You need a tie rod end puller, 14mm wrench for the 4 bolts, 18/19 mm for the tre crown nut. and a pickle fork (2 helps so you can stack them) to get the ball joint off the LCA. thats about it