Lower Ball Joint Boot is Tore

So on the passanger side, the lower ball joint boot has a tear in it, which would be the ball joing on the lower control arm. Its not a big tear but there is grease that has come out. This happened while I had my truck at Glamis. I have a couple question. First, is this something I should be extremely worried about and fixed immediately or is this something that is not a huge concern and will be okay for a month or so? Second, to fix this do I have to replace the ball joint completely or can you just replace the boot? Third, I do have coilovers, should I try and take it to the dealership under warranty or is it not even worth my time? Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!

 

You can buy and replace just the boots, assuming there isn't a problem with the CV that caused the boot to tear.

Don't know about your other two questions

 

As far as I know (99% certain) the lower ball joint boots are not available as a separate item. Upper boots were available in the past but not lowers. Also, the ball joint itself is not available from Toyota as a separate item either - you have to buy the complete lower control arm. You'll also likely need new alignment cams and bolts, as well as new lower control arm bushings. Expect it to be very $$$. The aftermarket may have a replacement BJ for the 2005+ Tacoma's now - but none were available when I had mine replaced (1.5 years ago).

This doesn't need to be replaced until the lower ball joint develops play and begins to fail. This may take as little as a week, or I had this happen before and got 1.5 years out of it. The rate of wear depends on the amount of grit/water that contacts the joint itself. Since we don't know how large the tear is or the rate of grease leakage this really is only a guess. If you were to purchase one of those grease gun adapters that looks like a hypodermic needle and grease you BJ every month or so that will prolong its life.

You can try your luck with warranty but I doubt they will cover a ripped boot. A boot usually rips because something tore it rather than a manufacturing defect.

Keep us updated...

 

Mine was torn for about 4 months on my driver side ... Went wheeling... Now it is so load from dirt in it tht it sounds like a banshee while I drive around! Soo I'm going to buy a BJ press and swap it with one that has a zerk fitting!