Lower ball joints

32k miles on the oem parts that replaced those 3 pairs of shitty moog components. Im at four times the miles on oem that moog failed to do. But nice try there.

 

I am sure it's the Mechanic.

 

Ah. You mad bro?

 

I think OEM and aftermarket ball-joints have been thoroughly expounded on in the first couple pages, not to mention countless other threads, so two additional pages of "my ball-joints are better than yours" are neither constructive nor informative.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Not knockin ya, just trying to understand how many actual miles you put on your tacoma's moog LBJs. My reading from your posts was you were 50,000+ miles on your moog LBJs on your tacoma. Then I looked and saw you just got your truck last year, so I was just seeing if you put 50,000 on those in less than a year or what. 20,000 miles in less than a year is still a lot though.

Thanks for the clarification regarding your other vehicles and moog LBJs, but in my opinion, the longevity of the moog LBJs on your Jeeps is irrelevant here, and an apples to oranges comparison, since the entire design of the Tacoma suspension is different and the achilles heel so to speak of these trucks. For people reading which type of LBJ they should consider, your posts above are misleading about how many actual miles are on your moogs. Also, its a logical fallacy to think that because you google LBJ failure and find that the vast majority of the ones pictured are OEM, that OEM is somehow more prone to failure. Considering how many 1st gen tacomas were sold, how many people have no idea how to work on suspension, it is no wonder that most of the failures you see on the internet are OEM LBJs.

And I agree that this topic has been beat to death, but I thought it was important to get clarification from the TW users who are advocating Moog and throwing out mileage to make sure its accurate for people who will someday read this. This is a critical safety component, in most people's opinion.

 

I see your point. I think we have cleared up any misguided info with our discussion. I agree it is not an exact comparison, Jeep to Tacoma. Although, there are people here saying MOOG are shit because they didn't hold up on their VoLvO.. lol

All I am trying to say, is people are quick to hate on more affordable aftermarket parts. Usually just hoping on the bandwagon, with no real experience to speak of. In my experience, MOOG makes a quality ball joint. I obviously stand behind my purchase. I am willing to bet money I get more than 50k miles out of these. Actual cash money.

 

I did, they have replaced them both times (on third set now)
Thats why I said I would go OEM if i could go back in time simply just to save myself the hassle of replacing them. As of now, I cannot justify buying OEM since Moog always replaces them for free.

I am not hating on aftermarket. I have lots of aftermarket parts-store parts that work awesome I have just first hand experience with continually failing Moog balljoints. I am fairly handy and diligent with checking for play so they never get to the point of coming apart. I would just like to not have to replace a lbj every year or two.

 

One of the reasons Moog/555 LBJ's are lower quality is because of the mating surfaces. On the non-OEM parts the mating surfaces are left untouched after casting which leaves a rough and imperfect mating surface. OEM LBJ's have mating surfaces that have been machined after casting.

 

The Moogs suck major donkey dick compared to oem.

I have had both.

I have 3 lbj failures.


Get OEM EVERY fucking time. And change them out like clock work every 50-90k spending on your driving style. Generally 70-80k is a good time to do it

 

Screw it, I'm buying a ridgeline.

 

While we're clearing things up, Moog does not manufacture a lower ball joint for the first gen tacoma. They rebox and sell a Sankei/555 manufactured lbj for the first gen tacoma. On the Jeeps, I have no idea. Maybe Moog actually manufactures those.

 

How many of those 3 failures were toyota lbj's ? just curious.

 

All.

1 time bolts

2 joint failures


Here's the thing though.

Every lbj failure is due to the OWNERS lack of changing them. My in 125k+ on them and the last 25k were HARD mile. So the two joint failures were MY fault. Not the joints.

They aren't meant to last forever. You need to change them. Good practice is every time you do the timing belt.

The fact that people are changing Moogs out ever 30k or less speaks volumes on how kuch better the Toyota ones are. They last 3x longer. More pricey? Sure. But worth it. Life time warranty isn't going to cover the fender, cv axle, tie rods, steering rack, frame mounts, brake lines, or anything else that will break when the lbj goes out.

I used moog joints at first and quickly switch back to oem. You can literally feel how terrible the moog joints are compared to the tight smooth feel of oem ones by moving the joint by hand. Actually I could barely move the Moogs and they only would move in a cross pattern. Oem smooth every way but tight.

If you are OK with swapping lbj out ever 10-30k. Go for the cheap ones. You want a good joint that'll last and hold up well. Go toyota.

Imo if you wheel hard regularly, oem should be your only choice, period.

 

Yeah even the OEM ones won't hold up forever especially if you're hard on them offroad. The LBJ design on first gens is a point of weakness on these trucks. Toyota made it much better on the 2nd gens.

 

I have a friend who knows a guy who's sister works with a guy who's dad read on the internet that moog balljoints suck.

My truck has 200,000 miles, I am replacing my moog ball joints that have been on since 100,000 miles, there is no play in them, they seem fine, as do my inner and outer tie rods that are moog as well. I am replacing them because they have a shelf life if you will. As stated above, my rule of thumb is to replace them when it is waterpump and timing belt time. In 100,000 miles, no issues. The package from moog that showed up 2 days ago has made in Japan tags in with each balljoint. So let's see all the pics of failed moog balljoints, because I still have not seen any of that. It is a weak design to begin with, a weak point in the system, no matter what balljoint you choose from a engineering standpoint.
My 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 diesel has moog balljoints, truck tops over 8,000 lbs and gets beat on, guess what, moog joints hold up just fine.

I as well wonder out of how many failures in lower ball joints, how many were over torqued ?

So, just because you read on the WWW that moog makes a inferior product, doesn't make it so.
Buy what you want, I got 2 moog joints for less then what I could get on lower Ball joint from the dealer, no regrets. Cheers

 

My stock (OEM) made in 1995 LBS after driving 318k miles still hold well (passed three independent inspections by independent services (some of them would really love to sell me the replacement). All pictures of failed LBS (I mean ball popping out) show the ball being rusted or rough in very bad condition. That would happen when it runs dry, dirty or with water inside. Long before the failure you would notice the boot being blown and then clunking in the suspension. When the ball is dry it would take no time for it to work on its way out of the socket. I suspect water crossing can cause the water being forced inside the ball and when the grease is gone the rust will destroy the ball in no time. Also tearing up the boot over the LBJ will let the desert sand inside the socket and it will grind it in very fast.

I don't do wheeling, water, rocks (driving through Wroclaw's streets can be like that tho) in other words I drive my suspension lightly so 300k+ miles is nothing.

Moogs - I don't know them, I never had them. I trust OEM as I have them for the last 22 years, so "lifetime warranty" of Moogs means nothing to me. I like zero maintenance OEM and the only thing to check is the rubber condition.

 

I discovered slight movement in my driver side lower ball joint this morning. It's a 2004 Tacoma Pre Runner V6, and the dealer found 2 options with very different prices, but had no idea what the difference was between the two. Online search of dealer sites using my VIN gives me these options:

TACOMA; RIGHT; W/O PRERUNNER
TACOMA; LEFT; W/O PRERUNNER
TACOMA; RIGHT; W/PRERUNNER

There's no Left: W/Prerunner option.

Any idea the difference, or which ones are correct?

Prices are about $70 Right W/O Prerunner, $56 Left and $110 Right W/ Prerunner.

Truck has 166k miles on original ball joints.

Mostly highway use and some fire roads while camping. Anything else while I'm in there that should be done as a matter of good practice, like upper ball joints or steering ball joints (these are not loose by feel)?

Thanks