Ball joint failure

so i was driving the truck, it felt smoother than usual, every thing was great and i had just bought some 1/8 thick aluminum to make light bar brackets. i was just cruising at 50 mph and all of a sudden the passenger foot drops and bottoms out and the truck darts to the left, i crossed 2 lanes and almost ended on the oncoming almost hitting a civic head on. i tried braking when i saw that civic but my foot went to the floor and my imidiate response was to cut all the way to the right. that was terrible and i wanna make sure that doesn’t happen again, —-what ball joints should i buy so that this wont happen in a long run?-

upper-lower ball joints busted
brake line torn
tie rod bent

truck looks ricey but i had planned out a buld bought light bars and was gonna order rough country shocks but this will set me back:/

1999 3.4 a340
331,XXX Miles
SR5 Prerunner

 

Glad your o.k., hell of a ride from the sound of it..Oem balljoints.thats the word around here.

 

Ball joint for sure, where in TEXAS are you? I can help you it if your close ish

 

That sucks bro, you should really try to replace your ball joints every 100k miles. looks like those were way past due, especially if they have 330k miles on them. You can get OEM ones for a good price online from toyota of Dallas

 

Laredo Texas all the way south lol

 

good to know
thanks i’ll check em out rn

 

Stating the obvious, but that sucks! Glad your OK. Stick with OEM ball joints, they last the longest. I've come close to this and it was enough to make sure I check things on a regular basis. About 15 years ago my F250 needed some work done due to a "noise" from the front end (red flag). I dropped it off the night before, after the shop was closed. When they called the next morning to discuss the work that needed done they asked what tow company I used. When I said that I drove it the guy was silent for a moment then asked if I saw the angles next to me. Apparently when they put it on the lift the left wheel basically fell off and the right side wasn't to much better. I went into the shop later that morning to take a look and discuss options. I would be lying if I said I didn't have an oh S#!$ moment when I saw the front wheels. The really scary part was I had been on the other side of the state for work the week before running around in 4 wheel drive, then drive 350 miles back home. Most of the drive home was going 70 on I90. In the end they ended up rebuilding the front with all new u-joints, new ball joints, new wheel bearings, new inner and outer tie rod ends, and replaced both hubs with warn due to one side being chewed up.

 

If you don't mind my asking, what did the rebuild set you back?

I realize its on a different vehicle, but I'm just trying to figure ball park. My '04 4x4 has 164k miles on it when I bought it, and the steering has been a bit sloppy.

I don't know if I've been reading the forums too much, but I swear I feel like its progressively getting worse.

Taking it in this weekend. Just hoping I don't need to sell a kidney or something to get it sorted.

 

I did a total rebuild on my front end last year with new Upper/lower ball joints, bilstein 5100's with new coils, Upper and Lower control arm bushings, swaybar bushings/links, and steering rack bushings. In just parts I was around $600.l did all the labor myself, probably saved me 600$ or more in labor.

 

Oh wow... Yeah, my shocks are pretty f!$^ed at this point too. I'm trying to address it in order of criticality, but I guess if I repair one while slacking on another I'll just be wearing out the new parts that much quicker.

Ugh. Oh well, what needs to be done needs to be done. Better safe than sorry.

Is the difference night and day?

 

I gave the guy who bought the truck all the paper work on it. I think it was around $1500 ish, but it was a few years ago so I might be off. @01GreenTacoma is probably pretty close to what it would cost. If you do it your self it's going to save you a lot of cash.

 

Definitely a more solid feel. This was the 3rd set of ball joints that I have done on my truck. First time for control arms and rack bushings. I try to change my ball joints about every 75-80k.

 

the lower balljoints cost the most from toyota but its peace of mind for me. I replace both upper and lower balljoints. I got Bilstein 4600's on there now. I haven't done the bushings but since I have spare upper and lower control arms I'm gonna look into it now.

 

What's recommended for the control arm bushings? OEM I'm sure? I'll go that route if need be, only curious. I was told my alignment couldn't be 100% corrected due to the LCA cam bolts being seized? Also, while changing my oil I noticed my PS rack has a terrible bushing that needs to be replaced as well. It was nearly 215k on it and it's not leaking so should I only do the bushings?

 

sorry for the bump thread, but buy oem ball joins & tie rods. I cheaped out on tie rods since they had to come off while I was doing my LBJs (wasn't prepared or would have ordered OEM) and had to get them at the local part store.

 

I replaced my control arm bushings and steering rack bushings with energy suspension polyurethane bushings. I have been very pleased. The control arms can be really difficult without the correct tools I.e. "a press of some type, oxy/acetylene torch, a vise, etc..."

 

Every 100k miles? OK - Mine has 160k on it now, and the truck was towed behind an RV for 87k of those miles - has anyone heard of this wearing out the front suspension sooner? I had Toyota inspect the ball joints this last fall and they said they look OK but recommend replacement within the next year...

 

Lower ball joints are the weakest link on a Gen 1. If they go, you have big problems.... don't risk death due to a bad lower ball joint...

 

I would like to know if anyone else used Energy Suspension bushings for their Tacoma. I can get their control arm/steering rack bushings for $65 shipped

I know OEM is best though

 

How to you check them to make sure they are OK rather then spend $200 for the heck of it if not needed?