Replacing lower ball joints on 1st gen prerunner

Hey guys its time for me to put some new lower ball joints on my truck, and was wondering what is the best company to go for. I was thinking between Moog or just OEM, any other suggestions?

 

Also, any thoughts on the KYB monomax shocks, as I will be getting new shocks on all 4 corners? I'll either do these or Bilstein 4600's...

 

OEM vs. Aftermarket is a delicate subject on this forum for some reason. Some will argue OEM only, and some will argue aftermarket doesn’t matter.

I for one prefer OEM because of how much the LBJ’s are prone to failure.

 

This...

Go with OEM and don't worry about it.

 

Check ur rig for recall on lbj's .my qualify for the recall and got free oem lbj's + free labor

What year is ur rig ?

 

I just put some AC Delco LBJs on one of my trucks. Quality seemed fine and they have a zerk for adding grease. Rubber boot seemed thicker than OEM.

However, you can't go wrong with OEM. I am just in the mode of reducing the $$$ I put in these trucks.

BTW, the ones I replaced had 156,000 on them and they looked like new when I pulled off the boots.

 

Whatever fits budget. /thread.

 

Yeah. Rig.

 

Mine is a 2001 crew cab prerunner 2wd

 

here is your NON-OEM napa chassis. Now I run OEM. That's right about 10K miles as well. Never again. Could of been a lot worse. Happened while I was driving down the road. Took the CV axle out with it as well.

 

ball joint looks rusty, any grease fitting on them napa joints? otherwise poor factory grease

 

I'll go with the oem. Definitely do not want that happening to me.

 

I am convinced that the aftermarket BJ failures can be attributed to a lack of grease. I got Moog ones and they were drilled and capped; i had to install my own zerks and grease them per the instructions

 

Regardless of OEM or some aftermarket option, REPLACE the bolts. Known weak point and some overlook this. New bolts. Do not re-use.

for doing the work yourself. Don't forget to take it in for an alignment.

 

along with the lbj's, I gotta do the shocks. Any suggestions besides Bilstein 4600's?

 

I'm not looking to break the bank, just a smoother ride than the oem.

 

["@Dirty Pool, post: 10284167, member: 100471"]Been a while since I did a LBJ sermon so here ya go.

There are 3 grades of LBJ's for 1st gen 4wd/prerunner Tacos. There is a significant difference in quality and price between each of them.

Edit, Sankei likely is not the OE manufacturer. However that's merely trivia. The important take away is OE joints are the only joints made to Toyota specs/design regardless of aftermarket "claims".

OEM joints are made by Sankei/555 to Toyota specs and only available from Toyota. They are at the top and with good reason. Next comes aftermarket Sankei/555. These are not even close to OEM Toyota spec. They look nearly identical but are based on inferior cheaper technology and lack proper machining in a critical area. At the bottom of the pile is no name Chinese "bastard" joints to be avoided at all cost.

The aftermarket Sankei/555 joints are sold by Moog, Raybestos, NAPA and others as their "premium" line. Some vendors infer that they are OEM, they are not. They use old school metal on metal tech that requires periodic lubrication. The grease fittings are not a benefit over OEM. You decide the type and frequency of lubrication. When are they considered worn out? That's up to you and it's next to impossible to tell/check due to the design. The mounting bosses are rough, not machined like OEM, allowing more potential for mount bolts loosening and shearing. Proof is in the pics.
That being said and outside of the mounting boss machining issue, they are not going to "just fail" before exhibiting enough slop to justify replacement. They just don't last as long as OEM. Then there are all the reports of the boots tearing in short order.

Below is an OEM service replacement joint. I sectioned it a few years back to show folks what goes on inside and what to look for in terms of wear. The point being that there is way beyond ample warning before the ball separates. It has 100k miles with play of around .030". This is considered worn out by the Toyota spec of .020" vertical play measured with the joint not in it's normal state of tension. The PTFE (or something like it) liner is not even close to wearing thru. For one of these to fail, the liner and a good bit of hardened steel would have to wear away creating in excess of at least 15 times the Toyota spec.
This technology uses a highly polished ball rotating inside the liner. Only initial lubrication is needed to "condition" the liner, no more for life. This combination results in longer life and is significantly more costly to manufacture.



Aftermarket Sankei/555, this one was sectioned by another fellow as a follow up. Note the half ball and metal on metal. It had very low miles and he reported like many others, that it felt "rough".


Aftermarket Sankei/555 showing rough finish of the mount bosses.


OEM joint showing machined bosses and most important, they come painted.
[/endquote]

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/check-your-ball-joints.374853/page-2#post-10284167

 

looks like boot failure to me