JBA UPPER BOOT PROBLEM

I e-mailed JBA to see if I got the updated boots as I ordered mine recently. I think I have them but we will see after use. They also sent me this link. https://support.jbaoffroad.com/faq/why-are-my-ball-joint-boot-cracking

 

I emailed them yesterday morning not knowing anything about their warranty claim link that was in a post same as the one above. So I clicked and filed my complaint this morning. Five minutes later I received an email and text requesting pictures. I replied right away with pictures and then got an approved warranty claim number. Then a text message asking if I want their classic ball joint boots for now until the new boots ship out in about 6 weeks. I got an email with tracking number for the classic boots and will get them in two days. I thought I'll give these a try and see how they hold up.

 

Six weeks from now? See, their timeframes never line up from customer to customer, what we're being told. That makes me wonder what can be believed. 2-3 weeks, 1-2 weeks, 6 weeks... And those numbers have been tossed around since February. Are they throwing darts? If their communications synced up better they would be able to save more face throughout this ordeal. Left hand isn't talking to the right hand at JBA. Be warned, my classic poly boots were supposed to arrive with four spacer washers, two per side. There were none, so now I need to source my own if I want to instal these TEMPORARY boots until the pleated poly boots arrive in 1 to 6 weeks lmao. Gotta laugh at this point.

 

Case in point

 

yeah I emailed them and asked if I can return them for a refund. They said yes and sent me a prepaid shipping label.

 

Yeah same run around. I reply back to their grease reminder and get the same response and so far no solution.

 

I wonder what other ball joint would work? Does it have to be the one they supply? I mean - can you just get a heavy Chevy ball joint and swap it out?

 

why aren’t they offering me this? I complained and made a claim months ago. I’m about to buy another brand.

 

Yes, they originally sourced Moog ball joints for their UCAs. After Moog quality decreased they sourced their own custom ball joint.

I believe they are 90s Chevy C1500/2500

Edit: From JBA
https://jbaoffroad.com/jba-upper-ball-joint-k6292.html
"JBA Ball Joint replaces:
AC/Delco #45D0062
Raybestos #500-1062
Moog #K6292
GM 3/4 ton truck ball joint"

 

Been doing lots of reading abboit the JBA UCAs recently.
https://jbaoffroad.com/trails/difference-between-jba-std-ucas-vs-jba-hd-toyota-ucas/

One of the replies to a comment from JBA:

In 2007 we started making UCAs using Moog ball joints. At one time Moog was the go to for aftermarket replacement parts. Moog is now importing a lot of there product lines and the quality has drop below our JBA standards. We originally introduced the Toyota UCAs with the dark metal Moog ball joints and now have made the switch to our own JBA shiny ball joints. All the Toyota a-arms have the JBA ball joint in them when we ship the orders. Some of the pictures on our web site are out of date with the old Moog joints.

We copied the hole pattern and the fitment of the Moog K6292 but we gave it 90 degrees range of motion for the offroad applications and we make them in Pennsylvanian. We are proud to have our a-arms made in the USA.

You can buy a Moog K6292 at any auto parts store in the US in an emergency situation and get back on the trails. The price difference is Moog is making hundreds of thousands of these ball joints overseas and we are making 400 a month.

edit: typo on Moog PN, its K6292 not K6296.

 

very useful information! I’m gonna go buy 2 of those and swap them out ASAP. Thank you.

 

This is one of the reasons I'm looking at the JBA UCAs. Swapping ball joints is super easy and can be done without a press. You can also find replacements from the big box parts stores in a pinch for cheap. Both of these reasons combined makes maintenance on the road/trail much easier, and then you can replace with the JBA ones at your leisure. Also, these are built to handle 3/4 ton GM trucks, should be stout enough for the Tacoma. I only wish they had OEM rubber bushings instead of the poly ones.

 

very true

 

yeah but hopefully the

$27 moog k6292 front upper suspension ball joint for chevrolet K1500

moog k6292 boot isn’t as bad as the stock JBA boots. Hopefully they don’t crack right away.

 

I think the main problem is the manufacturer of the rubber boot itself. Quality and so many automotive parts has gone down the shitter. I accidentally ripped my OEM lower ball joints boot on removal. I paid $50 to get a new one from O-Reilleys and canibalized the ball joint boot to fit onto my OEM ball joint. Worked great and no issues. Moog also used to sell a U-Joint boot kit. Ill advised if you have a ball joint that has seen dirt and stuff but an option as well.

 

I might get the precision chassis ball joint instead of the moog ball joint because the moog ball joints boot isn’t attached to the housing at all. It kinda just sits there. The precision one has the wire around it like the oem one.

 

I installed the temporary boots after work today. JBA advised me to use two spacer washers per side: “Any washer that fits over the largest part of the ball stud is fine. 3/4" should do, larger will work too. They`re just spacers for the boots. They go between the boots and the top of the steering knuckle to put upwards pressure on the boots. Two 1/8" thick washers per side should work nicely.”

I must say, I’m pleased with how these fit even though they aren’t the correct ones. If they hold up and are in this same shape by the time the correct pleated poly boots arrive, I may just keep the correct boots as spares. I used two good quality hose washers as my spacers. Seemed to work great. Hit them with some fresh grease afterwards.

 

nice! I just went and bought some

$27 moog k6292 front upper suspension ball joint for chevrolet K1500

moog k6292 from orielly and I’m putting those on today.

 

Moog goin in!

 

So I installed these moogs. The boot is sitting crooked and there is a gap between the boot and steering knuckle.