Front End Issues- 2005 Tacoma

Hey guys, my ball joints are going out on my 2005 Tacoma(300,000 miles) My car guy says I will probably have more issues on the front end after this and that I can expect to put $3,000-$5,000 into it over the next year to fix other issues on the front end.

Has anybody had any experience with this issue? Thanks in advance

 

300k is alot of miles to have not replaced anything, thats awesome!

 

I have replaced a few small things but nothing this extensive.

 

3-5k on front end parts is insane. You can get loaded control arms that have new bushings and ball joints already installed and a set of aftermarket quick struts. Add a set of end links and sway bar bushings and the front suspension is basically all new

 

I live in North Alabama. Do you know of any car shops that can do what I need for cheap?

 

He is likely correct though, rubber deteriorates over time and it's been 18 years. Control arm bushings, ball joints, TRE's, steering rack bushings, shock bushings all affect the handling and steering, and they all ride on rubber parts which are probably beginning to get loosey-goosey.

I knew nothing about Taco suspensions last year. I paid for a diagnosis and got about the same pricing. This was exactly the motivation I needed to learn what I needed to and do the job myself. Are you down for that? If you have a place to do the work you can save a lot of dinero but you'll need safe jackstands, a half inch drive impact socket, a torque wrench capable of wrenching at least 150 ft/lbs, and all the usual hand tools. The pullers for the LBJ's and TRE's you can rent (or buy, they're not that expensive.)

A-arms (to replace bushings without pressing in new ones,) OEM ball joints, TRE's, assembled coilovers, new OEM steering rack, sway bar bushings and Energy Suspension steering rack bushings added up to around $1400. 3 days to do the A-arms/ball joints, 1 for the rack and shocks/struts. I only needed a mechanic for an alignment when I was done and it drives like new.

The general advice around here is to avoid anything with "quick" in the name. Monroe Quick struts are total crap and the shocks leak in a very short time. Even the name is misleading, our 4x4 trucks have coilover assemblies, they are not struts. If you back up in the threads of the links above, I considered going aftermarket on a lot of stuff too, the price difference is awfully tempting but you're messing with the steering geometry and unless you really know what you're doing (I don't) go OEM.

In my research I discovered SuspensionLifts.com and though they are one of those "unknown" companies in my experience they have been stellar. Though the company itself is based in Canada, their address is Torrance CA and they ship from warehouses across the U.S. My orders came in a matter of days, not weeks. Yours is a second gen so you'll want this set. and it's probably as close to stock as you'll get, Moog coilovers and Bilstein 4600's. Don't use anything but OEM lower ball joints, read around here for why. The Uni-ball conversion sounds promising but they're more expensive and jury's still out on whether they are better or not.

I have a spreadsheet of OEM front suspension price comparisons but it's an '03. Best price overall on OEM parts was Ourisman Toyota of Virginia (formerly McGeorge.)

 

They are called quick struts because they come fully assembled with springs and top mounts ready to go in. I agree that they are not as good quality as OEM but I have installed a ton on customers cars over the years with no issues. If you are not doing any crazy offroading, they are fine for the daily driver