Need advice on repair of lower ball joint

Moog makes quality parts too. Whatever you replace them with is better than what's in there now.

 

Thanks for your advice. So since the auto shop is wanting $106 for the part you recommend I buy it myself? It would have to just be the one part and not a pair of ball joints because that would likely drive up the labor cost.

 

Buy it from the shop doing the repairs. Otherwise the labor price will increase.

 

Don't overthink it.

 

Haha I've been doing a lot of that purely out of looking out for my financial interests =D

 

can you replace the bj on yours? what year?

 

2019 Off Road. 80k miles. I don't have the proper tools and knowledge to do it myself nor do I want to mess with a repair like that at this point haha. I really only do oil changes and gotten mostly lucky with my cars. Next thing I'll do myself is the breaks when it warms up a little.

 

O.E. lower control arms are the best but expensive. Aftermarket arms are too risky and not worth the low price. The in-between is just changing the lower ball joints to aftermarket but not very D.I.Y. because it takes tremendous force to press them in and out. The least risky aftermarket ball joints seem to be either Mevotech TTX or 555 (made in Japan).

 

POST from another TACO says MOOG upper ball joints failed at 3-5 k miles. Recently a parts clerk at an auto parts store told me MOOG has changed hands and is no longer the quality their parts were in the past.

The total cost for this is expensive, time consuming, and something you don’t want to do again anytime soon. As many say on this blog using original equipment is best and Toyota parts are made for your TACO to fit and last.

Good luck, Woodcutter

 

No matter the year, oem 3rd gen LBJ's are not serviceable nor are the LBJs available from Toyota. But of course you already knew that.

Also, OP..make sure to verify that you are able to remove the LCAs before choosing which route to take. If you have to cut them off due to seized hardware, you'll be much better off buying an entire LCA from Toyota.

 

The LBJs aren't welded or riveted into the arm, they're press fit with a retaining clip. They are absolutely replaceable (I have personally done it), it's just that toyota won't tell you this or sell you a part outside of the entire arm assembly.

 

Ding ding ding. I was surprised how some insisted on me getting a new LCA.

 

that might be debatable since some owners have replaced them

 

well since toyota says its not a replaceable part there are different viewpoints

 

I haven’t done the ball joint replacement, but I did the ECGS bushing replacement.

I found these videos on the tube, and this guy makes it look like a ‘joy’ to work on your truck. He’s a bit corny, but I really enjoyed the videos.

Joy of Wrenching - Removal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OFH6Ja2jtQ

Joy of Wrenching - Installation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0tKaMI45n0

Both videos, roughly real time, only took 45 (very relaxing) minutes.

 

For Toyota, it's perhaps a sticky liability thing it wants to wash its hands of by not selling ball joints separately. As illustrated in those videos, it takes extreme force to press them out and in. I had to use a 40" long, 3/4" drive breaker bar on the C-clamp ball joint press to bust my '09 4Runner's lower ball joints loose. They're in there real good. My 1/2" drive impact couldn't budge them.

 

It's a royal pain in the arse to pop them out and press in new ones, but if you're paying someone else to do the work...

I can replace the entire arm in less time than it takes to replace the ball joint.

 

You should test to make sure that your camber and caster bolts are not seized before spending money on just a ball joint swap.

BTW, the LCA's bushings are prob not far behind a worn ball joint. I usually see the bushings being worn out even before play develops in the ball joint which is why its better to just do the lower arms as a whole and really lube up the camber / caster bolts.

 

Do you remember how much a LCA costs?

 

Yes they run around $350 per side unless you can find a good deal somewhere.

But if the Camber/Caster bolt is seized then the only way to fix it is to cut them out, and replace the whole arm anyway. Pressing out a ball joint and bushings is such a pain in the ass that most people will replace the whole arm instead. Labor Vs Parts.