Ball joints

Hello! I’m looking to get new ball joints for my Tacoma. I know everyone is saying get OEM ball joints, but I wanted to ask if anyone has had experience with Sankei 555 LBJ’s. I read that they’re the same manufacture that makes Toyota LBJ’s, and without the name brand they’re significantly cheaper. Can someone confirm this and or share their experience using these LBJ’s? Thank you!

 

You already know what the answer is.
Some people will say they're great, most others will say they're not worth it.

555 is probably the best of the non-oem options, but these are a 70-100k mile interval part, is it really worth saving the $80 over the next 5-10 years of driving?
They are not the same as OEM, and its easy to verify they are not the same because they have a grease port while OEM do not.

The OEM TSB kit LBJ pair is only $180, $200 including bolts you'll need.

https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotao...Aw0sJtKJQF_mTwUVVKwmRnLprBXp1FhsCFEwm1UBWA-sh

https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotao...7Pfyz0xcDl3H6thR64e95_KB0LnWqF7-SugXEhSnkTQHJ

 

Thank you! That’s very helpful. What’s the second link you sent? Does the first link(the LBJ pair) not come with the castle nut , just the cotter pins?

 

Nevermind I just saw in the description it doesn’t come with the hardware haha. Where can I find the right bolts and nuts and cotter pins for these LBJ’s?

 

The first link shows the pair of LBJs with 4 cotter pins. The second link shows the bolts with washers. Neither has the castle nut, but I imagine those are available if yours are too far gone.

 

It says it comes with no nuts or pins, but I'm pretty sure my kit came with both last time. No guarantees there though.
The 2nd link is bolts, those are the 'black' bolts (important note these are 37 ft-lb spec vs the 59 ft-lb spec on other LBJ bolts)

Heres the castle nut, you can probably re-use your old ones though
90171-16050

and cotter pin, 95381-03230, personally I'd just run into harbor freight and pickup and an assortment kit of like 200 pins for $10 so you never have to worry about cotter pins again. Its nice to be able to throw a new one on whenever you take any off

I'd add it all up, compare the price to buying the regular L/R LBJs

$143 43340-39436 Ball Joint Assembly

43340-39436 and

$165 43330-39556 Suspension Ball Joint

43330-39556 vs the TSB Kit pair + hardware, and then compare back against your 555 to see what you want to do

 

Senkei isn't the manufacturer of balljoints for Toyota, Somic Ishikawa is. That's what you buy from Toyota and what you should get if it's branded as Toyota. Not 555.

 

I'm not sure why the link above says "no fitment available even with VIN." When I bought mine they came with castle nut and bolts. Do your shopping and shoot Ourisman an email to confirm, they're pretty responsive (and don't want to deal with returns.) I'd mis-ordered something and they wouldn't ship until it matched my VIN.

 

Thanks everyone so much! This is very helpful

 

Just go with OEM

 

OEM should last ya much longer than 70k to 100k... most likely twice as long at the least
I don't quite know where that figure came from?
Perhaps lifted taco and not stock height?

 

I think he was saying that the 555 brand lasts only that long, and OEM lasts much longer

 

Oh ok then
I wasn't quite sure!

 

Depends entirely on how you use your truck. When I was wheeling my 04 regularly I went through 2 sets of OEM ball joints in less than 60k miles because they started showing signs of visible play. Just inspect them at regular intervals especially if you beat on them.

 

I've actually purchased 555s that do and don't have a grease port

The ones that were sealed were from trail gear and were in colorful boxes with the 555 brand logo on it

The ones that did have a grease port were in generic white boxes from oreillys

 

My 100k interval suggestion was for OEM, based on primarily paved-road driving. Is that sooner than is absolutely necessary for someone who barely offroads? Probably, but the alternative is too late. That mileage seems to be the general consensus on a reasonable interval that is safe and not expensive to maintain.
Its the same as the timing belt, do many people take an OEM timing belt to 200k? Yes absolutely. Should you? No you really shouldn't

What the interval should be with other brands? No clue

My truck these days is basically dedicated to getting to trails, and being on trails, so that interval is probably going to get cut way down (but my overall miles have cut way down too so its still years between replacement), like @eon_blue has experienced.

I have no intentions of having another lbj failure and dealing with all the body damage and other parts breaking that go along with it. Not to mention safety, most people, including myself, seem to get lucky and have them go out at slow speeds in and around parking lots, not on the highway going 75. Maybe that's just the good old survivorship bias coming out to play

 

I am definitely concerned! about it breaking at highway speed of 75 on some rotten-to-heck bridge deck

 

most LBJ failures happen at low speed tight turns when there's more stress on the joint..which is why you usually see people posting about it happening in a parking lot or turning into their driveway, etc.

or maybe that's just because all the people that had them fail on the highway at 80mph are dead, who knows

 

What's your location, maybe someone local can help you with a discount from the dealership. I get oem stuff at cost+ tax.

 

How come every other crappy part company can come off the pin, the bolts and the nut yet our mothership is all skin flint with that stuff. Kinda erks me