Ball Joints

I replaced mine with Moog just over a year ago and the boots are already tearing, both on the LBJ's and OTR's. I would stick with OEM. If you do decide to buy Moog buy them from Rockauto.

 

Really? That sucks the rubber has torn so quickly. I wonder why these companies don't use silicone boots instead of the rubber.

Especially since you shell out big bucks for the moogs.

 

Ya and that isn't the first I heard of Moog's tearing. I didn't take their advice and bought them anyway but it happened to me too. Luckily Moog has a lifetime warranty but you need to send the original Moogs back first before Rock Auto will send you new Moogs. Plus replacing tie rods isn't fun and then you have to get your truck aligned. I'll wait till I absolutely need to replace them.

Specifically post #10 Pitman arm puller is the fastest and easiest. You can rent them at Autozone. You'll only need the big one, not the smaller one. The bog one works great with the LBJ and Tie Rods. Don't use a pickle fork otherwise you'll waste hours.

DO NOT use Autozone LBJ's. Here are some good links about LBJ's. http://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech/jowie_psboot/jowie.htm

 

Great... I just had MOOG uppers installed on my truck Saturday... Haha

 

I got lucky with the tie rod ends I got from autozone. Both were made in Japan by "555." Who is the OE for most of Moog's parts. I have had them on for about a year and a half, and the boots are still intact.

I am going my LBJ's soon, as they are original at 188k miles...but have no play...but I am going to replace them as a prophylactic measure.

Not sure what brand I am going to go w/. I might use some NAPA LBJ's. I have always had good luck with NAPA parts.

 

Luckily for you TR aren't stressed like LBJ's so you might be good with the AutoZone TR.

Napa also sells 555 brand which would be the same as Moog. if you can afford it get OEM LBJ's.

IDK who makes Moog but I'm sure it's the same Japanese company that makes the 555 brand.

 

Yeah...I cant swing the $140 something dollars toyota wants for LBJ's.

There is someone on ebay selling MOOG lbj's for $40 something a piece.

 

lol...just got a new left lower BJ by MOOG off ebay for $22. Now I just have to track down the right

Edit: And there are several sellers w/ MOOG ball joints for sale new, for $45ish and free shipping. Much better then the $70+ most places want for moogs.

 

On the driver side you can see the dirt gunked up on the LBJ, that's from leaking grease.


The OTR with cracked boots.


Passenger side OTR cracked.


Passenger side LBJ with dirt gunked up.


Wherever you buy them from make sure they offer the lifetime warranty and will accept returns.

 

your lower BJ should be on a recall for the 01-04 Taco's, i took mine into the dealership for the spare tire mount recall and found they put a recall on the lower BJ's. so call the dealership up and have them run your VIN, and get a freebee.

 

My lower ball joints were already done for the recall less than 5 years ago, yet they're starting to leak again...

 

OP has a 98. But for anyone with an 01-04 reading this thread, yes, do this.

 

Just a heads up if you don't want to spend big money on oem, low range offroad carries 555 replacement parts for our trucks. Great service and great prices. They carry outer tie rods, inner tie rods, lower ball joints, and more. Great quality replacement parts.

 

I had a dealer run my vin and they said my truck didn't qualify, so i don't think any 01-04 is eligible

 

IIRC it was mostly 2002's that qualified for the recall, but I guess it just depends on when your truck was made that model year. I guess they can tell which trucks got the defective parts by the VIN. But it is definitely for 01-04, but not all trucks in that range are affected.


I have yet to see anyone with a older truck than 01-04 qualify for the BJ recall.

 

I recommend sticking with the factory Toyota BJ's

reason being...

muh buddy works at Oreilly's/kragen
ordered some aftermarket oem bj's he claims were made in Japan
and that they required 6000lbs to press them into the spindle
^ required to get the retaining clip on (so he said)

I don't think it should require that much force
to seat the bj into the spindle

thought I remember using a lot less force when installing mine
into the spindle. I know I only used a large "C" type clamp.

buddy said the ones he obtained had some sort of splines on the seat...
similar to a hub stud's knurl

just sayin'
'cause sometimes oem mfgr tolerances
can sometimes be off spec slightly from the factory part

 

Edited for clarity and new pics. 12/22/16



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.

 

here is a pdf of the recall from toyota. Says defect is caused from a manufacturing issue which may have caused a scratch in the ball joint. Also has a list of VIN's effected so you can look for yourself and save your time on the phone with the dealership.

 

Yep, i'm reviving this thread -

Dirty, have do you have any pictures/Have you looked at the Raysbestos to confirm they're machined and not thin/like the 555's?

I'm aiming to order new LBJ's soon and was about to go MOOG like my TRE's ... but I keep coming across people saying they don't live up to their name anymore.

Thanks.

 

I had a MOOG one installed when I broke one of mine. That was in May and I noticed a few days ago that the boot is already torn