Lower ball joints brand?

OEM - NOT greaseable - because they don't need to be for the next 100K miles.
I replaced mine 2 weeks ago (with OEM) because they had 220K on them and I didn't want this to happen:

 

Alright got that so I should be good! Looks like I'll be changing them thursday

That's why I'm changing them! Haha I've got the extra coin so I plan on going OEM with them

 

Good luck -it is a pretty simple job.

 

Mine are being replaced as we speak. Went with OEM, the cost difference was negligible IMO for the amount the shop is charging me. I feel like it's within my means to do the work on my own, and I'm not terribly confident with auto repair, but I don't have the time to do it myself and I've been putting it off for too long.

 

it seems moogs quality has been slipping the last few years. In the duramax world there has been lots of reports over the last few years of moog pitman arms snapping, which is what connects the steering gear to the rest of the steering, so not something you want breaking.

that being said, for the last year I've been running $30 vatozone lower joints with some pretty rough offroad excursions so we'll see how long til the tire falls off.

 

Isn't Moog the OEM supplier on those? Do we have a failure analysis on the actual failure? If Moog is building those to OEM spec and they fail, we can't call it a Moog quality issue, can we? Personally I see Moog as premium parts.

Howard

 

I also just bought some OEM from camelback

Don't forget to purchase x2 LBJ protectors as you don't already have some. Part Number: 43346-60011

see: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1s...find-part-number-lower-ball-joint-collar.html

also torque to spec and use blue loctite thread locker.
see post 20 I'm personally am going to call the dealership soon and get a straight answer for the torque specs myself. After seeing pictures of LBJ failure, I really don't wanna fool around with what I'm doing.

 

EDIT----"hetkind", disregard my quoting your post, I thought you were talking about 1st gen LBJs. My bad


1st gen lower ball joints
Moog outsources their 1st gen joints from Sankei "555" the manufacturer of Toyota OEM joints. The issue is, the 555 aftermarket parts are a cut rate, significantly inferior part compared to OEM. Thanks to deceptive advertising from companies like Lowrange Offroad many folks think they are the same.

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".

There is OEM, 555 aftermarket and Chinese no name "bastard joints". All the big name aftermarket companies like Moog are selling the relabeled 555 parts as their "premium" grade and the Chinese bastard joints as "economy".

What's the difference?
OEM and aftermarket 555 joints are nearly identical on the outside but are totally different technologies on the inside.

OEM uses a mirror polished ball running in a PTFE liner (or something like it). The initial lube at the time of manufacture "conditions" the liner and no further lubrication is needed for the life of the joint which averages around 100K (safe) miles. Additionally the mounting surfaces are machined contributing to a solid "bolt up".
Below is an OEM joint after 100k miles. It is worn out by the Toyota spec of .020" max play, yet it is no where near wearing thru the liner.

Machined mounting surfaces.



The aftermarket 555 joint uses less costly old technology metal on metal that requires frequent lubrication and the mount surfaces are not finished.




Facts and tid bits
First off it must be understood that the 1st gen joints are in "tension", a constant state of trying to "pull apart". This is not an ideal design but it is what it is.

The OEM joints are far from the weak link in the IFS, they are plenty strong enough.
There are 2 types of catastrophic failures, separation of the ball from the socket and loosening of the 4 mount bolts.
Separation of the ball comes only after the joint has been pushed way past it's intended service life. This is usually the result of ignorance of the proper diagnostic method and/or negligence.
The 4 mount bolts loosen then shear or fall out all together due to improper installation. Clean mount surfaces/threads, new bolts, thread locker and 59lbs torque are imperative. Particular attention must be given to the inner 2 threaded holes of the spindle. They have less than the ideal amount of threads and can easily strip or be compromised by corrosion.
Grease seeping from the boot does not mean the joint is bad, it's normal.
You can not check the joint by shaking the tire.
4Runners do not use the same joints. They come from the factory with lighter duty joints using a lower torque value for the 4 mount bolts (source of the torque value confusion). They are interchangeable with Tacoma joints and it's considered a routine upgrade.

How to correctly check the joints should be a thread in itself.

 

Go with moog 100%. better quality and greasable. just put a set on mine super easy install.

 

/\ - helped me decide to go with OEM!!
Thanks DirtyPool!

 

This is the 1st gen section. 2nd gens use a completely different (actually better) design so any comparison here is irrelevant.
I will say if it needs to be greased it's likely the same metal on metal deal.

 

Is it needed to replace the upper ball joints while doing this? I'm at 161k miles with no service history.

 

Not typically as they don't take as much abuse.

 

Sweet, thanks!

 

Thanks man! I feel it should be pretty smooth sailing in install

Thanks for that quality comparison! Im replacing mine because one grease is leaking (through dry rot in the boot) and the fact I have 200k miles and have a clunk like sound I've been told by a shop was my ball joints

 

If your steering wheel is kind of loose too, definitely do it. It just happened to my gf about 2 months ago. We heard the clanking and the steering wheel was loose(I didn't notice til after we fixed it). The weekend we were going to fix it bam. Passenger side broke.

 

if your refering to the dmax idler arms I mentioned, I wouldn't think so as OEM are lasting well over 100k and the moog ones are snapping well before that. I replaced my original idler on my dmax at 135k and it was just a bit sloppy and that's with the weight of a heavy diesel over it. When the moog idlers are snapping its not pulling the balls out of socket, they are literally snapping the pivet stud in two just before they go into the press fit in the centerlink. Happened to my ex roommate as he was backin his camp trailer in the driveway, 5 minutes before that he was towing it down the highway. You could see where it had been cracking for a while before it let go.

 

Oh...that would be a material issue leading to early fatigue failure...

I remember my 75 Chevy 1 ton that wore out idler arms every few years...292 six, four speed with granny, dual back wheels, utility bed.

Howard

 

Alright so after a pissing match with two seized bolts utterly destroying the bolt heads, I finally got the old lower ball joints out and the new ones in torqued down with threadlock (locktite) im done! Apart from the seized bolts it would have been extremely easy I was just worried with the bolts I wouldnt be done for school in the am haha