Alignment issue

I recently bought a 99 Tacoma with 184k on it. I noticed that there is a little play in the steering, and that it vibrates around 60 mph. I took it in to Big O tires to get the tires balanced and the alignment done. They balanced the tires and then I sat around for three hours waiting for them to get around to checking the alignment.

Finally, they threw it up on the rack, and quickly dropped it back down telling me that they couldn't do it because the rack and pinion needs to be replaced along with both lower ball joints. The estimate was $1700 in parts and labor. I asked about the urgency and they said that it was not dangerous and that on a scale of 1-10 it was a 4 or 5.

I don't know much about steering systems, and have done minimal work on them, but I took the truck home and jacked it up to test the play. I rocked the driver side tire back and forth and noticed a little play, and none at all up and down. The steering wheel moved with the back and forth play. I also did the pry bar test on the lower ball joint, and saw no play.

I didn't get around to the passenger side, as it started snowing pretty heavily, but will check it later. Here's a video of the back and forth play.

https://youtu.be/-_d51HZGpBQ

 

I just bought my 99 Tacoma and it was doing the same thing. I replaced the lower ball joints and outer tie rods on both sides and it drives like a dream now. You will however need to have it realigned once you do all of that to ensure that everything is set perfect. It's really easy to do and only took me a couple hours to do in my garage. There's a couple great videos on YouTube for pointers. I think all the parts were around 300$. It can be done with cheaper parts but why take the chance. If the lower ball joint lets loose your tire can come clean off.

 

You can pick up lower ball joints pretty cheap from Moog. There super easy to install. The outers are cheap too, also made by moog. I think the hardest part of that was to find wrenches big enough. 27 for the old sieze bolt and 30mm for the new. Home depot has both sizes for good prices. Just do a google search there are a few walk throughs that i used out there. Also recommend in the future to do your alignments at firestone. They offer a life time alignment thts well worth the money if you plan to keep the truck.

 

Yeah, I ended up just throwing down on the inner, outer, and LBJ. I'll throw them in tomorrow. Do you need any special tools for the LBJs? Also, why would they say that I need a whole new rack and pinion? I snagged some bushings that I'll throw in, but I don't see why they'd think I'd need to replace the whole damn thing.

 

You might wanna replace your rack bushings to see if that makes a difference. Do you know when they were last replaced?

 

I take it they did not show you the wear,,before they quickly dropped it back down?. A top notch alignment guy would be able to diagnose this at a speedy rate,, but the same top notch guy should have showed you the play and wear that you would be fixing for $1700. Just keeps everyone honest. If they wont let you walk out with the alignment guy and see the play,,get a second opinion at a different shop, without letting on that someone else already looked at it.

They probably count the worn rod ends on the rack,,as a complete rack replacement. There is a simple guide bushing in the rack that CAN be easily replaced and fix some of that slop(If there is). Lots of writeups on here for that diagnosis.

If it has 184K and those ends(top, bottom, side to side) were never needle greased after the factory,,then it's a pretty good bet that they are in need.

 

I hope you didn't use MOOG for the LBJ's. You get what you pay for. Those are too important, safety-wise to not use OEM.

This is what can happen:
http://www.yotatech.com/attachments...j-failure-my-turn-img_20131104_180352_317.jpg

 

Thanks for the heads up Tan4x4, when I did mine a few months ago I threw the Moog in after seeing all the positive reviews. After you typed that up I started actually looking at stuff on the forums specifically. I do check these regularly so I'm not gonna spring for a new set to replace the new set but I'll definitely throw the OEM's back in once these fail.

 

A LBJ failure is not worth waiting for. It'll be catastrophic. When the lower ball-joint fails on a 1st gen, the entire wheel assembly comes off the truck taking a lot of other components with it.

A picture is worth a 1000 words...

 

I see quite a few folks piling the armor weight and extra gear on a high mileage rig,,without taking into the fact of a already worn system. If I remember that story,,the above lbj had quite a few on it but was watched carefully by a smart guy. I think it was a OEM ball joint?. Trailer rescue if I remember right. (Correct if wrong). Slow speed, hit a bump and it popped free?.

Carry everything you see ripped apart in that very ugly photo,,not just the LBJ's,,IF you are getting away from signal and out by yourself and refuse to believe the hype and want to wheel hard.

Once it happens, you will believe. The odds are in your favor if you decide to change them out beforehand.

 

Correct. That is the real message about LBJs. Treat them like a wear item. No different from your water pump or timing belt or even your tires. Change them before they fail.