Ball Joints!!

Looking for the best way to check my upper and lower ball joints on my 1998 4x4 Taco, I have been digging on here for the best ways to check them and the only thing I found attaching some tool to your hub to check LBJ, so other than that tool I don't have what's the best ways?

 

It isn't the uppers you need to worry about.

The difference between worn and total failure on the lowers is very small. And a failure is catastrophic as your wheel will fall off.

If its been more than 90K miles since your lower ball joints have been replaced, don't bother checking, just replace them with OEM ball joints.

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Check-Ball-Joints

also depends on how & where you drive. If it's a street queen chances are you're not stressing as much as someone who occasionally goes off-road (and more extreme).

I replaced mine around 139k due to one(1) upper going bad (grease loss but otherwise functional), the other 3 had no play but replaced them all since I put a lift on and didn't want the additional stress to cause a problem later.

 

I jacked each side up by the lower control arm and the driver side felt like 3/4 inch or so of play and the other side maybe an 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of play and the boots are wasted on both of them

 

well then start spraying PBlaster or WD40 rust penetrate and have some cold drinks handy for an afternoon of fun

just remember to put jacks under the frame

 

Yeah it's gonna be sitting for a little while until funds can prevail, and on that note does anybody know the best place to get good prices on OEM parts?

 

Yup. Those look like a disaster just waiting to happen.

I got mine from Camelback Toyota. They have a good rep here on TW. Paid ~95$ each IIRC.

I also advise using new bolts. There are 4 that hold the ball joint to the spindle. Torque them to 59 ft/lbs and use blue loctite to ensure they don't loose up on you. It's happened.

 

Thanks and so the uppers aren't really an issue? I thought I read some where that they were problematic also

 

The upper BJ's claim to fame is there are a major pain in the ass to swap out. They have to be pressed out of the spindle.

Sure, they wear out but at least the wheel doesn't fall off when they do. They just get sloppy and a good wheel alignment is problematic.

 

I use Red loctite because it still comes off easy enough later, but holds better. IMO

 

And how often do the lower control arm bushings wear out? Haven't even looked at them yet but I could replace them while replacing my lower ball joint, my truck has about 170k on it

 

i just changed both lower ball joints. got OEMs but paid a bit more since i didnt use the discount.. forgot about it
they come complete with new bolts and nut and pin each set.

it was hard to test them until i took them off and you can easily tell they are bad. only takes a few mins to remove.
mine were bad as they easily are moved by one finger.

i was removing them because i had to get to my rear lower control arm bushings. which are also hard to test.
but once i got the knuckle off. i observed one way to test the LCA.

if you try to move the LCA up and down and they squeak, you have a bad bushing, most probably the rear ones.
if they dont and they resist you trying to move them, then they should still be ok. squeaking means something is loose. you can also loosen the bolts to make sure.

if you are loosening/removing the LCAs, make sure to mark the camber/alignment cams so u can put them back in place, at least they wont be so far off...
either way u still need to get a real camber/alignment check afterwards if you do loosen/replaces the LCAs.

Also when you tighten the LCAs. make sure they are at the level they would be with the tires on the road. it will put less stress on the bushings that way.
hope that makes sense.