DIY LCA Ball Joint Replacement 2005+ Tacoma

Subd

 

Use this 5 ton puller from Autozone to remove steering stop. Pickle fork didn't cut it for me.
Crank on the puller, smack top of balljoint, crank, smack, till it falls.


Tried this puller but fractured it. Mine were seized pretty good.


Either way I still won.

 

What a PIA it was removing the BJ! Did the driver side on my 07 4X4 with 135K miles. When I'd come to a stop, I could feel something loose in the front end. There was no play when I raised the front and shook the tires, but I strongly suspected the BJ and it did turn out to be the problem.
Here be my experience; might help someone else:
I used the weight of the suspension to help remove the steering stop. I removed the wheel and brake rotor, then the caliper which I pushed outta the way. I removed the lower BJ nut half way. I raised the car under the LCA (close to the BJ), then after about 5 or 6 whacks with a hammer to the rear of the donut (where BJ is pressed in), the SS fell down. Its very important to leave the nut on the BJ; otherwise the suspension will fall onto the CV shaft. After this, I removed the SS, then separated the steering BJ, then removed the sway bar bolt from the knuckle. I then swung the knuckle and wheel hub assembly outta the way to the rear, using rubber cords to keep them there. Didn't have to touch the CV axle nut.

Now came the fun part. I sprayed generous amounts of Kroil penetrating lube; then heated the donut with propane; then used a HF BJ C clamp. I had plenty of torque with a 20-inch breaker bar, but I had to stop when it felt like the clamp was going to break. I pulled out an air hammer and used a modified chisel I had sheared to press out wheel studs. With the C clamp tightened, I air-hammered the top of the BJ adapter and the BJ started to slide off. Did this sequence about 4 times until I was able to air hammer the BJ out for good.

I used a Moog BJ and the instructions didn't say if I had to grease it. I did anyways to be safe. BTW, the BJ is marked with a "install this side on inboard" or something to that effect.

One problem I foresee is removing the Moog BJ in the future. The head is 63mm vs 60 for OEM. My adapter kit had no tube that would go over it and narrow enough to rest on the LCA for future removal. I could not find a 63.5 to 65 mm ID tube on eBay or Amazon. Maybe in a kit but I did not go through them.

 

Anyone know the size recieving cup to remove one of those Moog joints?

 

63mm is 2.48 inches; 63.5mm is 2.5 inches. Therefore, a 2.5 inch ID receiving tube should do the trick, or a 64mm ID; however, I cannot find either size. I have two ball joint kits from HF - 60307 & 60827. Neither one has a 2.5" ID tube. Might have to get one custom made at a scrap yard. Or use a strong air hammer to hit it from the top.

 

I used the harbor freight kit and did mine, but it took some fanagling to get it done. I had the Napa c clamp press, it took a 20" pull handle to break them loose, and I bent a couple of the collars in the hf set.

 

When @SMKYTXN and myself swapped out our ball joints we found Advance auto parts carried the correct tool kit with all the necessary sizes.

This is the kit,

 

I'm not at all happy that I'll have to deal with this soon. My drivers side LBJ boot is torn and leaking grease. I've tried to tell and I can't tell if there is play in the joint. Either way, it's a time bomb I'm gonna have to deal with in the near future. Truck has 60K miles on it.

 

Mine were leaking a little grease, I decided to change them when I did my lower control arm bushings and the oem ball joints are still good IMO, I kept them jic and because I'm borderline hoarder. Lol. 175k ish on mine. But they might've started leaking at 60k I don't remember.

 

My driver side LBJ looked identical to Crom's; however, after removing it, it had no tears. Just a shitty design that let grease spilleth over. However, mine did have some play after 130K.

 

If it doesn't have any play or make noise, ride it out a bit more.

 

Oh I'm there... I'm going to delay it as long as possible. I did jack the truck from frame to get wheel off the ground and then wrestled the wheel, and it feels pretty solid for now. I know it's not the right way to diagnose the joint, but it's better than doing nothing.

I'm a little concerned with the amount of dust and dirt the truck is exposed to off road though... That might accelerate wear in the joint.

This thread is a really good one, and from all the comments it's clear that a lot of folks benefited from Boyd's work.

 

Surprisingly, when I looked inside my 130K LBJ boot, it was clean inside. I off-road also but the boot did its job keeping debris out.

Hey Crom, I live a little east of you - Lakeside. if you need help or tools, feel free to hit me up.

 

That's really great to hear the boot did it's job. And thank you for the offer of help / tools. Sincerely appreciated.

 

Ran across this today....anyone tried using this as a replacement? It's hella cheap.
http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...lvR2L6TrBgotieAvcUginyKDXgWfoyucp8hoCeC7w_wcB

 

To check for play, you need to support the lca and push down on the rotor. You're looking and feeling for up/down play. Toyota specs 0.020" of play using a dial indicator.
I'm thinking a lift affects the 'feel' in play or measurements as well.

 

Does anyone know if Moog finally started threading the hole for the zerk fitting? And is it necessary to use a 90* fitting, or is the 45* fitting okay.

Thanks

 

I just got a set from Rock Auto. They have the newer style boots which appear much nicer. Came with 45 degree zerk fittings and doesn't appear threaded but the I had no issue threading zerk in. As other have stated, the diameter is larger, you will definitely need a custom adapter to press them out if they ever fail. They say made in USA on them which is promising. I would replace the 45 with a 90 degree fitting.

 

This is a very useful thread! !!

 

Did you ever get around to fixing these Crom? I just put on 5100s with 885's 2 weeks ago, and my ball joints look like this with less then 250 miles on the lift. I am super depressed about it.