First gen lower ball joints

On the plus side, those come with the bolts.

The 555 set I got from Low Range 2 years ago didn't but I had purchased the bolts directly from Toyota anyway.

 

Excellent point!

@AZDude if you Do have the 5 lug truck, you don't have to worry about your lower ball joints like the pre-runner/4x4 guys do.

 

I got mine from Ace Hardware.

 

your assumption is correct... it is a 5 lug. That's probably why I can't find 555 for my truck. thank you for the info.

 

can you elaborate? is it because there's less stress or is it because you have to grease the 4x4? I'm pretty sure I don't have to grease mine because I can't find any zerk fittings on my 5 lugger.

 

It's about the design. The 4x4/Pre-runners have the ball/socket in constant extension. The coil spring is constantly trying to pull the ball away from the socket, so when you get some wear and tear, they can fail, and do so catastrophically. Rather than most ball joint designs where the ball is being pushed into the sock (see the 2nd gen tacoma design).

It's not about needing to grease them. Generally, for the 4x4s if the boot tears you just replace them.

 

The 6 lug ones are what are called a constant tension design

When the joint fails the spindle seperates from the control arm with the help of gravity

 

I got mine from the truck

On 6/7 trucks so far

 

Dude, they were an exact match. Grade 10.9, flange etc.. I also needed slight longer than oem because I pulled the first few threads out of one of the holes (used a short bolt where a long one should have gone. Luckily the holes/threads were plenty deep enough, just wanted a little extra length to maximize the thread contact.

 

Oh, I didn't say anything

 

I buy all my stuff off a truck: Watches, car parts, children, etc...

 

I don't trust aftermarket bolts to not be crap

And Ive never scheduled replacement a week in advance to order them

But loctite ftw

 

Grade 10.9 is grade 10.9

OEM probably aren't even that strong, since they only require 59 ft lbs.

 

That's the thing, there's also the argument a hard bolt is more likely to fracture given the application sees a lot of vibration and shocks as you hit bumps and such

The ones on my tacoma were reused 5 times by myself and even going through a ditch than in the air at 70 were fine

 

There's also the argument that you shouldn't re-use your bolts, which you have been doing as well. I guess we're both living dangerously.

 

We've evolved from doves, to doges

 

I'd be lying if I said:

 

That's Mike Tyson

Past that idk