is this what upper control arm leaking looks like??

I just saw this today while I was waiting for my son soccer practice...
I guess the upper control arm is leaking grease? I can't get to the shop until friday...
is it ok to ride it out for a few days?
thank you

 

Balljoint, upper.

The boot on it tore, happens often.

 

man that sucks, can I ride it out for a few days or is it going to wear something off quick? thx
expensive to fix?

 

Easy fix, though that's only based on what I've seen on 2nd Gens (pics/threads). No first hand experience on one.

I rode on one for over a year and a half and I'm sure all the grease had leaked out. No issues.

 

If it has a zerk you can keep feeding it grease for a looong time before it totally disintegrates…



but you should just replace both sides.

 

Some times it can be pretty well fused to the spindle and some serious pickle fork bashing is required, but any shop should be able to do it no problems

 

That looks like an aftermarket ball joint with grease fitting. You can pump fresh grease into it to flush out contaminants. That'll keep the joint healthy until you get the joint replaced or the boot replaced.

If the joint isn't making noise or showing any play, you can just replace the boot. That'll be the cheapest repair. Toyota sells a $8 boot kit. Buy it online or at the dealer parts counter: https://www.oemgenuineparts.com/oem-parts/toyota-upper-ball-joint-cover-4332439045

 

This! Or swap it out for a 2nd hand used pair of UCAs.

 

10k miles on these if you're looking for a used set

 

I went to my mechanic today, he is busy... I'll come back another day... I have to change the whole arm just to change the boot??

 

A lot of people sell these used for like $50-$100 with very low miles.

to change the ball joint will cost a bit of labor. They have to take the upper control arm out, press out the ball joint, press in a new one…lot of labor hours.
I would just get replacement of the whole control arm.

Or might be a good time to upgrade to spc control arm with adjustments and more down travel.