LBJ Concerns/Replacement Guide Recommendation

With some recent news of LBJ failure, I've decided to replace mine as I don't recall when they were last done by the previous owner. I'm looking for a recommended step by step guide, not so much OEM vs aftermarket (please, not another discussion...)

 

There are quite a few good how-to youtube videos out there for 1st gen Tacomas. Here are 2 good ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLvtEnX9qk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaQCb894F_M

It's a super easy job with the right tools. Remember to get an alignment.

 

Use blue loctite on everything that doesn't have a cotter pin...

 

My God that guy in the second video makes that job harder than it has to be. LOL

 

Here's the method I used, more or less: This one goes into a lot more work because he was replacing the lower control arms and other stuff, too. So for just the ball joints, you just need the first 1.5 pages.

http://bajataco.com/tech/control_arms_01.html

 

I love when guys swear buy the hammer technique to break free connections like the outer tie rods to the knuckle of the balljoint and the lower balljoint to the lower control arm. I prefer pullers because they work every time and you don't end up mashing your front end components or possibly miss with a strike and bend the shit out of the brake dust shield like that guy did.

 

Pullers are great if you are saving the components but as a mechanic you won't make any money with that method. On my truck I would strike the spindle to pop the tie rod end if not replacing and use a fork to pop the ball joint. The main thing I noticed is unbolting the joint before breaking it loose. They break loose much easier when still connected to the upper suspension.
I do realize though that things are different for me as a life long mechanic. I loved Toyota LBJ's because they didn't have to be pressed. Was a real money maker job for me.

 

I guess minutes count a lot in your business. I can literally get a puller on and the joint broken free in a few minutes. But hey, to each his own I reckon.

 

About those pullers - you must have one that fits, and the ones at O'Reillys or AutoZone for ~$16 are either too big or too small. I know 'cause I tried 'em.

I thought I would save time by disconnecting the tie rods, so I went to O'Reillys and bought a tie rod puller. Too big. Went back, got my money back, and bought the smaller one. Too small. Went back, got my money back. Neither puller would fit around the joint and have the bolt in line with the bolt on the joint. I was going to buy a pickle fork but was told by the clerk that using a pickle fork would damage the rubber cap in the joint. So I went back home, got out a claw hammer and banged on the joint. Wouldn't budge. Not enough force. Got a (much) bigger hammer and beat until I was blue in the face. No movement. I gave up and reinstalled the castle nut, torqued it and cotter-pinned it.

That little exercise cost me about 3 hours of travel and trying to use the tools. Since this is the last time I'll replace shocks, I chose to forgo a decent $55 tool and another week of waiting for it to arrive. 'Specially after paying $35 for 4 shock cushions...

 

The pitman arm puller in my above link works perfectly. Fits both the LBJ and TRE, and doesn't damage the rubber boots if you are careful installing it. It's so simple to use because there are no moving parts like those damn 3 arm "universal" pullers.

I bought 2 of them, and modified one of them like my link describes above. That was to install a new upper balljoint, but I found that method is a royal PITA, because it was near impossible to keep the balljoint perfectly straight as you're pressing it in. For those, get yourself a proper BJ tool from Autozone (free rental) and do it right, lol...

The pitman arm puller is seriously a 30 second job. A minute if you count fiddling with the cotter pin.

Granted, for a mechanic that works on my different makes/models, this probably doesn't really apply. A BFH is a "universal fit" tool.

But if you work of 1st gens a lot, IMO this is the way to go.

 

weird... I rented a pitman arm puller and tie rod end puller from AutoZone and I managed to get both to work just fine. Maybe the rentals are different?

 

Could be a wear and tear issue on the rentals, too. I know the BJ press I got was in "less than ideal" condition. Some of the fittings were pretty badly dented and scuffed up.

I bought my pitman arm puller, think it was $15...

 

Don't get me wrong. The puller is fine and probably the right way to do it. For me it was just way faster and easier to use the hammer method. Doing this for years you learn what you will and won't hurt with a hammer. 2 good strikes with a 2 1/2 pound maul will pop loose just about any tie rod or ball joint. As I said before I loved Toyota ball joints because they were quick work. Both side lowers in less than 30 mins start to finish. If I didn't do it for a living I would for sure be doing a job like this by the book!

 

I must not be holding my mouth right or something. I tried the hammer method, last time I did the BJs, and nothing budged. Ended up going back to the puller.

Guess that's why you're the pro, and I'm the shade-tree mechanic, lol

 

Whatever works guys. Heck, I'm getting old and get tired of banging away at anything. Ear protection helps a little.

 

Douse it with some loose juice first and the hammer method is super easy. That said I bought the OTC puller from Tim's video.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/penetrating-oil-showdown.350800/

 

I'll def give that atf/acetone trick a try next time I get some atf. I have about 4 cans of kroil to go through anyways.

 

99 cent store atf and a jug of Home Depot acetone makes for some cost effective stuff lol

 

got some rusted u-joint cups soaking in kroil.

 

I don't know. I couldn't position the jaws of the puller to fit far enough underneath the LBJ so that the pushout screw was anywhere near centered above the bolt in the tie rod. Because the tie rod was nice and tight I didn't want to booger it up, so I returned the tools. Just as well. Using the Tacoma's jack I was able to easily push the control arms down more than far enough to remove and reinsert the lower shock mount bolt.