Lower ball joint failure

I have seen a few threads on lower ball joint failures on here. what exactly contributes to a failure?

 

I just had my lower ball joints replaced at Toyota on Friday, they were leaking grease and I was getting a lot of clunking/popping sounds when taking turns. Age, mileage and off-roading are all things that contribute to their demise. First gens are notorious for it due to the way they were designed unfortunately. There was a big recall on LBJ's for some first gens due to a manufacturing flaw, you should check with Toyota and see if you're covered if your's are going bad.

 

I replaced both bottom ball joints and both outer tie rod ends on my 2008 TRD OFF-Road, at 35,000 miles.

I live in a snow state, with a lot of salt on the roads.

Also I live in a rural area with township roads. At one time I would say I had rougher roads and more wear and damage to my suspension parts. But the last 5 or 6 years the road conditions, that I see in some major cities in the East and Mid-West, is deplorable. I was in Detroit and then Pittsburgh, latley; and the potholes were big enough to swallow a Prius.

The ball joints that I replaced were worn; but still legal for PA State inspection. The outer tie rod end were shot and really worn out. At 35,000 miles I would think that was stunning.

motormart

 

I actually replaced mine a few year back with OEM from Toyota. I probably need to replace steering components as well. I also live in GA so rust and salt is not an issue. I was thinking up upgrading to 295/75r16 and they're maybe 10lb heavier a tire along with heftier rims might be pushing 15-20 lbs a tire. Wondering if I'm pushing it, I don't want to crash and burn on the highway.

 

Mine was the previous owner / or PO's tech did not use loc-tite on the lower ball joint bolts. All 4 bolts backed out / departed and the new driver did not recognize the problem before catastrophe struck.

 

LBJs are next on the list since I only have a record of them being last replaced at 51k miles... they still look good though visually at least, no grease etc. Haven't checked for play though

 

Jack up the front side of your truck underneath the lower control arm, as close to the ball joint as you can, see if there's any side to side play in the wheel. Can also stick a crowbar or long screwdriver between the ball joint and the spindle, see if the ball joint moves up and down when you put leverage against it. If it does then it needs to be replaced. If not then I wouldn't worry about it, they're designed to last a long time

 

Off topic but do you know how to check for inner/outer tie rod condition?

Jack up the truck an check for side to side play?

 

Just replaced mine with OEMs. $200, but it is much cheaper than the damage a failure would cause.

At best, a tow and new ball joints, at worst, totaled truck and a funeral.

Bite the bullet and do them. They are not hard.

 

Did you do them yourself?

I'm not sure on how to check the tie rods to be honest, from what I've gathered side to side play in the wheel indicates either bad ball joints or a bad wheel bearing.

 

I'm not sure on how to check the tie rods to be honest, from what I've gathered side to side play in the wheel indicates either bad ball joints or a bad wheel bearing.[/QUOTE]

Alright cool, and I’ve done lbjs on another first gen already, not hard at all

 

Yes, they are easy if you rent the proper tools from a parts store. You need:
- New Ball Joints...duh
- New Ball Joint Bolts
- Ball joint separator (pickle fork)
- Pitman arm/ Tie rod end puller
- Blue Locktite
- Torque wrench
- Spare cotter pin - tie rod end

1. Pull wheel, support frame with jackstand
2. Take cotter pins and castle nuts off of ball joint and tie rod end.
3. Loosen 4 ball joint bolts
4. Pop tie rod end loose with the pitman arm puller. Careful not to rip the boot.
5. Pop ball joint out of LCA with pickle fork and a hammer.
6. Remove 4 ball joint bolts
7. Have a buddy pull up on the hub/ knuckle as you swap old ball joint for new unit. Use a hammer to knock the old one off the knuckle (rust). Set the new one into the LCA and position the knuckle so the 4 holes line up.
9. Install ball joint castle nut. Torque to 103 ft-lbs. Install cotter pin. You can torque an additonal 60 degrees as needed for cotter pin.
10. Install 4 new ball joint bolts with blue locktite. Torque to 59 ft-lbs. You can pinch a wood handle between the knuckle and LCA to keep the knuckle from turning as you torque.
12. Install tie rod end, torque castle nut to 67 ft-lbs. Install that spare cotter pin you bought.
13. Install wheel, torque lugs to 83 ft lbs.
14. Some say you must get and alignment... i dont think its that big of deal. You will not loosen any adjustment bolts in this process.

 

Good to know, thanks for the detailed post!! I just had mine done at Toyota under the ext. warranty I had so it was taken care of, but if I ever have to again in the future I'll definitely do it myself using this write up. Would've cost me over $800 if not for the warranty. Thanks!

 

$600 in labor?? With no complications, one could swap ball joints in 25 min per side. I did have one LBJ bolt break on me, so one side was a pain. A stout easy-out saved my baccon.

 

I know right, that's what Toyota quoted me before I verified they were covered under my powertrain warranty (lucky I did).

They had it marked down as $260 in parts ($130 per side) and just over $600 in labor. They had my truck all day so who knows what they were doing all that time.

 

That is crazy. I paid $205 in parts from camelback toyota. It makes me want to start a small shop specializing in Tacoma / 4runner lower ball joints. There are only a billion of them on the road.

 

My truck just rolled over 190k and I'm sure mine are still stock. I thrash the snot out of mine. Being airborne is a nearly weekly occurrence. They're on the short list to replace because I'm afraid they'll fail at 60mph in the dirt...

 

jesus, I wheel pretty hard but not that hard and mine started leaking after this summer. What kind of suspension do you run?

 

Kings all around. Camburg UCA's, and Deavers in the rear.

Doesn't hurt there's a really good dip a block from my house that i can hit at 55 haha

Jumps like this feel like landing on pillows.

 

god I want Kings so bad lol