Lower Ball Joint maintenance question

If you put your VIN into this website https://partsouq.com it'll tell you the part number for everything on your vehicle

 

For anything that's not specifically listed in the regular maintenance schedule, assume it is a lifetime part and replace ONLY as needed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or do, I'm not your dad.

You seem to be spending a lot of brain power on your rope hooks. Those cost like $5. If it's really bothering you, just replace them and stop thinking (and posting) about it.

 

see edit. May or may not help...

 

To the original poster, leaking means grease is coming out, dirt is going in, and will wear out the ball/socket more quickly. Check if any play. If no play, drive it till you can get it done. Ball joints don't snap. The ball/socket wear out and come apart. Nothing breaks. Age has nothing to do with it. A sealed old joint with no play is just as good as brand new joint. A worn joint will show in tire wear and alignment long before its dangerous. For those that don't pay attention their vehicle, do what everyone else says and replace it as soon as it looks wet.

 

This goes back the idea that most BJ failures are more likely related to lack of maintenance (i.e. ignoring warning signs) than anything else. It likely just boils down to "you just didn't notice your boots had been leaking grease the last 40,000 miles"

 

Lol - just did mine (pretty sure original) at ~215K

 

Nothing like a LBJ thread. ... Seriously though leaking grease from a sealed suspension component is not good. If grease got out then road grime got in. Replace them.

 

lol crazy. Thats awesome.

I know people will come on here and say 200k 215k etc. I know one guy on here preaches about not replacing until 200K.
100K is recommended. Personal choice. Not gonna risk my truck for couple hundred bucks every 100k lol.

 

Man the problem I have with these trucks is just those ball joints. Knowing that mine have 8k miles on them and lightly wheeled, oem parts only, and now My passenger side is leaking? I just don’t understand why that would be the case when everyone harps so high and mighty about them. Sucks man. Hey, upside is that I’ll wipe the grease off and swap them out when I want to, since it’s paid off and all

 

Total newbie here Long story short, I'm running stock LBJ's @ 260k+ . I got OEM replacements ready to put on but I'm confused as hell about the part# for LBJ bolts since mine didn't come with any. I've checked partsouq.com and it looks like theres two different bolts???

9010510505 and 9011910933

I've read somewhere about two bolts being longer than the other, is that what this is? Anyways, have you guys ordered both bolts or 4 of 1 type?

Any help is muuuch appreciated.

 

I don't know anything about this 'one longer than the other', but the part number for the bolts that I got from the parts counter at the dealer says it is the latter of the two you gave - replace all 8 (4/ea.)

 

I got mine from toyotapartsdeal.com (lbjs and bolts)...all 8 bolts are the same size at least on my truck. The ones that came off and the ones that went on.

 

Looking at my online receipt from the Toyota dealership shows part number 9008010066

https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~bolt-flange~90080-10066.html

I ordered 8 of those as that's what my vin number listed.

 

The outer 2 bolts could be longer than the inner 2 to take advantage of the additional thread engagement of the blind holes in the LBJ.

 

Thanks for all the input guys I plan on comparing the new bolts with the old ones before putting them on. I could post some pics when I get the job done.

 

Where do you check to see if there is a recall?

 

Plug your VIN into this website and see if anything comes up

https://www.toyota.com/recall

Or call your local service dept, but I'd rather search myself. Safety recalls never expire so if your truck has a recall from 2004 it will still be valid today.

I guess the only thing that would prevent them from doing it is if the part is no longer made, but as for the lower ball joints they most certainly still are.

 

Why do so many people think that the balljoints should be replaced on an interval? The maintenance schedule says to check them frequently, not replace them. Furthermore, the FSM provides a procedure and spec to test the LBJs. IMHO, you're wasting money by replacing them just because "it's been XX,XXX miles". I really dislike the parts shotgun approach.

My truck is at 185K, driver side had 0.005" of play, passenger side about 0.007" where the FSM tolerance is 0.020":