Lower ball joints?!?

ive been reading a lot about this lately and it seems that I need to prepare to replace mine. My 01 doublecab is at 122k and previous owner hasn't done it.

It is time to replace my lower ball joints?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

I'm interested in the response to this as well. I purchased my '03 PreRunner new and it still has the original ball joints at 141,000 miles. I don't do any off roading and haven't messed with the suspension (lift, etc).

 

100k intervals. OEM only. That's pretty much all ya need to know. Better safe than sorry with this kind of thing

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/shit-day.476079/

Check this out..

 

jack up the truck and stick a screw driver between the ball joint and lower control arm and pry it, if it moves at all replace them, if they are leaking at all replace them, just like thunderone said OEM only. Make sure you get new bolts too

 

Yeah, I read that over the weekend. That's what got me to thinking about it when I saw Mike's post. That would suck!

 

Good information guys, thanks for that. And I seen that thread this morning, that's the primary reason for this thread lol.

 

I know everyone states OEM, but I'm curious about these from Low Range Off-Road.

http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/toyo...coma-4x4-lower-ball-joints-made-in-japan.html

 

100k miles ... new oem bolts... loctite (blue).
I have Moog 555 in my truck. 30k miles without problems, but I'll replace them for oem ones soon, unless I stop reading Tacomaworlds posts

 

Those are the 555 brand and repackaged for LROR to sell. These would be the next best to the OEM lower ball joints, as 555 makes the OEM joints for Toyota. The joints in the link aren't the same quality as the OEM, but they are a step above the shitty Chinese lower ball joints that many companies sell.

 

Appreciate the information.

 

It's never known with certainty how well the LBJ's will hold up, regardless of the manufacturer, at least yours are the 'medium' grade of lbj's available for the taco. 555 rebranded lbj's, except the OEM 555 LBJ, will hopefully last. Especially if you are easy on your taco.

 

I'd still go with OEM. Pretty sure @Dirty Pool split open the 555 and OEM LBJs and even those were quite different.

 

Yep, the 555 aftermarket lbj is below the quality and robustness of the 555 OEM lbj.

 

I drive a minimum of 100 miles a day. 50-50 I'd say. I also replaced inner,outer rods, shocks , coils and rack bushings. All at the same time.

 

Here you go: difference between 555 and true OEM.
Scroll down to Dirty Pool's post of it loads at the top of the page
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/check-your-ball-joints.374853/page-2#post-10284167

 

I just called the Yoda Dealership and he said it would be around $525 to have both lower ball joints replaced.

 

Total? That's not too bad I guess. I think OE BJs are like $200 a piece. The labor isn't too hard

 

Never mind. I just looked on Toyota of Dallas and OEM LBJs are $110 each. See if your dealer will price match them. In my experience they usually will price match another dealership

http://parts.toyotaofdallas.com/oem-parts/toyota-lower-ball-joint-4334039585/?c=Zz1mcm9udC1zdXNwZW5zaW9uJnM9c3VzcGVuc2lvbi1jb21wb25lbnRzJmk9ODUxMDYxNTUmcj0xNiZhPXRveW90YSZvPXRhY29tYSZ5PTIwMDQmdD1iYXNlJmU9My00bC12Ni1nYXM=

@jammer

 

I swear you guys are the best lol.