Moog lower ball joint 90K mile report out

Posting for anyone considering different brands of lower ball joints and are wondering about life expectancy. Replaced the Moog lower ball joints that I installed in 2013. The set were stamped 555 and have Moog part number

$52 K90258 Front Left Lower Suspension Ball Joint for Toyota Tacoma

K90258/

$45 K90259 Front Right Lower Suspension Ball Joint for Toyota Tacoma

K90259, grease fittings, purchased from ebay. They were installed with re-used black bolts and the rubber dust boots. Best I can estimate these have approximately 90k miles on them. A little bit of play using the jack front wheels and wiggle with crow bar method. Nothing I thought was excessive. But after removing the ball joints they do have noticeable stiction and play and feel rough/grindy. It was time. These were greased probably not as often as I should have done, once every year or two maybe. Mostly hwy and in town driving with occasional weekend warrior dirt trails/fire roads while camping. I pull a small 17' hybrid camper trailer a couple times each summer and live in a CA mountain pass at 4000' elevation where there is rain a few inches to a few feet of snowfall each year. Not a recommendation, or a discredit to Moog, just some info for anyone looking into different options. FYI - for their replacement I decided to go with Toyota ball joints and new black bolts bought from a dealership, along with Toyota inner/outer tie rod ends and JBA UCA's to go with the full OME lift. Truck is very enjoyable to drive again.

 

This is the one part that should ALWAYS be OEM and new OEM bolts done every 100k regardless like timing belt

 

My 03 truck to my knowledge still has factory OEM ball joints. Now at 218k. I check them from time and there is little movement. I do re torque the bolts and check the boots for damage every oil change. However, my truck does feel like a hay wagon going do the road. Im starting to build a list of parts for a full IFS refresh.

 

It's not the bolts it's the socket that will come apart, your due for new ones or risk the wheel coming off at 50 mph

 

There is a good chance it had the recall performed early on. Mine (02) had the recall performed at 53k miles, now I'm at about the same mileage as you. Time to change them.

 

What do you mean by "little movement"?

Any movement is too much movement.

 

Thank for your report. Makes me feel good about ordering the OEM ones yesterday.

 

I've seen multiple posts of people saying that the LBJ 'looked and felt fine' before their wheel fell off..
No one has ever found a way to accurately assess the health of them, or if they have no one has ever shared it. There's never been any accounts of symptoms or changes in the joints before failure, just random complete failure after 100k miles. The play test may work on other vehicles, but I've seen too many accounts of people saying there was no play in the joint days before failure. Just replace every 100k.

 

OP,
I also installed 555 JAPAN LBJs on my '97 V6 Taco Xcab 4x4 in 2013: Greasable '97 Tacoma 4WD Ball Joints? - YotaTech Forums. I thought that the greaseable design might help the 555s be more durable than non-greaseable OEMs off-road so they were kept well serviced. I was wrong. What I did not realize at the time was the higher quality of the OEM LBJ internal machining and design. When the 555s were installed, I was off-roading approx. 100 days a year mostly in deep mud/high water here in MS. The 555s were approaching the end of their useful life in 2021 after 8 years of use/abuse so fresh OEM LBJs with black bolts were installed. To sum it up, I got 16 years/approx. 80K miles out of the original OEM LBJs and 8 years/approx. 40K miles out of the 555 JAPAN LBJs. And both sets of LBJs were subjected to very much the same level of use/abuse. Our experience with the 555 JAPAN LBJs appears to have been extremely similar. Thanks for posting your info.

 

Yeah, Im aware. And by movement I mean very very tiny play in them. Im building a parts list now. It seems mcgeorge toyota has the best prices.

 

After seeing this video, I'll never buy non OEM ball joints. And remember, if it isn't bought from Toyota or a Toyota part's dealer then it isn't OEM.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyY45NAPqJT/?igsh=MzY1NDJmNzMyNQ==

 

I guess I need to start budgeting to replace mine. Guess I'll go OEM based on what I'm reading here. I'm at 184k and as far as I know mine are original. Just noticed a little oil seeping from my curb side valve cover so I got that going for me

 

This happened to me at 65 mph at 90k after I hit a bump. There was no other warning. I was incredibly lucky the wheel wedged itself under the frame, otherwise I might have flipped. Instead, I skied my way over to the shoulder. This was how I learned about the ball joint issue with our trucks. Go get yours replaced yesterday.



Edit: as others have said, essentially any play is too much. Toyota specs indicate that 0.02" is considered worn out and should be replaced.

 

These only pertain to 1st Gen Tacomas. I see your profile says 09 Prerunner. You’ll be fine. Toyota fixed the issue in the next generation of Tacomas.

 

At least you had some in n out for the side of the road

 

The valve cover gasket replacement on a 1st gen is easy. I did it with no experience working on cars whatsoever